(Topic ID: 299309)

Stern Insider Connected

By anathematize

2 years ago


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#4001 1 year ago

Does anyone have an extra achievements topper for IC? If you do please reach out in message I would like to pick one up.

#4002 1 year ago
Quoted from barakandl:

To do the network update you will need to plug a scanner back in though before going into the network options menu.

what if your game was already set to auto update?

#4003 1 year ago
Quoted from TroyS:

Does anyone have an extra achievements topper for IC? If you do please reach out in message I would like to pick one up.

Contact Stern they should hook you up if you're a registered location.

#4004 1 year ago
Quoted from flynnibus:

what if your game was already set to auto update?

I've just been told that this will work. Set it once with the scanner connected, unplug scanner, auto updates continue. Haven't tried it myself yet.

#4005 1 year ago
Quoted from Palmer:

...so they can start charging subscription fees. Just kidding...kind of.

I for one am absolutely convinced this is their end goal. Or any type of reward in exchange of money (game content, etc). Or forcing operator to enable insider to bill games.

#4006 1 year ago
Quoted from yancy:

No reason I know of why the scanner node board is needed for network code updates. It's just a blanket no-can-do for the entre IC service menu without all three physical components.

They still don’t mind selling kits, this encourages that for having all games update easily IF you bought the kits.
Bond will be the 3rd game to ship with IC, it is creeping into the streets.
How long till the microcharges begin?….

#4007 1 year ago
Quoted from Ashram56:

I for one am absolutely convinced this is their end goal. Or any type of reward in exchange of money (game content, etc). Or forcing operator to enable insider to bill games.

This is the end goal of about everything nowadays. It's not about a one time purchase... it's the monthly income stream from a subscription.

#4008 1 year ago
Quoted from yancy:

I heard from someone who shall remain nameless that they are happy with the loophole and have no interest of closing it, since they want as many games online as possible.

Very good news and makes perfect sense from a business perspective.

#4009 1 year ago
Quoted from DNO:

They still don’t mind selling kits, this encourages that for having all games update easily IF you bought the kits.
Bond will be the 3rd game to ship with IC, it is creeping into the streets.
How long till the microcharges begin?….

Yup, Before you know it we will be choosing between the year vs monthly plans and having to pay extra to unlock the full features. Those scumbags!

#4010 1 year ago
Quoted from Bundy:

Very good news and makes perfect sense from a business perspective.

Especially considering every new machine is coming with IC anyway. Also, I'm glad it's there currently because it's harder to take a "feature" away than to never provide it in the first place.

#4011 1 year ago

Anyone else’s scanner LED light flicker constantly?

#4012 1 year ago
Quoted from Bos98:Anyone else’s scanner LED light flicker constantly?

Many scanners out there with failing LED's. The LED usually ends up dying altogether. Put in a ticket, they will replace it.

#4013 1 year ago
Quoted from J85M:

New code today? Wonder if they patched out the home team work around for IC, worth checking before anyone upgrades.

Quoted from Bundy:

Let's hope not. Should be in their interest that as many as possible is using Insider connected.
I will not by kits for all my "old" machines at retail but with this solution I can use IC on all.

I've seen a few people mention the home team workaround - I assume this means using one IC kit to register games without IC kits, and then setting up home team on those machines so that you can keep using IC without the QR scanner being installed on the machine?

If so, does anyone have a guide re the easiest way to do this?

#4014 1 year ago
Quoted from davegauth:

There are many ways to do this - I did a summary a couple months ago with the different options and pro's and cons. (click my silhouette, and go back a few posts)
A big question you need to ask yourself is - Do you need it to turn on and off automatically, or will someone be there to turn the TV on and off everyday? This kind of drives the primary direction you need to go in. The next question is do you just want to display the leaderboard, or do you want it to also display digital signage too? Answering these questions first will point you to the setup you will need.

post #3320 should be added to the key posts list. Thank you for your work on this Dave!

