If your Bobcat miner has gone offline and it’s no longer syncing, how do you get back online?
In this article we walk you through the steps to solve this problem.
Troubleshooting Steps
The first thing to do is connect to the device via Bluetooth to check the status and be sure that it’s connected. Sometimes if you disconnect to change locations or for any other reason the status can show as disconnected for a while after. It’s important to note that Helium Explorer is not real time. Give it a half day or so to update.
If after half a day, it still appears to be disconnected and offline, the fix is quite simple.
Here are the steps:
- Reset the miner through the web interface
- After you have done that, let the hotspot do its thing
- Even if the web interface says its good to go and the light is green just leave it alone (i.e. don’t unplug it or reset it again)
- Check on it after a few hours. It should be back online and you will be ready to earn HNT once again!
Background
If you are new to the world of Helium mining here is a quick introduction. Helium is a global network that connects IoT devices like dog tags, environmental sensors, bike trackers and more. It consists of hotspots connected to one another over the internet. Data from IoT devices is transmitted to hotspots or Helium Miners and then across the Helium network to reach their final destination.
What problem does Helium solve?
Prior to Helium, IoT networks were fragmented. As a result data could not be transferred easily from an IoT device. The only way to do this until now was to connect to a cellular or a global satellite network.
Using these networks can be cost prohibitive. Specially when we’re talking about many millions of IoT sensors. The other problem is that 4G and 5G IoT devices consume a lot of power and either need new batteries or have to be recharged often. This is a major inconvenience when you want to deploy your sensors out in the world for a long time.
How does Helium solve this problem?
Helium solves the problem of connecting many IoT devices using a wireless technology protocol called LoRa. LoRa stands for Long Range. LoRa is a low power wireless platform that has grown to become a popular wireless platform specifically for IoT.
A LoRa wireless link provides connectivity between the IoT sensor and the hotspot. How is this data then transferred to another location anywhere in the world for global connectivity?
Helium hotspots are connected to the internet using Wi-Fi or Cable Ethernet connection. So all the IoT data that’s collected is transferred using the internet. In the absence of Wi-Fi or Ethernet, a hotspot can also be connected to a 4G modem.