Driving me crazy in connecting to Glowforge machine online!

#1

Yesterday took a little time to connect and then I did a print or two…HOWEVER…
This a.m. is another story. Have been trying for any hour at least to get beyond the “Waiting for you to connect to Glowforge Wi-Fi “ page… BUT my settings screen indicates it is connected to Glowforge-BGR-###.

Why can I not get beyond the Waiting to Connect page?
I even reset the GF (Burney) a few times as well as computer iPad-Pro.
I assume you guys on west coast can see my usage history, stroke by stroke…mistake by mistake…so maybe it is about time to get your software/hardware gurus to sit down and and design an auto connect feature avoiding all this manipulative junk? I’m dumb…give me a single on-screen button to press one little time and it automatically/automagically does the connecting tasks, getting me to the page that shows it is ready for scanning drawings, etc.
They use to call easier connections ‘plug-n-play’ machines. Is that so hard to get to these days?? A-Turn on Computer. B-Turn on GF. C-lt should automatically find the connection To communicate with iPad/computer. It is the only electronic device in here with the GF.

I am as frustrated as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest! Let me start all over again to try to accomplish something on the “most sophisticated and simple” machine in this this room. I’ll keep trying. Just venting my disappointments of No Success of the morning.TTFN No direct support asked for at this time. I will keep trying.

#2

Once you’ve set the connection up, there should be no reason to have to go through the set up process every time.

#3

Ditto. I set mine up when it arrived, haven’t needed to since…

#4

Yeah, what they said. Set up the connection once, then to access the program, just log in to app.glowforge.com on your computer or device. You do everything from there. :slightly_smiling_face:

#5

Connected mine around Thanksgiving and has stayed connected since. Reconnects automatically on power failure or a tree across the fiber to my house. Only other time I ever went through the setup process was to make a video for those that were having problems understanding how setup was supposed to work.

#6

Success Finally. I must be more patient I suppose.
But over an hour was pushing my limits.

Thanks for your replies. @jbmanning5 @Jules @eflyguy @rpegg

#7

No, it should not take over an hour.

My main computer is “on” pretty much all day - I work from home. If I open the GF app, and walk 20’ to my GF and turn it on, it is seen as online by the time I walk back to my computer.

The GF and computer do not connect to each other. The GF registers itself with the GF Cloud service, and your app connects to that service and looks to see if your machine is online. If you have your GF set up with your WiFi, but it’s taking over an hour before the GF UI app can see it, something is not right.

This is the right forum for assistance, however. Others can provide their suggestions until support steps in.

#8

You should see it Online in seconds, not minutes. Within minutes (a couple, not several) it should be calibrated and show Ready. If this is not your experience, you’ll want to ensure you’ve got a solid WiFi signal reaching your Glowforge. Take a look at your phone WiFi signal strength, for example. For a more-accurate reading you can install WiFi Analyzer on your phone and it will better tell you the strength of the signal. Start there and let us know your findings.

#9

Due to distance from GF Burney to my Verizon hotspot, I have to use my iPhone’s hotspot to get a WiFi connection. I am then able to connect my iPad Pro to wifi. I then turn on GF Burney.Then I go to App.glowforge.com/setup to try to get to the detect_device screen…that is where it sat in searching forever this a.m. I turned off all devices and started over. I would even hold down the GF button until it lit-up (approx 11 seconds). It made no difference. Finally on an attempt the GF link was on the WiFi page. Sheer luck I am beginning to believe. I must be doing it wrong.

@Tom_A Please be patient with this old man. Am I trying too many steps? It is printing right now. If all devices are turned off a few hours and I go back to it later, what steps/webpages should I be seeing and doing, at a minimum, to be at the dashboard…ready to scan a picture for engraving?

Thanks you guys. Pb2u2 (5 years in Paducah)

#10

The only steps you you need to perform to get the Glowforge online and calibrated is to turn it on and ensure it has a solid, stable WiFi connection. That’s it. In your case, that WiFi connection is coming from your iPhone. Only you can say how solid and stable that connection is.

Then there’s using it. That’s where you need the app which, I’m guessing, is where your iPad comes in. Keep in mind that your Glowforge ONLY ever communicates with the internet. It never communicates with the app. The app also talks to the internet only. So your iPhone can sit in the Glowforge room providing WiFi to your Glowforge, while you’re in another room on your computer, iPad, or whatever. Forget room… You could be in another house. Another planet. As long as you have internet access you’ll be able to cut with your Glowforge.

#11

Try this next time:

  1. Start your phone hotspot
  2. Turn your Glowforge on
  3. Connect to app.glowforge.com with your iPad (or however you connect to the UI)
  4. Print

Your Glowforge will remember the connection to the iPhone hotspot as long as you don’t change that hotspot name or password. As soon as it sees that wifi network, it will connect. No reason to go to the set up page each time.

#12

Just to clarify, you don’t need to go to app. glowforge.com on the iPad. The iPad has a Glowforge app that logs in directly. I’m not being nitpicky… I just think that this has the potential to confuse someone who isn’t comfortable with the technology. :slight_smile:

#13

No idea if he has the app of not. I didn’t see it mentioned.

If you have the app, just use that…

#14

Great… Now we have to differentiate between “the app” and “the app.” Another Glowforge adventure in labeling things.

#15

It’s my experience that iPhone/iPad people don’t mention apps. It’s just assumed. :wink:

Anyway, it wasn’t a knock on you. Several people said the same thing. I just figured I’d qualify it.

#16

If I read this correctly, you should not go to app.glowforge.com/setup ever again. Just app.glowforge.com.

That should speed things up for you.

Brian

#17

Thanks for reaching out. I’d like to echo what some others have already mentioned in this thread: that typically, once you’ve connected your Glowforge to your Wi-Fi network (in this case, your hotspot) and started printing, you don’t need to go through the Wi-Fi setup steps again unless your network name or password changes, or you want to connect to a different network.

Based on the details you’ve given, the following steps should be all you need to get up and printing, anytime you like:

  1. Make sure your hotspot is broadcasting.

  2. Turn on your Glowforge.

  3. Once the Glowforge is on, you can either log in using the Glowforge iOS app, or open a web browser on your iPad and navigate to app.glowforge.com to log in.

Happy printing!

#18

Thank you, fellow forgers, for getting me to the ‘right place’ with my GF Burney. I’ve done more things for gifts in the last 3 days of this week than I expected to do BECAUSE of your guidance & support.Thanks to each and all- pb2u2

#19

I’m so glad to hear that, and I’ll second that thanks to everyone who helped out in this thread! If you run into any other trouble please post a new topic, or email us at support@glowforge.com.

#20