Quoted from davegauth:

As a follow up for operator looking to install Leaderboards on location.
Summary first: I'm going with Option 1 below. I like the idea of making additional signage/advertising that can be rotated on the display. Different leaderboards can also be rotated on the display. Being able to turn on and off wby themselves is also a big plus. One twist I will try is to use an HDMI splitter so 1 account can run 2 displays. I'll grab a couple of TV's on Prime day too...
Option 1 - Setup a Leader Board using Yodek (Sign Service, using Rasberry Pi) - 1 free Screen, Can get a Rasberry Pi included with yearly subscription, can turn Tv on and off at set times. Because it is a signage service, you can do a ton more than just.
https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Quick-Start-Yodeck-Insider-Connected-Leaderboard-Operator-Set-up-Guide.pdf
Option 2 - Using Android TV This link shows how to use the ONN stick or box connected to your TV. I do not know if this can turn on and off your TV, or if the APP will automatically launch on start up.
https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Quick-Start-Android-TV-Insider-Connected-Leaderboard-Operator-Set-up-Guide.pdf
Option 3 - Just use a Smart TV and use the/a web browser app in it to display the website. This works, as I tried it on my home TV - but it's cumbersome as you will need to turn the TV on and navigate to the Browser APP every time you turn it on.
Option 4 - Use a Fire TV stick or a Tv running Fire TV and download the Simple Tv Display app($20). This is supposed to automatically boot and default to the web page. Not sure if the Fire Tv's cna be set to turn on and off by themselves at set times though. A big consideration is Amazon prime day is just a week away and all the Amazon Fire TV devices and Tv's will probably be available for a big discount.

#4015 1 year ago
Quoted from JustLikeMe:

I've seen a few people mention the home team workaround - I assume this means using one IC kit to register games without IC kits, and then setting up home team on those machines so that you can keep using IC without the QR scanner being installed on the machine?
If so, does anyone have a guide re the easiest way to do this?

It's simple, buy a cheap wifi dongle ( I use these ones .. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B015TCA2EM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and Micro SD card ( I use these ... https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08GY9NYRM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) and plug them both into the main spike 2 board. Plug the scanner in borrowed from another machine, to a free RJ45 socket ( the node board under the playfield near the flippers or a free one ON THE LOWER EDGE of the main board in the head. Boot up and configure. Remove scanner and enjoy playing your machine loging in via Hometeam with no scanner connected.

#4016 1 year ago
Quoted from TeeJayN:

The Easiest may not be the Best. The easiest is to lift a few staples from one of the bottom cabinet air holes and shove the cable through. I preferred using a real LAN jack on the back of the cabinet. Or you can do the same on the cabinet bottom if preferred. Yes, it takes a few dollars and more time but the final install is clean and conveniently functional.
Of course YMMV.[quoted image]

as much as they charge for these games, this should be factory. On every version of the game. When you have a 200% markup on every game out the door, you can afford a .87 cent change.

#4017 1 year ago
Quoted from Kevlar:

It's simple, buy a cheap wifi dongle ( I use these ones .. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B015TCA2EM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and Micro SD card ( I use these ... https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08GY9NYRM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) and plug them both into the main spike 2 board. Plug the scanner in borrowed from another machine, to a free RJ45 socket ( the node board under the playfield near the flippers or a free one ON THE LOWER EDGE of the main board in the head. Boot up and configure. Remove scanner and enjoy playing your machine loging in via Hometeam with no scanner connected.

Cheers, much appreciated. So the IC kit can be powered by one game, and connected to the other via RJ45? No need to remove from one game and install on another?

Also - if a high score is set on an IC game when it isn't online, is that score erased when it next connects? I've had high scores disappear a couple of times now and I can't think of another explanation.

#4018 1 year ago
Quoted from NeilMcRae:

the .98 code has been fine for me.
I have a feeling your dongle is on the way out. try it in the other USB port on the board and see if that makes a difference, I've had a few of them just die on me with symptoms not a mile away from yours.

