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Troubleshooting

Information on this page applies to the experience of setting Vector up with wire-pod on Windows.

The Vector setup experience should not differ between Windows 10 or 11

Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge can be used to setup Vector. The author of this site used both browsers setting up two Vectors with wire-pod

Reminder that all of the Vector setup takes place in a web browser, not the DDL Vector app

It's not you, it's bluetooth

Bluetooth has always been a frustrating part of the Vector setup process. It is not unusual for multiple tries before Vector connects via bluetooth

Problems encountered while trying to pair Vector to bluetooth

Vector reboots during the pairing process

The Vector that did this is an original Anki Vector purchased after Anki went under, but before DDL purchased Anki's assets

It was a used Vector and since purchase goes through periods of random reboots. I assumme that the random reboots are due to the wear and tear of falling off of objects or how the Anki Vector's were designed

Once Vector finished rebooting, the pairing process was tried again and this time Vector did not reboot and successfully paired

Vector doesn't pair at the first attempt

Things to try if pairing continues to fail:

  • Refresh the web page
  • Press Ctrl and F5 at the same time to clear browser cache
  • Use a different web browser

Sometimes, Vector will leave pairing mode during the process. This is not abnormal and Vector can be put back into pairing mode

  • When trying to pair, the browser message says Vector is already paired but isn't paired

This was experienced multiple times. The "solution" was to keep trying to pair

Exploring the top menu

As you go through the setup process, the browser page display information that can be helpful when troubleshooting

the menu shows connection to wifi and bluetooth was successful The top right displays Vector's IDs, firmware version, and wifi network name

The bluetooth and wifi indicators in the screen capture above are both green. This indicates that Vector is connected successfully using bluetooth and your 2.4 GHz wireless network

In the right corner, four pieces of information are displayed

  • Vector's 4 digit ID
  • The name of your wifi network is connected to
  • Vector's software version
  • A secondary ID for Vector

Activation fails

Warning

The section below is not completed. Screenshots and additional information still need to be added.

If you have trouble with the activate step, you're not alone. I failed activation multiple times with the following issues:

  • My PC was not on the 2.4 GHz wireless network
  • Completely missed the step that updates Vector's software
  • Port forwarding in Windows was something I've never done before

Wrong wifi network

Your Windows computer needs to be on your 2.4 GHz wifi network

If you've successfully paired Vector using bluetooth, your web browser will display usefu

  • Vector's firmware wasn't updated to wire-pod

To communicate with wire-pod, Vector needs to be updated

Tip

Updating Vector's firmware does NOT delete user data. Your Vector will continue to recognize you after the bot is set up with wire-pod

......

  • Port forwarding

This is the first and only time I've had to setup port forwarding myself. It's possible I don't have the terminology correct. Also, this is not router port forwarding. This is done in Windows

Inbound and outbound ports need to be setup for Windows to allow communication to wire-pod. Wire-pod needs.the below ports open
443, 8080, 80, 8084

This can be done via commands or manual setup in the firewall software