Android WiFi connection not stable

[slammed200]

It's on my end, but both my Galaxy S6 and Samsung Tab 3 will connect to the RC unit but then disconnect once they do not see an internet connection. Any tips? Would I be correct in assuming these are WiFi only and do not have a bluetooth module?

Thanks!

[fstlane]

It's on my end, but both my Galaxy S6 and Samsung Tab 3 will connect to the RC unit but then disconnect once they do not see an internet connection. Any tips? Would I be correct in assuming these are WiFi only and do not have a bluetooth module?

Thanks!

I'm experiencing the same behavior with both my HTC 10 phone and Nexus 7 tablet. With the RC unit plugged into the OBD2 port, Wi-Fi will briefly obtain IP address, connect and then immediately disconnect. It won't connect long enough to even complete the configuration. During this process the indicator light on the RC unit will blink yellow.

However, if I disconnect the OBD2 cable and supply power with the USB cord, the RC unit with maintain the Wi-Fi connection and the light will flash blue with an occasional green blink. I was able to complete the setup process with this connection. However, if I again plug in the OBD2 cable the Wi-Fi connection will immediately drop and continue the same behavior of briefly connecting and then disconnecting.

Any ideas? Thank you!

[brentp]

Hi, thanks for reporting this, and thanks for the detailed diagnostics.

First, what make / model / year of car is this plugged into?

Can you try the following:

While connected over USB, go turn off OBDII. make sure you write the settings back to RaceCapture.

Now, power over OBDII and see if the behavior changes.

Thanks,

[brentp]

slammed200, There's an android setting that prevents your Android device from doing this.

Alternatively, you can create a hotspot on your phone and then configure RaceCapture's WiFi client to connect to that instead. Let us know what you find out!

Also, yes; it's WiFi only.

[brentp]

fstlane, I believe you're having a unique problem than slammed200, fyi.

[fstlane]

Hi, thanks for reporting this, and thanks for the detailed diagnostics.

First, what make / model / year of car is this plugged into?

Can you try the following:

While connected over USB, go turn off OBDII. make sure you write the settings back to RaceCapture.

Now, power over OBDII and see if the behavior changes.

Thanks,

Thank you in advance for the assistance!
2013 Subaru BRZ connected to a Nexus 7

While connected over USB, I turned off OBDII and wrote to settings. The Wi-Fi connection remained solid and the light on RC unit flashed blue.

I then turned on OBDII, wrote to settings and the Wi-Fi connection immediately dropped and the light on the RC unit began to flash yellow.

Finally, I attempted to turn back off OBDII and write to settings but it failed as it said the port was closed. The only way to turn back off the OBDII channel and get a Wi-Fi connection again was to physically unplug the OBDII cable.

Here is a quick video of the above process.
https://youtu.be/aB6c1XKUcrU

Am I doing the requested procedure correctly? Thank you!

[brentp]

Thanks for the update.

Ok - when doing the test over USB do this:

* unplug OBDII from car
* disable OBDII in app
* write settings
* plug OBDII back in.

Does WiFi stay active after that? What I'm investigating is if OBDII communications is causing RaceCapture to drop the WiFi connection. If we turn off OBDII communications, then that will help narrow down the issue.

Thanks for helping us work through it!

[fstlane]

Thanks for the update.

Ok - when doing the test over USB do this:

* unplug OBDII from car
* disable OBDII in app
* write settings
* plug OBDII back in.

Does WiFi stay active after that? What I'm investigating is if OBDII communications is causing RaceCapture to drop the WiFi connection. If we turn off OBDII communications, then that will help narrow down the issue.

Thanks for helping us work through it!

You're welcome!

With the OBDII cable unplugged from the car, I disabled the OBDII channel and wrote to settings. I then plugged back in the OBDII cable while leaving the OBDII channel disabled. The Wifi connection remained strong with no drops for a tested duration of 5 minutes.

It's only when the OBDII channel is enabled that the Wi-Fi connection fails.

[brentp]

Ok, thanks. That tells me that RaceCapture is choking on some unexpected data it's getting off of the CAN bus for your specific car. Let us get to work on reproducing this and fixing over here.

Sorry it's not working for you out of the box, and thanks for your patience! We'll get back asap.

[fstlane]

Ok, thanks. That tells me that RaceCapture is choking on some unexpected data it's getting off of the CAN bus for your specific car. Let us get to work on reproducing this and fixing over here.

Sorry it's not working for you out of the box, and thanks for your patience! We'll get back asap.

No problem and I appreciate the awesome support! Please let me know how else I can assist you. Thanks!

Darren

[brentp]

Got another car you can try it on in the meantime?

[fstlane]

Got another car you can try it on in the meantime?

Yes, I'll try it on my wife's 2015 Mazda CX5 tomorrow and report back. Thanks!

[fstlane]

Got another car you can try it on in the meantime?

Ok, I ran the same test procedure using a 2015 Mazda CX5 with the Nexus 7 tablet. The results were same as the 2013 Subaru BRZ. The Wi-Fi connection would drop within a few seconds after the Wi-Fi channel is enabled.

I then ran the test procedure using the CX5 but this time connected to my HTC 10 phone. The results were the same.

At this point I can only assume it's either a hardware or firmware issue with the RC device or OBDII cable itself correct? Are there any additional diagnostic procedures or firmware updates I can attempt?

[brentp]

Thanks for the additional testing. 99% certain it's a firmware issue. Hang tight; we need to reproduce it here, fix and then we'll post a sample firmware here for you to test.

[brentp]

Actually, there's one more thing to try that will help narrow it down:

* over USB, enable OBDII with *no* channels defined. Just OBDII enabled with an empty channel list. As before, ensure you write the configuration.

What do you observe?