No luck with Android, iOS A-OK

[Paul K]

Spent about 2 hours getting acquainted with HM7000 today. NXT18 decoder install in a TT120 A1 took all of 5 minutes, so that was great. Unfortunately, the next hour or so was spent fighting with the app on my Android phone (Pixel 7). It detected the decoder when first scanned, failed on a required firmware update, and then went into a loop of saying the decoder needed to be reset, resetting it, scanning, detecting it as needing to be reset, etc. Multiple power cycles of both phone and decoder had no effect.

Happily, switching to (the wife's) iPad achieved a good result. Decoder detected, linked, and firmware updated without issue. Loco profile and sound pack for TT FS installed on the first attempt. Was able to set everything up and do a little static running in and sound testing.

It really is fantastic once it all works! I wish I knew why it didn't on Android, but luckily I have iOS devices too, seems that's the more reliable choice for now...

[SteveM6]

That reset loop is a known issue - power off the app, phone and decoder and it will break the loop and should now show as a linkable device in the app.

Remember that all permissions on the phone need to be switched on and that as the decoder is now linked to the iPad, you will need to unlink it before attempting android again.

[Brew Man]

It sounds from the OP's post that he'd linked to the iPad in the first place, then tried to link the same decoder to his Pixel 7, then reverted to his iPad. So, as you say, Steve he needs to unlink the iPad first before continuing.

[SteveM6]

I wondered that as well BM but the procedure we have suggested should sort it out. The test team believe that the Pixel 7 should not have any compatibility issues.

[Brew Man]

I should hope not, it's not long out.

[Paul K]

That reset loop is a known issue - power off the app, phone and decoder and it will break the loop and should now show as a linkable device in the app.

I had seen that in a post here and tried it multiple times, with no effect. Even after shutting the phone down and removing the loco from the track for a few minutes, it would only come up as a "resettable device" on a fresh scan.

To be clear, I tried linking the decoder to my Pixel as the first device out of the package, it was not previously linked to the iPad, or any other control device. Only after getting stuck in the reset loop, and being unable to break it with power cycling did I then attempt to link to the iPad.

The iPad detected the decoder as "linkable" on the first scan, and linking plus all the following steps to load a loco profile and run it worked on the first go after that, so I think there was no fault in the decoder.

If the Hornby team have any further insight, I'm happy to do a little testing and report back, but at this point I'm also pretty happy to run the train from the iPad, with its bigger screen.

 

 

[Brew Man]

Don't suppose you have another Android device you could try. It would be useful for the development team to know if there is a compatibility issue with the Pixel.

[Paul K]

I have an old Pixel 2 and a Pixel 3 still in the house. I didn't try them yet as I assumed their age might preclude compatibility with mesh type BT.

[SteveM6]

Glad you have got it working on the iPad Paul but it would be good to determine the compatibility or otherwise of the Pixel 7.

If you have time could you uninstall the app from the phone then switch on all permissions on the settings page then reinstall the app. Open the app which should indicate, if successfully loaded, that all is good.

Unlink/unassign a decoder from the iPad then run a scan on the Pixel to see if it will pick it up, then report back.