Quoted from SonicZone:

This is what I put into my AS Pro during the IC install instead of the Stern-supplied one (other Pinsiders are using it as well) -- works perfect, haven't had one connection issue with it:
TP-Link TL-WN725N
amazon.com link »
Do NOT get the "newer model version" further down the page, that newer one is known to likely not work with IC/Spike 2.

This dongle arrived today and it does seem to connect - but I have to do it manually when I switch the game on by testing the connection. Most of the time server loopback still reports no connection, but I get a CDN speed test value and after the test it reports as connected to IC. I have a Deadpool Premium with IC right next to GZ and that hasn't had a single issue since day one. Not sure where to go from here.

#4019 1 year ago

PinballHaven Thank you,

OPERATORS....

I do have some updates to that post(#3320), I should probably create a new one with the new information.

Just FYI - I am using the Yodek player. I purchased the Rasbery pie from Yodek and have it on the 1 free account. I ran into trouble getting it to turn the TV on and off.
* Your TV needs to have HDMI with CEC. most do, but some don't. Also you need to ensure CEC is enabled in the settings of the TV.
* You need to make sure your TV is not running in eco mode(change it in TV settings). Eco mode turns off the standby aspect of the TV to save power. This means it will not see the signal the Yodek player sends to the TV to turn on and off.
* You must keep your TV plugged in to constant power. I have everything on a smart timer. But with my particular TV when the power is cut(like a smart plug does) the TV defaults to OFF... I mean fully OFF. It will not go back into standby type modes until you physically turn it back on manually. The Yodek player will not be able to turn it back on until it's back in the standby type mode.

Different TV's may react differently. But these are the gotchas I ran into. (Vizio)

What I do.... The Brewery hours are 12-10pm. I have the TV plugged directly into a wall outlet, with no smart timer. The Yodek player is connected to the smart timer that turns off at 10:05pm, and back on at 12pm the next day. I have the Yodek scheduled to turn the TV off at 10PM at night, this puts the TV into standby mode. I then have the Yodek schedule set to turn the TV on at 12:05pm the next day. When power returns to the Yodek player at 12:00pm it has 5 minutes to ensure it is fully booted and online before it signals the TV to turn on.

So far, this has worked great. I no longer physically need to go there and get everything running and/or shut down(or rely on the staff). I can check in on a video camera to ensure everything is up and running just in case.

#4020 1 year ago
Quoted from davegauth:

Plungerboy Thank you,
OPERATORS....
I do have some updates to that post(#3320), I should probably create a new one with the new information.
Just FYI - I am using the Yodek player. I purchased the Rasbery pie from Yodek and have it on the 1 free account. I ran into trouble getting it to turn the TV on and off.
* Your TV needs to have HDMI with CEC. most do, but some don't. Also you need to ensure CEC is enabled in the settings of the TV.
* You need to make sure your TV is not running in eco mode(change it in TV settings). Eco mode turns off the standby aspect of the TV to save power. This means it will not see the signal the Yodek player send to the Tv to turn on and off.
* You must keep your TV plugged in to constant power. I have everything on a smart timer. But with my particular TV when the power is cut(like a smart plug does) the TV defaults to OFF... I mean fully OFF. It will not go back into standby type modes until you physically turn the back on manually. The Yodek player will not be able to turn it back on until it's back in the standby type mode.
Different TV's may react differently. But these are the gotchas I ran into.
What I do.... The Brewery hours are 12-10pm. I have the TV plugged directly into a wall outlet, with no smart timer. The Yodek player is connected to the smart timer that turns off at 10:05pm, and back on at 12pm the next day. I have the Yodek scheduled to turn the TV off at 10PM at night, this puts the TV into standby mode. I then have the Yodek schedule set to turn the TV on at 12:05pm the next day. When power returns to the Yodek player at 12:00pm it has 5 minutes to ensure it is fully booted and online before it signals the TV to turn on.
So far, this has worked great. I no longer physically need to go there and get everything running and/or shut down(or rely on the staff). I can check in on a video camera to ensure everything is up and running just in case.

