Coach and sailors not connecting

If sailors aren't appearing on the coach's Coaching screen, or the coach isn't appearing for sailors on the waiting screen, use these steps to diagnose the problem.

Before anything else — check the network

All devices must be on the same Wi-Fi network. This is the cause of the vast majority of connection failures. Check:

1. Coach's phone: Settings → Wi-Fi — which network is shown?
2. Each sailor's phone: Settings → Wi-Fi — same network name?

If any device is on a different network (including mobile data instead of the hotspot), it will not connect. See Wi-Fi / hotspot setup for guidance on creating a reliable on-water network.

Coach: no sailors appearing

Check that sailors are on the Waiting screen: Sailors need to have held Get Coached for 1 second and be on the "Waiting for coach" screen. If a sailor is still on the start screen, they won't show up.

Wait 10–15 seconds: Discovery takes a few seconds after both devices are on the network. If nothing appears after 30 seconds, continue below.

Restart the coaching session: On the coach's phone, tap End Session (if it's active) and hold Coaching again to start fresh. Ask sailors to go back to the start screen and hold Get Coached again.

Check the hotspot is active: If using a phone hotspot, confirm the hotspot is still on. Some devices turn off the hotspot after a period of no connections, or if the screen locks.

Sailor: not seeing the coach / stuck on waiting screen

Confirm you're on the same network as the coach. See above.

Try going back and re-entering Get Coached: Tap Cancel on the waiting screen (hold for 1 second), then hold Get Coached again. This restarts the discovery process.

Check that the coach has already entered Coaching mode: The sailor's device discovers the coach — if the coach hasn't started Coaching mode yet, there's nothing to find. Ask the coach to confirm they're on the Coaching screen.

Devices connect then immediately disconnect

This can happen if there's a network disruption (e.g. the hotspot device briefly lost its own connection, or the Wi-Fi channel changed).

Fix: Ask all sailors to disconnect and reconnect to the Wi-Fi network, then re-enter Get Coached. On the coach's side, the roster should repopulate as sailors reconnect.

Some sailors connect, others don't

The most likely cause is a device-specific issue:

• Check that the sailor who isn't connecting is on the correct Wi-Fi network (see above)
• Check that battery optimisation is set to Unrestricted on that sailor's phone (see Battery optimisation)
• Check that the app has the Wi-Fi/Nearby permissions on that phone (see Android permissions)

Sailors appear but show no speed data

If a sailor's tile shows their name but speed is always 0.0 or blank:

• GPS hasn't acquired a fix yet — wait for them to move outdoors with a clear sky view
• GPS permission may be "While using" instead of "All the time" — check Android Settings

Connection drops mid-session

If sailors disconnect during a session:

• They will reconnect automatically when back in range — no action needed
• If they stay disconnected for more than a few minutes and are nearby, check their hotspot connection
• A red dot on the sailor's tile means disconnected; amber means connected but no recent data

Running the Device Check

Both coach and sailor can run Device Check (start screen → ⋮ → Device Check) which tests GPS, permissions, and connection readiness. All rows should be green before launching.