Troubleshooting WiFi Connection
Problems
Most owners experience no problems at all when
using WiFi to connect their tablet or smartphone to their telescope, but
a few have found it to be mostly unusable due to frequent disconnects,
lag in responses to the arrow buttons or lock-ups in the Android/iOS
app. The following tips may help:
- Be sure you are running the
latest version of the Android or iOS app. SkyPortal and SkySafari
are updated periodically to address communication issues or to add
new features.
- Celestron's first foray into
WiFi was the SkyQ Link WiFi module. Be aware that the external
SkyPortal WiFi module has a stronger radio and greater range than
the SkyQ Link WiFi module. The SkyQ Link circuit was used in
the NexStar Evolution mount from its introduction until about 2016
(when the newer SkyPortal circuit began to be used) and in all
COSMOS 90GTs. SkyQ Link is easily identified by the WiFi
network name it presents to your phone/tablet/computer: SkyQLink-xx.
- There have been two versions of
the SkyPortal WiFi module - both present a WiFi network name of
Celestron-xx or Celestron-xxx. The first is recognized by the
Celestron Firmware Manager (CFM - see
this
article for info on use of CFM) as device model AMW006 and should
present a WiFi network name of Celestron-xx. This first
SkyPortal module is considered Celestron's 2nd generation WiFi.
The second version of SkyPortal module (considered Celestron's 3rd
generation WiFi) is recognized by CFM as device model AMW007 and
should present a WiFi network name of Celestron-xxx. This 3rd
generation WiFi has greater range and better connection stability
than the first two generations. Note that Evolution and
AstroFi mounts have also had the equivalent of these 2nd and 3rd
generation WiFi modules built-in.
- Firmware updates improving WiFi
stability and performance have been released for the 3rd generation
WiFi - see
this
article on how to apply the updates.
- Areas with high WiFi traffic
(for example, the home routers of dozens of your neighbors) may
cause disconnects or slow response between the telescope and the
app. Generally there isn't much you can do about this other than
traveling to another location or using the physical hand control
instead.
- If you have multiple
tablet/smartphone devices that have previously connected to your
scope, they may automatically connect when you power up the scope.
Two devices contending for control of the same telescope will cause
connection issues. On the device not currently in use, turn off
WiFi, activate "airplane mode" or "forget" the telescope's WiFi
network.
- If you have multiple
WiFi-enabled telescopes, your tablet/smartphone may be connecting to
the wrong one.
- If your tablet/smartphone is
not able to see the Celestron-xx network, try switching the Access
Point/Direct Connect Mode button back and forth with the power on,
ending in the Direct Connect position.
- If the disconnects happen when
your smartphone or tablet screen turns off, check for an aggressive
battery saving app or setting which may be disabling WiFi on your
device.
- Some owners have reported that
disabling (turning off) Bluetooth on the tablet/smartphone improves
performance.
- If you operate your scope in
range of another WiFi network your tablet/smartphone is generally
connected to when you aren't using it with your scope (like your
home network) and you move out of range of the scope's WiFi (for
example, to go inside the house for a break), your tablet/smartphone
will likely reconnect to the other network. When that happens,
SkyPortal/SkySafari will think the scope has stopped responding
which will often result in a connection error message and loss of
alignment. You will then be forced to perform the alignment
routine again from the start. To prevent this, you should
"forget" the other network on your tablet/smartphone. In this
way, when you walk out of range of the scope's WiFi,
SkyPortal/SkySafari will recognize it should expect no communication
from the scope and it will wait patiently until you are back in
range of the scope's WiFi.
- If you are using SkySafari, try
different settings for how frequently it polls the scope for updated
location coordinates: tap Settings, Telescope Setup
and change the Readout Rate to something lower than the
default 4 per second. Some have found it necessary to go as
low as 1 per second. Note this setting is not currently
available in SkyPortal.
- When connecting to the
Celestron-xx or SkyQLink-xx WiFi network, newer versions of Android
may display a message warning that the WiFi network has no Internet
connection. You must check the box for Don't ask again for this
network and then tap Yes to confirm you want to stay
connected. If you do not follow these steps, it will appear as if
you are connected to the telescope's WiFi network but all
communication will be blocked by Android.
- When connecting to the
Celestron-xx or SkyQLink-xx WiFi network, newer versions of iOS may
not display the familiar WiFi icon in the status area. This
simply indicates the WiFi network has no Internet connection.
SkyPortal/SkySafari will still operate normally.
- Some of the first Evolution
mounts manufactured, mostly in the year 2014, used an older, less
powerful internal WiFi module and the physical location of the
module partially blocks the WiFi signal. If the signal from your
Evolution mount is very low as indicated on your tablet/smartphone,
you may want to purchase the external SkyPortal WiFi Module.
Plug it into any of the Aux ports on the mount and your
table/smartphone will see a different Celestron-XX network - connect
to that one instead of the mount's built-in network.
- Celestron's WiFi solution
supports two modes, you may try switching from the default Direct
Connect Mode to Access Point Mode, although this rarely
fixes disconnect problems:
- Direct Connect Mode -
presents a Celestron-xx or SkyQLink-xx network to which your
tablet/smartphone must connect. This is the default mode.
- Access Point Mode (called
infrastructure mode in some of the manuals) - the WiFi module in
the scope connects to another WiFi network, typically your home
WiFi router. Your tablet/smartphone are also connected to this
WiFi network and accesses the telescope via that network. Some
owners have had better success with Access Point Mode. To set
this up:
- Connect the SkyPortal
WiFi Module to the scope if applicable. Power up the scope.
- Connect to the
Celestron-xx or SkyQLink-xx direct connect network with your
tablet/smartphone.
- Open SkyPortal (or
SkySafari Plus/Pro).
- With current versions
of SkyPortal/SkySafari, you will need to tap Connect
but this was not always the case with older versions so it
may be possible in the future that you would not tap connect
for the following to work.
- Tap Settings,
then Communication in the Telescope section.
- Leave the communication
setting as Use Direct Connect and tap Configure
Access Point.
- Enter any required
security settings for the external WiFi network. Most
modern routers use WPA and require a SSID and
Passphrase for connection.
- Check the option for
DHCP Client unless you know otherwise.
- Tap Send
Configuration to WiFi module. If it is successful,
continue to the next step. If there is an error, be sure
the WiFi switch on the mount or SkyPortal WiFi Module is set
to Direct Connect (usually up). Power off the mount, exit
SkyPortal, power on the mount and start again. If you still
have problems, use a paperclip to press the WiFi reset
button on the mount/module.
- Change the
communication settings option in SkyPortal to Use Access
Point, change the WiFi switch on the mount or SkyPortal
WiFi Module to Access Point mode (usually down) and power
cycle the scope. The scope will now be connected to the
external WiFi network. Connect your table/phone to the same
WiFi source and you should be in business.
Hopefully one of these tips will resolve any issue you have.
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