Stuntman Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 I picked up a LabRadar chrono about a year ago. I generally like it but find the connectivity issues with the mobile app are making me despise it. The user interface on the app is much easier to use and navigate, plus being able to arm unit and review shot data without having to break shooting position make it much preferable over the unit's display and nav buttons. I've tried all the cockamamie solutions I could find on the Internet; reinstalling app, clearing app cache & memory, rebooting phone & chrono and others I can't recall at moment. None have worked. The LabRadar folks have been promising an updated app for YEARS so I'm not confident a fix is forthcoming. Through continual scab picking at this problem I've discovered a technique (hack) that has been 100% effective although my sample size so far is small. Fix Install "BLE Scanner" on phone/tablet. This a Bluetooth network scanner I installed to troubleshoot connectivity issue. Put it into scan mode and find the LabRadar unit in the list of found devices. Select the "Connect" option for the LabRadar. It will display some Bluetooth details for the unit that is not relevant to our issue That's it! Now launch your LabRadar app, it should find and connect to unit. I have no idea why first establishing a connection with the BLE Scanner app fixes this issue and I've only been able to confirm this with Android devices. Hope this works for others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuz Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Wait a minute, the LabRadar unit has Bluetooth? When did that happen? I thought I looked into that just over a year ago when I bought my ProChrono. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuntman Posted October 28, 2021 Author Share Posted October 28, 2021 5 minutes ago, Cuz said: Wait a minute, the LabRadar unit has Bluetooth? When did that happen? I thought I looked into that just over a year ago when I bought my ProChrono. App published on Play store in 2018. Require latest firmware on unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Stuntman said: confirm this with Android devices. I wonder if the Android OS is the issue. I have had zero issue with the iPhone and iOS. I will have had my Lab Radar for two years in February. Came with Bluetooth and app capability when I bought it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tunachaser Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 Not had an issue on two different Samsung phones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chillywig Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 I have a samsung note 9 and the lab app does work but not well. It looses connectivity often. And the data display is not very user friendly. It shows a series list of groups of shots, click on the series to show averages, click on shots in series, it brings up the individual shot list and shows you the shot number, the time and the date. Instead of time and/or date how about the velocity. To see the shot info you have to click on each shot individually. I love the lab radar but wish they would make the app better. Everything is so date and time driven - I could care less about the when. I want to know velocity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chillywig Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 I liked the prochrono digital link app better. You could add notes, name guns, powders, bullets etc. Lab I have series 0313 for a name shown above. It would be great to know what gun load etc that was. But I know the exact date and time down to the second when the shot was fired... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tunachaser Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 I download mine to Excel and then add all the info about load, etc. Yes, yes I know not as convenient as an app on your phone but I have records going back several years so for me I would always want to download . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Tunachaser said: I download mine to Excel and then add all the info about load, etc. I do the same. You can add whatever notes you want once it is in Excel. I will say my Lab Radar started freezing up when I install an SD card, and no longer records data to the SD card, so I have lost this ability. I need to contact them to see if there is a way to fix that. Edited December 21, 2021 by Boomstick303 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tunachaser Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 (edited) FYI from the LabRadar site. " It must be 32GB or less, SD or SDHC. Micro USB cards are not recommended. Do a FULL Format of the SD card using FAT 32 and try the card again." You may have already tried this but just in case. Edited December 22, 2021 by Tunachaser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chillywig Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 I have scan disc 8gb in mine. 417 series took up 147mb of space Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 2 hours ago, Tunachaser said: " It must be 32GB or less, SD or SDHC. Micro USB cards are not recommended. Do a FULL Format of the SD card using FAT 32 and try the card again." Ah, thanks. The card I was using was way smaller, 2 GB. I will check the format, in that might be the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacificdiver Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Darn. It took me two hours to figure out how to update the firmware without a hangup.As mentioned before, you should use a memory card that is 32 GB or less. Mine was 8 GB. Reformat the card to a FAT32 format which usually a default. Download the compressed file. Extract the files. Copy the two fwa and fwb files from the extracted folder and delete the original compressed folder and the extracted folder. Paste the two firmware files onto the card memory. With Labradar powered off insert the card into the card slot of the Labradar. Do not use the external battery pack or USB connection for power. It seems you must use battery power, only. Install batteries and turn the