Author Topic: iOS14 / SkyDemon connection issues  (Read 14513 times)

Gary Nelson

iOS14 / SkyDemon connection issues
« on: August 25, 2020, 10:43:48 am »
I and numerous others (going by the Facebook posts) are still plagued by the dreaded hanging message “Connecting to Device”. See attached image. I am using latest version iPad running Sky Demon and set to Pilotaware UDP. However, yesterday I could not run Sky Demon using PAW (so had to use the iPad internal Location Services to run Sky Demon) but frustratingly at same time I found my iPhone 11 connected and ran Pilot Aware to Sky Demon seamlessly.

It would be so good to resolve this issue for so many of us  for what is otherwise such a great product!
« Last Edit: September 28, 2020, 11:19:29 am by Admin »

mariko

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2020, 10:47:42 am »
Are you sure your Ipad was connectec to the Pilotaware WiFi?
Ciao
  Mariko

Admin

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2020, 11:36:46 am »
Hi Gary,

If you see this issue again, can you check to see if you can see the web page
http://192.168.1.1

Also, if on iOS, can you add the PilotAware program from the iTunes store - this also checks connectivity

Thx
Lee

exfirepro

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2020, 07:45:58 pm »
Gary,

I have had that a few times recently when trying to take screenshots during testing in bumpy conditions (SD on iPad Mini 5 using PilotAware UDP in both devices - both on latest Beta software). As you will know, to do this successfully, you need to press the power and home buttons at exactly the same time. On several occasions this has resulted in me shutting down the pad by mistake instead.

On restarting the Pad, it automatically reconnects to the PAW Wifi but SD ‘hangs’ on ‘Connecting to Device’. I have found that the quickest way to fix this is ‘Stop Navigating’ in SD then ‘Go Flying - Use PilotAware’. OK it means a break in the log, but this is easy to merge post flight.

The same thing can happen occasionally if you have PilotAware running and it drops out during engine start.

Regards

Peter

Gary Nelson

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2020, 10:58:03 pm »
Lee - willdo to both suggestions - thanks.

Peter - every time this happens I  always as a matter of course  try “stop flying” then reconnecting but that generally doesn't stop the “Connecting to Device” hanging message.

Mariko - thanks for input but yes my iPad is connected to the PAW wifi.

« Last Edit: August 25, 2020, 10:59:35 pm by Gary Nelson »

Gary Nelson

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #5 on: August 27, 2020, 07:40:14 pm »
Hi Lee

I attach screenshots of my iPhone and iPad from an earlier flight today - you can see the iPad is yet again showing the "Connecting to Device" hanging message while the iPhone is running PAW on SkyDemon just fine. I have the downloaded PAW track for that flight but it is 1.96Mb and this forum has a file size limit of 512KB. Should I send you this track somewhere?  If so, I do hope it can give you a clue as to what is the issue!

exfirepro

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #6 on: August 27, 2020, 10:47:52 pm »
Hi Gary,

There is definitely something strange going on here.

You said above that you are running the latest iPad mini (Mini 5/2019 - same as my newest one) and an iPhone 11, which I don’t have, but I regularly run two iPad Minis (2 / 3 / 5) in tandem without any connectivity issues other than as advised earlier. Both your devices are presumably running iOS 13 / iPadOS 13 (the same as my new iPad Mini - which as I say works fine). The only significant difference is that I am running the latest PilotAware and SkyDemon Betas on test (SD 3.14.3.256).

You say that you are running SkyDemon on PilotAware UDP - what setting do you have selected in PilotAware / Configure / Device Connect Setting ?

Also, am I correct in thinking that I see a FlarmMouse on the coaming? Is this connected into the PilotAware or running independently? Just wondering in case it could be significant.

You could put your track file in a Dropbox and PM Lee a link to the Dropbox, or alternatively Lee might PM you an e-mail address to send the file to.

Regards

Peter

Gary Nelson

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #7 on: August 27, 2020, 11:53:38 pm »
Hi Peter

1. My 5th generation iPad runs 13.6.1. My iPhone runs 13.5.1 (but will update tonight)
2  I indeed have a Flarm mouse connected into the PAW
3. On the PAW/Configure/Device Connect Setting I have it set to PilotAware (UDP)

Gary

exfirepro

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #8 on: August 28, 2020, 01:14:55 am »
Thanks Gary,

So now we are at least on the same song sheet, though not necessarily yet on the same page and it doesn’t (unfortunately) immediately throw up any obvious explanation(s).

