MTH DCS App: iPhone: TIU/WIU not found

From your description it seems the biggest variable in the mix is your home network. Any way you can verify the WIU is connected to your network?

Two things…

1. If your home Wi-Fi signal is weak, it will make connecting to the WIU a real pain.  I had to put an access point in my basement to get it to work reliably.  Since then I’ve had zero problems.  Before, it would constantly say TIU not found or something of that nature.
2. If you are using “MTH” mode on the WIU, I found that I had to delete my other Wi-Fi networks from my Apple devices because it would detect there was no internet connectivity while connected to the WIU and switch to another saved network that had it.  I use an iPad so I don’t have a data plan, but on an iPhone you might also need to disable LTE data temporarily in the settings while using “MTH mode” on the WIU.

On number 2 above:

on an iOS device (iPhone, iPad) make sure you have automatically connect disbaled

Then, put your device in Airplane mode (turns  off cell service)

Then go to the wifi setting and select the MTH unit.   It should ask you something like "xxx  is not connected to the internet"   and if you want to proceed.   Say yes

This will prevent your device for jumping to a router that has an internet connection

I put my devices in airplane mode as I don't want anything to disrupt my connection to the train stuff.   Same thing on stage, always airplane mode when connected to the FOH or monitor desk.

@EscapeRocks posted:

On number 2 above:

on an iOS device (iPhone, iPad) make sure you have automatically connect disbaled

Then, put your device in Airplane mode (turns  off cell service)

Then go to the wifi setting and select the MTH unit.   It should ask you something like "xxx  is not connected to the internet"   and if you want to proceed.   Say yes

This will prevent your device for jumping to a router that has an internet connection

That sounds like it would work too, and you wouldn’t have to go and add the Wi-Fi network each time.  Good idea. 👍

I put my devices in airplane mode as I don't want anything to disrupt my connection to the train stuff.   Same thing on stage, always airplane mode when connected to the FOH or monitor desk.

A fellow sound guy? I just did a gig last weekend for the first time in several years and I forgot to turn off notifications when the break music was playing on my phone. Oops.

I few things I learned the hard way:

Make sure your transformer voltages are turned up.

Turn on your TIU and set it for MTH network before trying to connect your phone which should also be set for the MTH network. There needs to be a network for your phone to find it.  If you don't get prompted for the password, it's not working at this point.

Dale

The problem is that the app has no command to search for the Wi-Fi other than the first time it connects.
Try this:

• Make sure the MTH/HOME switch on the Wi-Fi is is set to MTH
• delete the app
• Download the app but stop before it installs.
• power up your TIU and Wi-Fi
• Connect your phone to the MTH Wi-Fi
• go back and finish installing the app

It should discover your TIU.  This will work for all iPhone and IOS releases.

Good luck.

I had the same trouble. I powered down my home network. Modem and Wi-Fi router and iPhone. Then power up modem and let it come all the way back on, then power up Wi-Fi router, let it come on, then turn iPhone on.  Make sure DCS is off through all of this then turn it on. Then everything worked for me. I have DCS set for my home network.

Thanks to everyone for your helpful advice. Still having trouble but will try the approach that Danr has suggested.  The app seems to be so much easier than the handheld. I would hope that MTH, in what ever form they end up being, will improve the app to make it easier to connect.

Again, thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. It is truly appreciated.

Mike

It's not the MTH app.

@PA Train Guy posted:

Thanks to everyone for your helpful advice. Still having trouble but will try the approach that Danr has suggested.  The app seems to be so much easier than the handheld. I would hope that MTH, in what ever form they end up being, will improve the app to make it easier to connect.

I assure you once you get the Wi-Fi issues sorted out, it is very easy to use.

I don’t know that either the app or remote are easier than one another.  The remote has some options that are buried in menus that are sometimes hard remember.  The app is very different from the remote, so if you are a pro with the remote it can be a challenge to switch.

One advantage of the remote is being able to feel the buttons and more confidently operate it without looking. The app, when used on a tablet device like the iPad is much easier to read when setting up engines and whatnot.

I have both and like them equally.

Mike,

I'm sorry for chiming in so late here. I'm an engineer for a certain fruit-themed company, so I have some insight on these sorts of things.

