NMEA4WIFI - recovery from lockout

Discussion and support for the Nmea4Wifi multiplexer - a 4-input Nmea 0183 wifi multiplexer.
Maudie-IV
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:33 pm

NMEA4WIFI - recovery from lockout

Post by Maudie-IV » Sun Jun 28, 2020 1:43 pm

Hi Luis
I have been using the NMEA4WIFI successfully on the bench, getting ready to put it on my boat with AIS input to talk to my iPad and Android phone Navionics app.
For no obvious reason I suddenly couldn't communicate with the NMEA unit ,either by wifi or usb. I reset the unit using the boot button several times but still no connection. In desperation I tried entering a different address into the browser, 192.168.4.2 which, of course, didn't work, but when I tried 192.168.4.1 again, thankfully it came back to life and appears now to be working correctly.
I wonder whether you have seen this problem before and know what to do to get out of it.
Also, what is the EN button on the Wems wifi board for?
Best wishes
Paul

Luis Sa
Site Admin
Posts: 843
Joined: Thu May 04, 2017 4:12 am

Re: NMEA4WIFI - recovery from lockout

Post by Luis Sa » Sun Jun 28, 2020 5:37 pm

Hello Paul,

It is the first time that someone refers a situation like yours. There are 2 reset buttons on the esp32 module.
  • The EN button just makes a reset. The multiplexer starts again using previous settings. It is the same as powering off an on again.
  • The BOOT button makes a hard reset. The multiplexer forgets the settings you may have introduced. It starts working as it leaves from me with default settings. It is the way you regain control over the unit if something goes wrong.
Regards and Good Health, Luis

PETERULPH
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2020 10:19 am

Re: NMEA4WIFI - recovery from lockout

Post by PETERULPH » Mon Jun 29, 2020 8:56 pm

Hi Luis,

I am having a similar nmea4wifi start issue.
After power-up I cannot reliably connect correctly via wifi. I have tried various devices, the result is the same. The SSID appears and I manage to connect but I don't get a DHCP IP address. After multiple power cycles it will eventually give me an IP address and I can get to 192.168.4.1.
No local wifi interference.
The BOOT reset method also works but this is awkward - since I have to open a cabinet and peal off the cover to get to the tiny reset button, takes time and patience. Can this issue be addressed? I am having to perform multiple power cycles to get the device running...that can't be right. Should I revert to a previous firmware..??

Version 3.4

Peter@ulph.eu

Luis Sa
Site Admin
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Re: NMEA4WIFI - recovery from lockout

Post by Luis Sa » Tue Jun 30, 2020 1:04 am

Hello,

I assume you are using the multiplexer as an AP only. The problem could be in the AP (the multiplexer) or in the stations (the devices that try to connect). Since the AP shows the SSID I won't think the problem is in the multiplexer. I test every unit by connecting to it using a laptop running W10 and also with an Android device. Some times I get something similar to what you describe but always I found that I forgot to set my PC not to connect automatically to my home wifi or when using the smartphone I forgot to set "mobile data off". This is because the stations prefer to connect to AP or routers that have Internet connection.

The WiFi functionality never changed since the first versions.

I am sorry for the bad experience you are having. I hope these notes could help.

Regards Luis

Maudie-IV
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:33 pm

Re: NMEA4WIFI - recovery from lockout

Post by Maudie-IV » Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:45 pm

Hello Luis
Although I haven't experienced the same problem as when I originally posted, I am now unable to pair the NMEA4wifi with Navionics Boating HD running on either my iPad or Android phone. I can login to the NMEA4 wifi and control the unit from both devices using their respective browsers but, when selecting 'paired devices' from the Boating HD menu, NMEA is not visible automatically. I could try manual connection but I don't recall the SSID although I think it started with 'Digital Yacht'. I assume the Host should be 196.168.4.1 and select UTP port 2000.
I suspect it's a problem with the Navionics app rather than your device as it worked fine for a while, and then stopped.
If I can't connect manually. and in the absence of any other ideas, I'll see if Navionics can help.
Many thanks
Paul

Luis Sa
Site Admin
Posts: 843
Joined: Thu May 04, 2017 4:12 am

Re: NMEA4WIFI - recovery from lockout

Post by Luis Sa » Fri Jul 03, 2020 5:35 pm

Hello Paul,

There are some topics in the forum on how to get AIS targets on Navionics. Please see this:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=115

Hope you get useful information.

