Blueprint losing connection after a while

[Chris]

Hi Tim

I got a real strange issue. After I connect wifi booth to a blueprint printer, it looses the connection after about 30seconds. Here is my setup:

Canon 1200D
Ipad mini 4 (running wifi booth)
iphone 7+ (running blueprint)
Selphy 1200

Connection with the printer is ok (direct connection), it's corretly shared/paired (at least thats what my iphone says) and printer seems to be ok for the first 30 seconds. After that it does not work anymore, I have to reconnect it. I haven't purchased wifi booth yet (planning to for an event next week) but with these issues, I can't really use it at the event. Any ideas?

[tim]

Hi Chris
Sorry you're having this problem.
First things first: on your ipad go to app store -> updates, and make sure wifibooth is the newest version. Then on the other device where Blueprint is running, go to app store -> updates and make sure Blueprint is the newest version. The versions must be matched for them to work properly, ie. both newest.

Assuming you find no updates for either, can you tell me a bit more about how the disconnection happens:
1. Does the disconnection occur even if you print nothing? Or does it only happen after some number of prints?
2. On the Blueprint side, does it still show the ipad as connected, and the printing just stops working, or do you see the ipad drop off the list of connected devices when it stops working?
3. On the iPad side, do you see the no printers alert (the bar at the bottom of the screen) come up right away, or only after you try to print something and it fails?

[Chris]

Hey Tim

WiFi Booth on 3.4.1 Blueprint on1.0.8 - Appstore doesn't show any other updates.
1. To clarify: While the wifi booth is taking 3 images, I see on the iphone that suddently the connection to the ipad is lost.
Therefore If I want to print something afterwards I can't
2. I observed the blueprint app and it loses connection after around 29-30 seconds (with activity from the ipad/wifi booth app and without).
3. Yes I see the no printer alert. Then I reconnect and the circle starts again. After 30 seconds the connection suddently lost. If come up right away.

[tim]

Thanks Chris i'll take a look and see if I can reproduce this.
Two more questions:
1. What iOS versions do both your iPad and iPhone have?
2. Is the wifi of your iPad connected directly to the wifi of the camera (camera mode wifi) ?

[Chris]

Hi Tim:

1. iPhone 7+: 10.3.2 iPad Mini 4th Gen: 10.3.2
2. Yes - I need a direct connection to my Canon EOS 1200D in order to use the tap to Start function

If you want to I can make a Video to show you this phenomena

[tim]

Hi Chris,
Sure if you have the time to make a video it'll almost certainly be helpful!
Thanks for all the details, i've put this on my TODO list.
Would you be willing in the future to try out a test version of the app to see if I have fixed this for your setup?

[Chris]

Hey Tim!

Today I made an interesting discovery. If I am connecting my iPad to the 2nd iOS Device and start printing right away, the connection seems to be stable. But If I am connecting and I wait for let's say 30 Seconds, the 2nd iOS Device kicks the iPad out of the connection. Maybe that helps?

[tim]

Hi Chris
Hmmm odd, it is sending keepalive packets every 30s or less so strange that this would matter. I am wondering what is the wifi connection between your iphone and your selphy? If your printer is connecting to your iphone's wifi then try reversing it so that the printer serves the wifi and your phone connects to it.

[Chris]

The Promised Video:
https://youtu.be/_22AmqoFH6Q

[tim]

Thanks this is very helpful!
One thing before I go hunting in the code: the device that is running the BluePrint app, I thought that was an iPhone 7. But in the video it looks like another iPad? I'm curious if there is a difference if you use BluePrint on an iPhone...?
I'm guessing I should be able to fix this for the next update, coming ASAP but likely early-to-mid July as it is a massive update (v4)

[Chris]

Hey Tim, I've tested it with the following iOS devices:

- iPhone 7+
- iPhone 6s
- iPad Mini (4th Gen)
- iPad Pro 9''

All devices seem to have the same issue, unless you print from wifibooth right away and then the connection seems to be stable. I have a Selphy C1200, but no other model to test to see if there is an issue with my model or with the C1200 series. If the issue would be resolved asap that would be awesome. I've managed to survive an event with that issue, but it would be highly appreciated if this would work autonomously. That said, can't wait for the update.

[tim]

Hi Chris,
Thanks for your continued patience.
I managed to find a way to reproduce the issue (consistently) on the app-store versions of wifibooth & blueprint.
Good news: this issue is already fixed in the next update (v4).
Would you like to be a beta tester for v4? Being a beta tester means that you get an update to the app through the Apple Testflight app (instead of through the app store), ahead of time, and you need to report the problems you find to me (ie. email). Only english is supported for beta (your devices need to be using english language).
If you're up for that, then let me know. Timing-wise, I plan to launch beta sometime before the end of next week.
all the best
-tim