Why are you plugging your yodeck player into the smart timer and taking it offline? That just makes your world more complicated. Keep the yodeck player online all the time so you can manage it, push updates, etc whenever you want.

The challenges are that most TVs have a variety of settings and they can all behave differently, even with CEC. Each TV will likely need its own set of behavior workarounds... unless you are working with nice commercial grade stuff.

For instance my TCL TV had standby power control, and separate controls to always goto a fixed input on power up. CEC powers the TV down fine. But when CEC powers the TV on, it goes to a menu/input select page.. and NOT the input automatically... even through the TV has auto-switch inputs as well. If you do a power on/off via remote... works fine.. but via CEC power on, it doesn't switch to the input automatically.

But I found that if I power cycle the pi box... the auto-sense input behavior DOES work. So my solution was simply turn TV on at top of the hour, 2mins later schedule a restart of the player. Set TV off at end of day.

Another tip is that not all TVs support CEC on all inputs.. you may find you have to use your ARC enabled HDMI input for CEC control.

#4021 1 year ago
Quoted from JustLikeMe:

Cheers, much appreciated. So the IC kit can be powered by one game, and connected to the other via RJ45? No need to remove from one game and install on another?
Also - if a high score is set on an IC game when it isn't online, is that score erased when it next connects? I've had high scores disappear a couple of times now and I can't think of another explanation.

Correct, no need to physically remove the scanner, just run a cable. It's quite fiddly trying to unplug and plug a cable into the scanner with it in place though, I use a RJ45 coupler to join another cable to the short cable, unplugging that from the node board which is easier to get to.

#4022 1 year ago
Quoted from JustLikeMe:

So the IC kit can be powered by one game, and connected to the other via RJ45?

RJ45 is the sole connection for power & data. It only looks like ethernet.

#4023 1 year ago
Quoted from CaptainNeo:

as much as they charge for these games, this should be factory. On every version of the game. When you have a 200% markup on every game out the door, you can afford a .87 cent change.

200% markup? I highly doubt that. Material wise they probably don’t have much in them but the money is in the r&d and tech. I’d bet you’d be surprised how much they don’t make on a game

#4024 1 year ago

Sure is cool having four games downloading software at the same time. It also drives home the point of how slow these Stern wifi dongles are. Being so tiny and inside a metal backbox doesn't help. Has anyone tried one the adapters with an antenna instead? I'd rather do that route than connecting to ethernet, though ethernet is not out of the question...

#4025 1 year ago
Quoted from OutlawTorn304:

200% markup? I highly doubt that. Material wise they probably don’t have much in them but the money is in the r&d and tech. I’d bet you’d be surprised how much they don’t make on a game

actually 200% is very forgiving. I think you would be surprised at what the actual cost of materials and labor is to make one. I've done purchasing before, and parts cost is way less than you can imagine.

#4026 1 year ago

Sure, but what about the salaries of people who design them? There's an entire team just for video assets, not counting the traditional pinball design team. Another group of folks working on IC (whether we want that add-on is a different discussion). It's a probably a full-time job for one person just to crank out what passes for a manual these days.

Customers demanded video and innovation. They got both; now they're paying for it.

#4027 1 year ago
Quoted from finman2000:

Many scanners out there with failing LED's. The LED usually ends up dying altogether. Put in a ticket, they will replace it.

Indeed they are sending a replacement.

#4028 1 year ago
Quoted from John_I:

Sure is cool having four games downloading software at the same time. It also drives home the point of how slow these Stern wifi dongles are. Being so tiny and inside a metal backbox doesn't help. Has anyone tried one the adapters with an antenna instead? I'd rather do that route than connecting to ethernet, though ethernet is not out of the question...

I'd use ethernet thru power wire adapters in the house to a router.

#4029 1 year ago
Quoted from John_I:

Has anyone tried one the adapters with an antenna instead?