The obvious contender is some sort of WiFi connectivity problem - which is why mariko asked whether your iPad was definitely (still) connected to the PAW WiFi hotspot while it was displaying the ‘Connecting to Device’ message on SkyDemon and why Lee asked earlier whether you could connect to the PilotAware Home Screen on 192.168.1.1 via your browser during this period - which you haven’t yet confirmed. I realise that checking these two issues (especially during flight) is a significant ask, but it might be crucial to determining what is going on. We wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. The track log may of course also provide this information.

Regards

Peter

Gary Nelson

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #9 on: August 28, 2020, 06:32:18 am »
Hi Peter

1.   I can confirm my iPad wifi source is indeed showing as Pilotaware when I get the “Connecting to Device” hanging message. It is always the first thing I check. Yesterday during the flight I then tried switching off the wifi and then back on. It quite happily reconnected Pilotaware as the wifi source but still got the “Connecting to Device” hanging message. I even switched the iPad entirely off and on in the hope that would make a difference. It did not, even though Pilotaware was once again the wifi source.  On the flights I get the “Connecting to Device” message it is 50/50 whether at some point during that flight it starts working as then during the flight while on SD  I keep flicking between the iPad internal “Use Location Services” which is 100% reliable and use “Pilotaware” until it works or I give up and continue the rest of the flight on “Use Location Services” and can’t see PAW traffic (which I still however hear via the PAW audio output plumbed into my transceiver).

2.  I confirm I checked 192.168.1.1 and I can always always access the Pilotaware pages no problem. In fact last year I created a shortcut to my iPad home screen to this page so I can easily access PAW during a flight

3.  I don’t see it can be the PAW wifi connection as yesterday it was simultaneously working on my iPhone while not working on the iPad - even though both devices had Pilotaware as the connected wifi source. Surely the conflict must be something else?

As I mentioned on my first post, there appear numerous others with this issue. I do hope the issue can be traced and hopefully sorted on what is otherwise for me such a fantastic product. I would be quite happy to purchase the upgrade from my Classic/ Standard PAW to Rosetta if that would evaporate the problem.



Gary

exfirepro

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #10 on: August 28, 2020, 08:00:27 am »
Morning Gary,

That helps narrow things down considerably!

First point - PAW is still running (confirmed by the audio alerts and the fact that your iPhone is still running SD).

Secondly - WiFi connection isn’t dropping out as both devices are still connected to PAW WiFi and you can still access the PAW screens via 192.168.1.1 on your iPad.

But the problem must still be due to some sort of connectivity issue between PAW and SkyDemon via iOS - but why only on the iPad? As stated above, mine - using the iPadOS 13.6.1 software is running fine apart from my finger-induced disconnects.

You have also indicated that you are running a PAW Classic, which does raise a couple of other possibilities, such as interference to the WiFi from a faulty SDR (or WiFi dongle) which could I suppose be causing a partial or intermittent block to the WiFi signal - but why would that only affect the iPad - unless there is some sort of proximity or blocking issue...

If you are flying again soon, it would be worth temporarily removing the 1090 SDR dongle for a short flight and see if that makes any difference to the connectivity - keep a good lookout though!

The other thing to try (after reinstating the SDR) would be using the Flarm TCP option on the iPad, with the iPhone remaining on PilotAware UDP. To do this you will need to set Connectivity Options to Auto in PAW to allow the iPhone to remain on UDP and the iPad to receive data via Flarm TCP. Select ‘FLARM with Air Connect’ in SD Setup Third-party Devices on the iPad (with Air Connect Key at the default 6000), then select ‘Go Flying - Use Flarm’ on the iPad (on phone continue to use ‘Use PilotAware’ as at present). Let us know what happens.

Finally, Lee has done a lot of work over the past year to improve connectivity for both Apple and Android devices and this will all be in the imminent new software release - currently in final Beta testing and now due for release within days. We could give you access to an advance copy to see if that resolves the issue, but please try the suggested tests on your existing setup first and let us know if either or both improve the situation - oh and let’s get your track file to Lee for analysis please.

Best Regards

Peter
p.s. I tried to find the Facebook posts you referred to in your OP but failed miserably. Can you point me to where they are please (for my own illumination).
« Last Edit: August 28, 2020, 08:10:59 am by exfirepro »

Gary Nelson

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #11 on: August 29, 2020, 03:31:17 am »
Hi Peter

Re Facebook posts, if you go to the EV-97 Group and see the post started by Gordon Verity on 12th July 2020. There are now some 83 replies. His opening post was”.....Does anyone else have issues connecting Pilot aware to SkyDemon on a tablet from time to time? Seems to work perfectly for a couple of legs then get in the plane and it won’t connect. So have to go back to using the internal GPS in the tablet. All seems a bit flakey at times

Gary Nelson

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #12 on: August 29, 2020, 03:32:32 am »
.

