Troubleshooting the Bluetooth can seem difficult to clinicians trying to give the patients care and finding themselves in a BLE “what’s going wrong” scenario. This page aims to give care teams tools to rule out user error when a device pairing or syncing issue is reported.
Smartphone Compatibility and Connectivity
Update the smartphone: Does your smartphone need to be updated? Validic SDK supports a variety of Operating Systems (OS) as noted here.
If yes, check with your phone's owner manual or service provider to update the current Operating System (OS).
Update the app: Is the mobile application you're attempting to use on the latest version? You should always use the latest version of the app to get all of the new features and bug fixes.
If yes, then for iOS, use the instructions provided by Apple on this page. For Android, search the internet for this phrase,
<the phone manufacturer> <the phone model> update app"sand follow the instructions in the suggestions offered to you. For best results, insert the phone type and model you are searching into the elements with < and > around them. This will tell the search engine to narrow the search field to just those devices.
Check your connections: Do you have reliable Wifi or cell service in your home? Even if the reading is successful, without an internet/cellular connection, data cannot be transmitted to the cloud.
Is your mobile device connected to Wifi?
Do you have internet or phone service in the location you will most often use your device?
If you will be using phone service to transmit readings, have you enabled the app to use cellular data? If you are unsure how to do this, Apple support offers instructions here. For Android google , search the internet for this phrase
<phone manufacturer> <phone model> permit app to use cellular data.
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Make sure the device you are trying to pair with is close to each other.
Make sure the device you are trying to pair with is charged or has fresh batteries.
Make sure that Bluetooth is enabled on the phone.
On IOS, open Settings < Bluetooth < Toggle the option to on
For Android, the instructions can vary depending on what Android phone you are using. Google the following to find the answer for your phone.
<Phone Manufacturer> <Phone model> enable Bluetooth
Is the device you are trying to pair connected by Bluetooth to another phone? If so, then you will need to open up the Bluetooth settings on the other phone and forget the Bluetooth connection on that phone.
On IOS, open Settings < Bluetooth < Click on the information icon to the right of the device name < Select Forget this Device
For Android, the instructions can vary depending on what Android phone you are using. Google the following to find the answer for your phone.
<Phone Manufacturer> <Phone model> how to forget a Bluetooth device
Only You cannot pair your a device to the Validic SDK-enabled app. Do NOT pair it to the device manufacturer’s app. In fact, remove the device manufacturer app from your phone to remove the temptation.
Bluetooth only allows one BLE connection at a time, and trying to pair the peripheral with the vendor app and the Validic SDK-enabled app can cause a steel cage match between apps. There is enough violence in the world. Let the Validic SDK-enabled app work alone to avoid dropped data and pairing issuesmultiple applications. Doing so will create a race to collect the data from the device, resulting in only one application receiving the data. DO NOT pair it to the device manufacturer’s app.
If issues pairing the device to the Validic SDK-enabled app is encountered, taking the batteries out of the device, waiting a few minutes, and then adding them again is a useful troubleshooting step. This is a hard reset on the device. Attempt pairing with the device after this step is taken.
Turn the phone off, wait long enough for the phone to completely close, wait a few more seconds, and reboot the phone. Sometimes just restarting a phone will help to resolve some issues with Bluetooth connectivity.
Deleting the Validic SDK-enabled app, adding it to your phone again, and logging in with the previous user is suggested if you have made it this far without resolution. This will ensure the app is updated if that step is skipped and sometimes working with a fresh slate can resolve issues.
If you are still having issues pairing after taking these steps, then take a breath, and reach out to the escalation path suggested by your organization for Bluetooth connectivity resolution. See this section for more information on what to share.
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