You can experiment with other adapters but I’d be surprised if there is a huge library of drivers in Stern’s OS. There are some relatively cheap USB adapter that support the AC wireless standard now, try a couple of them if your router supports it.

#4030 1 year ago

Sometimes I wonder if some of the slow download speeds are attributed to slow Stern servers.

I've noticed downloading code on the day its released is really slow - but downloading it a few days later goes significantly faster.

#4031 1 year ago
Quoted from John_I:

Sure is cool having four games downloading software at the same time. It also drives home the point of how slow these Stern wifi dongles are. Being so tiny and inside a metal backbox doesn't help. Has anyone tried one the adapters with an antenna instead? I'd rather do that route than connecting to ethernet, though ethernet is not out of the question...

I'd just get a USB extension cable and place the Wifi dongle in the cab instead of the backbox. Or better yet, place a WiFi repeater in the same room as the pins w/the WiFi dongle - signal will be plenty strong.

#4032 1 year ago
Quoted from davegauth:

Sometimes I wonder if some of the slow download speeds are attributed to slow Stern servers.
I've noticed downloading code on the day its released is really slow - but downloading it a few days later goes significantly faster.

That may be part of it, but it is definitely the case that the wifi implementation for the Stern games is pitiful, and is most commonly the main root of the problem.

When I updated my Rush to 0.98, I tried using wifi first. I have multiple access points in my house, good wifi coverage everywhere, and yet the machine downloading the update was going so slow it was probably going to be a full day before it got everything. I downloaded the files for a USB-drive update using my laptop, also over wifi, and got the whole update in 30 minutes.

Now, that download wasn't immediately after release, so I wasn't suffering from congestion at Stern's servers. I'm not saying that couldn't also sometimes be a problem. But the fact is, even when everything upstream of your wifi access point is behaving properly, downloads via the machine's wifi are often still going to be really slow.

#4033 1 year ago
Quoted from davegauth:

Plungerboy Thank you,
I do have some updates to that post, I should probably create a new one with the new information.
Just FYI - I am using the Yodek player. I purchased the Rasbery pie from Yodek and have it on the 1 free account. I ran into trouble getting it to turn the Tv on and off.
* Your TV needs to have HDMI with CEC. most do, but some don't. Also you need to ensure CEC is enabled in the settings of the TV.
* You need to make sure your Tv is not in Eco mode. Eco mode turns off the standby aspect of the TV to save power. This means it will not see the signal the Yodek player send to the Tv to turn on and off.
* You must keep your TV plugged in to constant power. I have everything on a smart timer. But with my particular TV when the power is cut(like a smart plug does) the TV defaults to OFF... I mean fully OFF. It will not go back into standby type modes until you physically turn the back on manually. The Yodek player will not be able to turn it back on until it's back in the standby type mode.
Different TV's may react differently. But these are the gotchas I ran into.
What I do.... The Brewery hours are 12-10pm. I have the TV plugged directly into a wall outlet, with no smart timer. The Yodek player is connected to the smart timer that turns off at 10:05pm, and back on at 12pm the next day. I have the Yodek scheduled to turn the TV off at 10PM at night, this puts the TV into standby mode. I then have the Yodek schedule set to turn the TV on at 12:05pm the next day. When power returns to the Yodek player at 12:00pm it has 5 minutes to ensure it is fully booted and online before it signals the TV to turn on.
So far, this has worked great. I no longer need to check in and get everything running and/or shut down(or rely on the staff). I can check in on a video camera to ensure everything is up and running just in case.

I am working on setting up the ONN device for one location today, seems to work fine with the Stern guide my only observation so far is the ODIN browser they recommend doesn't have a usable text resizing option. It jumps from 100% to 150% scale which is unusable.

My other location has a leaderboard up and running but the venue owner set it all up on a TV I provided so I don't have the specs there but I will get them and post back here for reference.