Gary Nelson

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #13 on: August 29, 2020, 04:06:26 am »
Hi Peter

Re the last 3 paras of your post:

1.   If i  temporarily remove the 1090 SDR dongle for a short flight to see if that makes any difference to the connectivity, will that not disable the PAW as isn’t that the PAW wifi? So removing that will stop PAW transmitting to my iPad and iPhone, or am I getting confused?

2.   Not sure what/where is the Air Connect Key at the “default 6000” but anyway I dont  think Flarm will then show on my iPad as I have been told you need to pay an annual £30 to receive Flarm on SD if not piggy backing it via PAW

3.  If days away then perhaps I should simply wait for the release to see if it cures this, especially as to physically access  my Classic PAW I have to remove about 40 screws to take off a panel on my Eurostar.

3.1.  What email shall i send the track file to Lee for analysis.

Thks

Gary

exfirepro

Re: Hanging error message “Connecting to Device” - revisited
« Reply #14 on: August 29, 2020, 07:18:21 am »
Morning Gary,

Re your recent posts above... Not being a member of the EV97 Forum, I was completely unaware you guys were having all these problems. I will investigate further. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Hi Peter

Re the last 3 paras of your post:

1.   If i  temporarily remove the 1090 SDR dongle for a short flight to see if that makes any difference to the connectivity, will that not disable the PAW as isn’t that the PAW wifi? So removing that will stop PAW transmitting to my iPad and iPhone, or am I getting confused?

The 1090 dongle is the one in the USB port with the cable to the small thin 1090 antenna. The WiFi on the Classic is the smaller black dongle with a red ring round it. (On Rosetta or an ‘upgraded’ Classic with a Pi3 Motherboard, the WiFi chip is on the Motherboard).

Quote
2.   Not sure what/where is the Air Connect Key at the “default 6000” but anyway I dont  think Flarm will then show on my iPad as I have been told you need to pay an annual £30 to receive Flarm on SD if not piggy backing it via PAW

Sorry for the confusion - this is nothing to do with ‘receiving’ Flarm. It is just using the Flarm ‘Protocol’ over a different transmission system (called TCP) to transfer data between PilotAware and your device instead of via PilotAware UDP. Set Device Connect Settings in PilotAware / Configure to ‘Auto’ then on your iPad only go to SkyDemon / Setup / Third Party Devices and select the ‘FLARM’ option. You should see the reference to ‘Air Connect Key’ just below this selection - it’s just an unlock code - as long as it says 6000 it will work. Then when you ‘Go Flying’ choose the ‘Use Flarm’ option on your iPad. On your phone just choose ‘Use PilotAware’ as normal. PilotAware is designed to allow multiple connections using different mixes of operating systems and protocols - I just want to confirm whether this helps with your connectivity issue,

Quote
3.  If days away then perhaps I should simply wait for the release to see if it cures this, especially as to physically access  my Classic PAW I have to remove about 40 screws to take off a panel on my Eurostar.

Ah! A VERY interesting comment - where exactly is your unit fitted? If it’s buried that far inside the metal bodywork, that could well explain the connectivity issues...  The PAW WiFi may simply be getting blocked by the amount of metalwork between it and your iPad, while the phone may be in a slightly less obscured position. If this is the case, you can try tweaking the WiFi settings in the PAW ‘Network’ Screen, but take note of your initial settings (let me know what they are) and make any changes in small steps - IIRC PAW needs a reboot for each change to take effect. If this is the problem, you could move the WiFi dongle somewhere out in the clear on a USB extension cable.

Although the software update is now ‘imminent’, I can’t guarantee ‘a few days’ , and in the light of this new info, the problem might be to do with the position of your unit, not with the software, so let’s investigate further before you update your software.

Quote
3.1.  What email shall i send the track file to Lee for analysis.

Thks

Gary

Send the track to support@pilotaware.com and mark the e-mail FAO Lee, he will be able to pick it up from there

Best Regards

Peter

Edit at 09:10: I have now read the full thread concerned on the EV97 Forum. If anything it increases my conviction that your problem is most likely  due to a WiFi proximity/obscuration issue between your PAW (Classic) and your iPad. If so, you need to try adjusting the WiFi strength (up and down from the default) and/or relocate your WiFi dongle on a USB extender to outside the ‘metal box’.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2020, 09:08:38 am by exfirepro »