PB will not connect to Network

Troubleshooting
1

I have a PB V3.6 that has developed a problem.

I have been using this unit as kind of a floating test unit so it has been connected to a few different LED projects.

I recently bought an8x8x8 cube from Evil Genius and this is where the issue came up.

I loaded his “software” for the cube into the PB and it all worked fine except that the unit would not show up on my list of WiFi devices. Odd. Every other PB I have set-up and run stays on the network.

After much messing about I tried using the button on the PB to reset it. I press the button for five seconds and the orange LED blinks once. If I continue to hold it the unit blinks as long as I hold the button. When I release the button it blinks three times.

I can then enter the WiFi set-up mode. I give my routers address and password and connect. All is fine. The PB shows up in my list of WiFi nodes but when I try and connect I get an error message.

At this point the PB is no longer running the 8x8x8 software. And I cannot connect to it to do anything. It’s effectively a zombie unit, showing no signs of life other than a glowing orange LED.

I have been powering the unit with a USB 5V source or a well regulated H/P power supply.
The voltage on the PB is 5.1 or so volts.

Any suggestions? To me it looks like the 8x8x8 software screwed a previously functional PB in some way.

By the way, what is the accepted terminology for the “program” that is loaded onto a PB from a .pbb file?

And what is the terminology for the PB site that loads after the spinning cube?

Cheers.

2

If you can get to the “spinning cube”, I would use the /recovery tool and downgrade the firmware. As long as it will open for you and you have enough free space it should work. If you search through the forum there will be other firmware releases that you can download and use.

I call the program the firmware and the site it loads - the web interface.

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3

Can you give some more detail on how you are trying to connect? Is this through the discovery service, or from your router’s client list? What error message do you get?

The “.pbb” files are “pixelblaze backup” files, and contain an archive of patterns and configuration settings, but does not contain wifi passwords. These are restored on the settings tab.

The app and functionality that gives you the nice wifi setup screen is the same app that has the full interface, its just a limited mode during wifi setup.

There is another app installed that you can access at /recovery (add that at the end of IP address in the URL). The recovery app can be used if the main app has been lost for some reason, and allows wifi setup and can load firmware.

Since you can get through wifi setup, I don’t think the main app is missing or damaged, and I wouldn’t mess with changing the firmware.

What I would try is doing wifi setup again, but this time put it in AP mode, using a unique wifi name. Once in AP mode, you can then switch your device over to that network and access it at

http://192.168.4.1

If that loads fine and you can interact with the interface, then the PB itself is OK. I would expect that, since its more or less the same as the wifi setup situation. In this mode you can try to figure out why your cube’s LEDs might not be working. That might be an unrelated issue, or you might find that some patterns or brightness settings are unstable, which would point to a power supply issue.

Why would it work in AP mode, but not connected to your network? This could be that the connection between the PB and your router isn’t strong enough for normal operation. Sometimes that’s power related, and sometimes its just the physical location (of the cube, or PB within the cube). Wires and metal tend to mess with wifi signals.

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4

Thanks for the information. Since I posted this I ran across another forum thread that talked about using AP. I tried this and I can now access the PB. Incidentally, the cube has been working fine, I just could not do anything to edit it ie add effects, change brightness etc.

I will mess with it more but after using about a half dozen PB all in Client Mode it is strange that this PB (after it was loaded with the 8x8x8 firmware) doesn’t connect. Incidentally, I have a spare PB that I loaded with the 8x8x8 firmware and it has the same problem.

It’s also not a location problem. The other PB in Client mode can be accessed from various locations around my house. The two PB with the 8x8x8 firmware can be six feet from my router and I still cannot use Client Mode.

The one thing I’d like to try is to “erase” all traces of the 8x8x8 firmware from my PB but I don’t know if this can be done. Kind of a factory reset…it’s just kind of weird to have these two PB that act differently than all my other units. I’d ideally like things to be consistent…

Cheers.

5

There is nothing about the cube backup that you restored that should impact what you are seeing.

The backup files do not contain firmware. Just patterns, config like led settings, and pixel maps. None of that should impact your ability to connect.

However, physically installing it could impact the WiFi reception in some way. As could the additional load of the LEDs.

You could try lowering brightness as an easy way to see if less load on the power supply improves things. Try setting max brightness to 5% on the settings page, then use the WiFi tab to change it to client mode, connecting it to your router.

Also worth rebooting the router. In some cases they can take issue with some clients and need a reboot.

1 Like
6

Thanks again.

The power supply idea is interesting but unlikely. After several “brownout” experiences with PB installation I now do my initial set-up without any LEDs.

So I may try try rebooting of the router but may not.

I don’t see any showstopping differences so far using AP mode with my home based
light projects. I read the description of AP vs Client mode and understand what that difference is. I still don’t understand what the practical consequences are of each mode.
Maybe I’ll find out over time…

I’m done at this point. Thanks again.

Cheers.

7

The main difference is that you have to switch over to another network to do anything. If you don’t need to jump in the interface that often you aren’t missing out. If you have a bunch of PB and want to change things often its handy to be able to quickly bounce between them and stay connected to your local network. The time/clock based functionality also needs an internet connection.