#4034 1 year ago

And this starts now....:

https://www.thisweekinpinball.com/james-bond-007-pinball-deep-dive/

This little sentence: " Insider Connected players have access to Top Secret “Eyes Only” Assignments "

Guess how long it will take for this access to be "paid suscribers only"...

#4035 1 year ago
Quoted from Ashram56:

And this starts now....:
https://www.thisweekinpinball.com/james-bond-007-pinball-deep-dive/
This little sentence: " Insider Connected players have access to Top Secret “Eyes Only” Assignments "
Guess how long it will take for this access to be "paid suscribers only"...

Insider Connected only = not in tournament play
Insider Connected PAIDED only = NO HOPE of beeing in tournament play

#4036 1 year ago
Quoted from Joe_Blasi:

Insider Connected only = not in tournament play
Insider Connected PAIDED only = NO HOPE of beeing in tournament play

OK, but personally, regardless of tournament play, given the price of a pinball machine, I would expect a full featured experienced, not having to add monthly premium to it...

#4037 1 year ago
Quoted from Ashram56:

OK, but personally, regardless of tournament play, given the price of a pinball machine, I would expect a full featured experienced, not having to add monthly premium to it...

Like not having to buy a topper for an extra mode in AIQ?

#4038 1 year ago
Quoted from Fezmid:

Like not having to buy a topper for an extra mode in AIQ?

Did not know about that topper story, but yes that would apply as well

#4039 1 year ago
Quoted from Kevlar:

Anyone having trouble with the badges? Specifically the day streak, I've definitely played every day for maybe a week, just looked and it says my streak is 0. I always log in.

I had the same thing happen, I opened an incident with Stern and did not hear back. Best I can tell is since you can login last, like ball three in a game you need to make sure your game posts on Insider. Don’t trust that it will send in..

#4040 1 year ago
Quoted from TroyS:

I had the same thing happen, I opened an incident with Stern and did not hear back. Best I can tell is since you can login last, like ball three in a game you need to make sure your game posts on Insider. Don’t trust that it will send in..

I've given up on these badges, they're pretty pointless anyway. This day streak badge is really a waste of time for me anyway, even if I tried hard to make sure I played within 24hours this can only last so long, maybe a few weeks before I'm away from home for a few days with no sign of a pinball machine.

#4041 1 year ago
Quoted from mbwalker:

I'd just get a USB extension cable and place the Wifi dongle in the cab instead of the backbox. Or better yet, place a WiFi repeater in the same room as the pins w/the WiFi dongle - signal will be plenty strong.

The hole for the topper if no topper is installed is easy to pop out and then gives much more signal once outside the metal backbox.

#4042 1 year ago
Quoted from HighProtein:

The hole for the topper if no topper is installed is easy to pop out and then gives much more signal once outside the metal backbox.

I would think the backbox translite is transparent at 2.4GHz (in one direction). But to your point, on top would be excellent.

#4043 1 year ago

Thinking of just giving up on Insider Connected. My first IC machine, Deadpool Prem, worked flawlessly. Connected instantly first time and hasn’t had any issues since. My second IC machine, Godzilla Prem, is immediately next to Deadpool and connected to the same AP. I was able to register the machine to my account on the first try, but the machine just doesn’t want to hold a connection. It never connects to IC when I switch it on - I have to go into the menu and manually test the connection, after which it reports as connected around 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time it just won’t connect until I power cycle the machine. Sometimes when it reports as connected it still says the machine isn’t online when I scan my QR code / does nothing when I hold the flipper button for home team. Even when it does connect properly I get server loopback: no connection 99% of the time. I’ve also lost high scores that were set when the machine wasn’t connected when it next manages to connect - is this normal? I’ve bought a new Wi-Fi dongle (TP-Link TL-WN725N) that was suggested as a replacement in this thread which I’ve tried in both USB ports and I’m still having the exact same issues.