Regards, Luis

Kernel
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2020 8:31 pm

Re: NMEA4WIFI - recovery from lockout

Post by Kernel » Mon Jul 06, 2020 8:50 am

PETERULPH wrote:
Mon Jun 29, 2020 8:56 pm
Hi Luis,

I am having a similar nmea4wifi start issue.
After power-up I cannot reliably connect correctly via wifi. I have tried various devices, the result is the same. The SSID appears and I manage to connect but I don't get a DHCP IP address. After multiple power cycles it will eventually give me an IP address and I can get to 192.168.4.1.
No local wifi interference.
The BOOT reset method also works but this is awkward - since I have to open a cabinet and peal off the cover to get to the tiny reset button, takes time and patience. Can this issue be addressed? I am having to perform multiple power cycles to get the device running...that can't be right. Should I revert to a previous firmware..??

Version 3.4

Peter@ulph.eu
Hi, Luis!

Yesterday I noticed the same problem as Peter: my Android phone was not able to get a stable connection to the multiplexer used as an AP.
My phone was the only device connected. The multiplexer is used to send the NMEA AIS data to Navionics.
I rebooted the multiplexer with no success then I made a BOOT reset but, as soon as I change the AP params, the connection is unreliable entering the connect/disconnect loop.
I tried:
* changing both SSID and password
* changing the password only using uppercase, lowercase and numbers (no symbol) with a length of 12
* changing the password only using uppercase, lowercase and numbers (no symbol) with a length of 8
* changing the password only using numbers with a lenght of 8
* disabling mobile data on the phone as suggested in a previous post

The only way it works is leaving the AP params unchanged.
Changing the NMEA to WiFi settings (port, protocol, baud rate) works as expected.

Before the CoViD lockdown and the maintenance period in the boatyard, everything was working.
Firmware was not updated after device shipment and it is version 3.1.

Any suggestion?

Best,
Roberto

Luis Sa
Site Admin
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Joined: Thu May 04, 2017 4:12 am

Re: NMEA4WIFI - recovery from lockout

Post by Luis Sa » Mon Jul 06, 2020 11:27 am

Hello Robert,

Thank you for your feedback. I test every unit using the default parameters and I try at least 2 power up occurrences.

You refer that the problem occurs when you change some WiFi settings. If you could describe precisely one of those changes that causes your device no to get a connection, I could repeat the experience here.

Tomorrow I will travel to Greece so it could take one or two days for me to come back here. Also I suggest to update the firmware to 3.4 which is the one I will check.

Having said that I am still convinced that the problem would be with the devices that try to connect to the multiplexer. The multiplexer uses a common module ESP32 which has been tested by millions of people. I am using standard coding on the WiFi part of the software but we never know.

Regards, Luis

Luis Sa
Site Admin
Posts: 843
Joined: Thu May 04, 2017 4:12 am

Re: NMEA4WIFI - recovery from lockout

Post by Luis Sa » Mon Jul 06, 2020 4:07 pm

Hello Robert (and others)

This is possible my last post from Portugal. Tomorrow morning I hope to be travelling to Greece. :)

It occurs to me the following situation that could explain what you are experiencing. Say you connected to ssid NMEA4WIFi with password 12345678 which is the default. The first time your device (laptop or smartphone) connected to the network you had to enter the password. Then if you switch the multiplexer OFF and then ON again it will connect automatically if you set the device to do so.

Now suppose that while you are connected you change the password. You can do that and change more parameters but for this problem only password and ssid matters. Now you switch the multiplexer OFF. Then ON again. This time the device will try to connect with the (old) password it has stored in memory (which is 12345678). It will not be able. Either it can go trying without success or give you a warning that authentication failed.

Therefore when you do changes like those above it is better to tell the device "to forget the old network". In that way if you click on the "new network" the device will ask you to enter the password as it is the first time it is connecting to the multiplexer network.

I hope this is useful. Regards, Luis

Kernel
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2020 8:31 pm

Re: NMEA4WIFI - recovery from lockout

Post by Kernel » Mon Jul 06, 2020 7:53 pm

Ciao, Luis!
Unfortunately I think that this is not a problem of device remembering the previous connection.
As soon as I change the AP params (SSID and password) I can connect to the AP (I mean the password is accepted) the device (Android phone) gets an IP address from the DHCP and then gets disconnected and then the loop begins: connection, IP, disconnection.

This happened as soon as I changed the password (I did not test leaving the password unchanged and updating only the SSID).

Tomorrow I will try to be on the boat to get the NMEA4WIFI device and bring it at home with me so that I can do some more tests.

Best,
Roberto

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