unit on and leave it on maybe 30 seconds or more to be safe. The blue led light will flash a few times and the firmware should be installed. You can verify by powering off and the boot screen should read "fwa" is the 1.2.7 version when you turn it back on.Dang. I wasted half the morning using the USB power port not having it work. Hope you folks have better luck and it installs easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 18 minutes ago, pacificdiver said: Hope you folks have better luck and it installs easy. Thanks for passing this along. Any benefits from the upgrade that make it worth it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuntman Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 40 minutes ago, Boomstick303 said: Thanks for passing this along. Any benefits from the upgrade that make it worth it? The latest firmware allows you to use their phone/tablet app over a Bluetooth connection. When it works, I find the phone app more intuitive and easier to navigate than the buttons on the unit itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 4 hours ago, Stuntman said: hone/tablet app over a Bluetooth connection I must have that firmware update then. Yes, the app is much easier to navigate. I wish it would allow you to export the EXcel file over Bluetooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacificdiver Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 It seems the connection and control using my LG branded phone is more stable and maintains a connection longer. I had it connected for over ten minutes testing it at home. Previously, the connection would never maintain longer than a minute. I have hopes I can control the unit without having to physically touch it all the time after getting it aligned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 7 hours ago, pacificdiver said: LG branded phone Ah, I think this revision was to fix that known issue. I have an iPhone so I have not had an issue since I have owned the Lab Radar. That make sense and I probably do not have this revision then. Thanks for the detailed instructions on the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuntman Posted January 26, 2022 Author Share Posted January 26, 2022 New firmware (1.2.7) and mobile apps (IOS & Android) have been released. User interface on app seems better, more intuitive. Connectivity is hit and miss so far on two Android phones, one seems to work well, other won't connect at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtownsmr Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 On 10/28/2021 at 4:58 PM, Stuntman said: Fix Install "BLE Scanner" on phone/tablet. This a Bluetooth network scanner I installed to troubleshoot connectivity issue. Put it into scan mode and find the LabRadar unit in the list of found devices. Select the "Connect" option for the LabRadar. It will display some Bluetooth details for the unit that is not relevant to our issue That's it! Now launch your LabRadar app, it should find and connect to unit. I have no idea why first establishing a connection with the BLE Scanner app fixes this issue and I've only been able to confirm this with Android devices. Hope this works for others. This worked for me. I had updated to the latest firmware & app and would not connect. After BLE scanner install & connection it connected right up. Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 FYI. I sent in a support ticket in Feb for the issue with android. I got this back... To change the bluetooth settings of your mobile device you need to do the following : Enable Developer Options on your device. Settings -> About phone -> (Software information for some phones) -> scroll down to Build number and tap it repeatedly until a prompt tells you you have developer access. After that, go back to Settings -> System -> Developer Options -> scroll down until you see Bluetooth AVRCP Version. (or use search engine if available) Change AVRCP value to 1.6 After that, keep scrolling until you see Bluetooth MAP Version (or use search engine if available) (This setting is not available on some devices, skip to the next step if it's the case) Change MAP value to 1.4 Then, go to System -> Reset Settings(On some devices: About phone -> Reset Settings) and reset settings for Wi-Fi, mobile data and bluetooth. (Please keep in mind that resetting your bluetooth settings means your current bluetooth devices will get disconnected.) Restart the device, turn Bluetooth back on and try the app again. This worked great. You need to reset your other bluetooth connections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67isb Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 I see a new firmware 1.3.3 Not sure what it fixes exactly. Anyone know what "advertising interval" is? https://mylabradar.com/download/ Release Notes 1.3.3 – Released May 31th 2022 Bug Fixes and improvements: Fixed Bluetooth connection problem caused by advertising interval. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIGcurious Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 It's just how the LabRadar sends out packets of data (or advertises) at a fixed interval to other devices (like our phones). There are a bunch of RF channels they are sent on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuntman Posted August 9, 2022 Author Share Posted August 9, 2022 Bah! The 1.3.3 firmware doesn't seem noticeably better than the 1.2.7 firmware. I still have periods where connectivity is lost and unable to establish communication. Usually takes a power cycle of LabRadar or toggling Bluetooth on phone to correct. And the mobile app is baffling! Why do I have to perform a search for available LabRadar units each time I'm attempting to connect? I understand the app is not in constant communication with the LabRadar but can't it cache my device's identity and automatically reconnect as needed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 Android or iOS? Mine will reconnect using iOS, and I cannot think of the last time I lost connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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