Yesterday I used the Home Team workaround to try to get EHOH connected. Again, I was able to link the machine to my account on the first attempt, and enabled home team just fine. However, after power cycling the game I’m having the same problems - have to manually test the connection to get it to connect around 50% of the time. When the QR reader from GZ isn’t connected it won’t even let me test the connection - reports that the SD card and Wi-Fi dongle are installed but says I need the QR reader to connect.

I’m at a loss. I’ve checked the guided setup options on Deadpool as that’s worked fine since day one and noticed that I hadn’t changed the location of the machine from USA to UK, but even after changing both GZ and EHOH to USA I get the same exact problem, although the first time I tested the connection on GZ after making that change I did get a result for server loopback on test. After that first test though it went back to reporting no connection. Does anyone have any suggestions or should I just deregister all the games and give up?

Edit - here are some photos:

Deadpool:

About page - After connecting to IC when machine switched on:

090EFAD3-411C-4347-B72C-416C3A17FF67 (resized).jpeg090EFAD3-411C-4347-B72C-416C3A17FF67 (resized).jpeg

Connection Test:

269A2912-CED1-44D1-9671-17D37C5B19B3 (resized).jpeg269A2912-CED1-44D1-9671-17D37C5B19B3 (resized).jpeg

GZ:

About page - after not connecting to IC when machine switched on:

ED29809D-A4F5-4658-B590-62381C3D8768 (resized).jpegED29809D-A4F5-4658-B590-62381C3D8768 (resized).jpeg

Connection Test:

8C4BA080-5508-4DC8-9D78-52C3BB9254C0 (resized).jpeg8C4BA080-5508-4DC8-9D78-52C3BB9254C0 (resized).jpeg

Elvira:

Screen when I select network despite previously registering to IC and setting up home team:

21D632BE-5E5D-4D7E-90B2-A1ACF45C49C0 (resized).jpeg21D632BE-5E5D-4D7E-90B2-A1ACF45C49C0 (resized).jpeg

#4044 1 year ago
Quoted from JustLikeMe:

Thinking of just giving up on Insider Connected. My first IC machine, Deadpool Prem, worked flawlessly. Connected instantly first time and hasn’t had any issues since. My second IC machine, Godzilla Prem, is immediately next to Deadpool and connected to the same AP. I was able to register the machine to my account on the first try, but the machine just doesn’t want to hold a connection. It never connects to IC when I switch it on - I have to go into the menu and manually test the connection, after which it reports as connected around 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time it just won’t connect until I power cycle the machine. Sometimes when it reports as connected it still says the machine isn’t online when I scan my QR code / does nothing when I hold the flipper button for home team. Even when it does connect properly I get server loopback: no connection 99% of the time. I’ve also lost high scores that were set when the machine wasn’t connected when it next manages to connect - is this normal? I’ve bought a new Wi-Fi dongle (TP-Link TL-WN725N) that was suggested as a replacement in this thread which I’ve tried in both USB ports and I’m still having the exact same issues.
Yesterday I used the Home Team workaround to try to get EHOH connected. Again, I was able to link the machine to my account on the first attempt, and enabled home team just fine. However, after power cycling the game I’m having the same problems - have to manually test the connection to get it to connect around 50% of the time. When the QR reader from GZ isn’t connected it won’t even let me test the connection - reports that the SD card and Wi-Fi dongle are installed but says I need the QR reader to connect.
I’m at a loss. I’ve checked the guided setup options on Deadpool as that’s worked fine since day one and noticed that I hadn’t changed the location of the machine from USA to UK, but even after changing both GZ and EHOH to USA I get the same exact problem, although the first time I tested the connection on GZ after making that change I did get a result for server loopback on test. After that first test though it went back to reporting no connection. Does anyone have any suggestions or should I just deregister all the games and give up?

Have you tried taking the wifi dongle from Deadpool and installing it in Godzilla? I know you tried a new dongle but using one that you know works on another game is a good baseline. Where is your router? Are Godzilla and EHOH physically farther away or have any obstructions that your DP does not?