Starting with iOS/iPadOS 14, your iPhone keeps a pretty tight hold on network connections with other devices (like the WIU). Here are a few tips to make sure you've considered that I don't see mentioned in this thread:

1). Go to Settings > Privacy > Local Network and make sure Wi-Fi DCS is turned ON (green).
2). Make sure that you are connected to the correct Wi-Fi network. If you have the WIU connected to your home network (as opposed to having the WIU create its own ad-hoc network), be sure that you are connected to the same network name. Some home network routers broadcast two different networks. One will sometimes be appended with 5G, while the other is not. If your iPhone is connected to a different network, it may have issues locating the WIU.
3). The DCS app running on iOS/iPadOS 14.5 and later can take up to 60 seconds to discover the WIU. After you open the app, leave it on for at least 30 seconds before giving up. You may find that it just takes a bit of waiting before you can successfully send a READ command to the WIU for the first time. Once it's connected, there shouldn't be any more waiting.

This isn't to say or imply that the DCS app doesn't need work. It does. Lionel's apps are also one critical OS update away from inoperability, it seems. There's so much untapped potential in mobile computing for these platforms--let's hope it's addressed sooner rather than later.

Rafi

Hello Escape Rocks!  You solved my problem.  I was an early adopter of the DCS app; however, I became extremely frustrated because I repeatedly received "WIU/TIU not found."  I use my WUI as a standalone, i.e., I do not have it connected to my home router.  Earlier today, after searching this forum, I saw your suggestion about  using "airplane mode."  I spent about 2.5 hours running my trains today.  After setting my cell phone to airplane mode, the phone never displayed the WIU/TIU not found message.

Although this thread is focused on the iPhome, your suggestion worked on my Android phones.  A couple of years ago, I purchased a used Motorola Android for dedicated use with my trains.  I have another Android for my daily cell phone activities.  Finally, after three or more years, I'm enjoying using the app.  Nonetheless, I still use my handhelds and, in some ways, like them better than the app.

MTH hasn't provided much support for the app (or any of its products) in recent years.  If MTH had posted your airplane mode suggestion on its (wildly out of date) web site, that would have spared me and, perhaps, others many hours of frustration.

Again, thank you.  I'm really hoping that this fix continues working.

The following is what we went through to get my two WIU's working:

We wanted to add two new out of the box WIU's to the two Remotes controlling my 100 block layout, four Z4000, two TIU layout. My Remotes were often reading "Out of RF Range" and often my engines weren't even responding..

Both TIUs are the older version with serial ports and updated to the 6.1 software version.

1.  We started with basic connection problems:  When powered up, neither WIU worked as expected. On one, the only light on was the Power light, regardless of the wifi setting. On the second, the Power and LAN lights were on but again, the wifi switch made no difference.

My knowledgeable and helpful neighbour took them to his house. With the first unit, he discovered that if he connected the LAN output to his router, the router issued an IP address for the unit. Logging into his router, he was able to get the IP address and with it, establish a browser connection to the internal LuCI operating system. It was then possible to download the firmware and, when powered up, the unit worked as expected.

The second unit, when connected the same way, showed no response. Various reset sequences were tried with the wifi switch in both positions and pushing the WPS button. We don't know exactly what worked, but eventually the unit started up with just the Power light on. Then, the same procedure was used to load the firmware.

2.  Now, both WIU units were working as expected, but when connected to the TIUs, neither TIU light came on. At this point, we benefited greatly from the Forum post that described the various types of Serial to USB connectors that have chips imbedded and worked and those that didn't work. We tried a wide range of serial to USB connectors and only one worked (the Sabrent USB to RS-232 9 Pin DB9 (FTDI Chipset from Amazon) It seems you need the FTDI chip set).  Anyway, we were able to order the recommended cables, sabrent shipped within a day and now both WIU's TIU lights came on.

Because the main house router is nearby, we have hard-wired the WIUs to my home router.

3.   First, we tried the App on an i-phone 14 but it could not find any WIUs. However the App worked on an older and slower Android phone. Once we ascertained that the App has rights to access devices connected to the router and was being precluded from the i-phone due to privacy issues, we simply went into I-phone settings and reset the privacy button.  Eureka, now both my fast I-phone and slower android phone can independently control my trains 

4.  Conclusion:  It was worth all the set up troubles!  And the App is so much easier to program than the Remotes.

Thanks to all the Forum members that helped me get into operation!

Stew

Spot on with the ftdi chipset cord . Came up immediately after weeks of nothing . Almost threw it all out the window . Thanks Stew