#4045 1 year ago
Quoted from Palmer:

Have you tried taking the wifi dongle from Deadpool and installing it in Godzilla? I know you tried a new dongle but using one that you know works on another game is a good baseline. Where is your router? Are Godzilla and EHOH physically farther away or have any obstructions that your DP does not?

The AP is maybe 4-5m away in the same room. Direct line of sight with no obstructions. When I first set GZ up it was closer to the AP than DP - only a few feet away - and I had the exact same problem. At the moment GZ is immediately to the right of DP, so perhaps a couple of feet further away from the AP, but if you have a look at the images I posted above both the signal strength and CDN speed test results are higher on GZ than DP, probably because of the better quality Wi-Fi dongle. EHOH is directly to the right of GZ.

I’ll try using the DP dongle, but it seems strange that the one in GZ reports better signal and speed test but still doesn’t work as well.

#4046 1 year ago

Next time one fails, leave power on and swap the dongle from one USB port to the other. I think the MPU boards get confused sometimes (software bug) and doing the swap allows the USB driver to update and correct the hardware configuration with power on. This worked for my LZ and never had these issues again.

#4047 1 year ago
Quoted from John_I:

Next time one fails, leave power on and swap the dongle from one USB port to the other. I think the MPU boards get confused sometimes (software bug) and doing the swap allows the USB driver to update and correct the hardware configuration with power on. This worked for my LZ and never had these issues again.

So switch GZ on, and when it fails to connect on power up switch the dongle to the other USB port? Will give it a go - did you then power cycle the machine or just test connection again?

Edit - just gave this a try. GZ didn’t connect when I switched it on, so I swapped the dongle over to the other USB port. It then reported that it was connected to the AP, but no IP address set.

FF90C082-F651-4243-810B-0CBE0AC0C01D (resized).jpegFF90C082-F651-4243-810B-0CBE0AC0C01D (resized).jpeg

1791ACC8-3ABE-4006-97C3-579B8238286A (resized).jpeg1791ACC8-3ABE-4006-97C3-579B8238286A (resized).jpeg

0BF2D978-EE0F-4AC3-B41C-9D9B45577D41 (resized).jpeg0BF2D978-EE0F-4AC3-B41C-9D9B45577D41 (resized).jpeg

I reset the Wi-Fi dongle via the options, reconnected to the AP via the QR code from Deadpool, and I’m back to where I started - the machine doesn’t connect on boot, but does connect after testing the connection. Still gives no connection for server loopback.

Will try the DP dongle next.

#4048 1 year ago

Now I’m really confused. This is the dongle that came with GZ Prem:

0D452CD5-F237-4980-87CB-9A7080989579 (resized).jpeg0D452CD5-F237-4980-87CB-9A7080989579 (resized).jpeg

And this is the ‘dongle’ that came with DP Prem:

2B9EB41C-40C8-42B8-A726-C537B3963243 (resized).jpeg2B9EB41C-40C8-42B8-A726-C537B3963243 (resized).jpeg

One of these is not like the other. Strange part is I’m still getting better connection strength and speed test on GZ than I am on DP!

#4049 1 year ago
Quoted from JustLikeMe:

One of these is not like the other. Strange part is I’m still getting better connection strength and speed test on GZ than I am on DP!

In the beginning there were lots of reports of machines coming out with different Wi-Fi adapters. Lots speculated supply chain but could also be that they wanted to test different models in real environments.

#4050 1 year ago

Bizarre occurance for me last night...EHOH w Topper......game was playing perfectly, (IC) connecting fine, until last update. Now, boot game, everything good...first time I get Wild Women Multiball, topper engages, but then goes dark for remainder of game (IC still connected), reboot = identical.

Run Node test, all good. Decide to restart and disable IC, game, topper, etc. perform flawlessly. Thinking a bug in this last drop....

Anyone else drop a board (just knock it off the bus) on any game after this latest update? Really like the feature, and hoping a later release fixes it.

Best place to report?...thx

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