Getting started with PyGos and Pylife

[Pete Allen 0]

Welcome to the PyLife section of the forum. This is a space for discussion and help about using PyGos with the Pylife app.
The first place to go to get started with PyGos is our documentation:
https://docs.pycom.io/pylife/

This should cover everything to get you up and running, and please say if there are things that aren't clear.

For those of you who like to plug things in and try them out before reading and documentation: it is important to do a firmware upgrade as soon as you turn the PyGo on.

If you are on Android, please make sure you are using the most recent version of the app.

[arikb]

Hello Pete,

• I received my PyGos today and I was completely unable to update the firmware on none of them (Android, 1.0.8)

• You didn't provide a link to the APK file so I can't do that either.

• The PyGo heats up a LOT when charged. When I say a lot I mean that I experience actual pain when touching the metal contacts on the bottom of the device with my bare finger, so that has to be at least 50⁰C. Is that supposed to happen?

• After some charging, the wireless charger starts blinking blue and feels quite hot as well. I assume this is thermal protection. Again, is this supposed to happen? The environment temperature is about 22⁰C.

[Stephen Glavin]

I’m having exactly the same issue I.E getting very hot and unable to update firmware. I also deleted the pygo’s from the app to see if starting again would help, except now I can’t even re-add them. The screens no longer come on when placing them on the charger and searching for a device isn’t working.

@arikb

[arikb]

@Stephen-Glavin I do get at least a couple of them to charge. But it's inconsistent - for example after switching both PyGos to another charger (I have two chargers and 4 PyGos) they started "behaving" again. Or maybe they cooled down enough for the thermal protection to reset. Hard to say.

I do see them connected to BLE and can see the battery "percentage" increase.

Funny enough, the charge animation is different between the two I am currently charging. One has a single segment blinking, the other has an animation of 1 segment, then two, then three, then none and it repeats.

[andreas58]

I have two pyGo's and they get incredibly hot when charging, over 50 degrees. Updating is also impossible, loses connection constantly. In short they just don't work....

[arikb]

Update:

Upgraded the app to Android version 1.0.9. Still not able to upgrade firmware on any of my 4 devices. I get to the "Resume" button, I do see my phone connect to the PyGo's wifi AP, but it invariably fails thereafter.

[Pete Allen 0]

Hi all,

First: the Android app has finally approved, so if you have been unable to update via Android please update the app on the play store and have another go. Hopefully that will solve many of these issues.

The temperature issue is fixed in the firmware update, so it's important to focus on that. There is a thermal fuse, but we have reduced the wireless charging current in the new firmware to cool things down.

As a generaly note I would recommend not fully charging your PyGo until you have managed to do the firmware update - if the GPS bug hits it is quicker to sort with a nearly empty battery.

If you are still having issues please let me know and we will try to get you up and running.

[arikb]

@Pete-Allen-0 Are you referring to version 1.0.9 or a newer one?

[Pete Allen 0]

@arikb 1.09 is the newest one, yes.

[Pete Allen 0]

@andreas58 You don't mention what phone OS you are using, but if it is Android hopefully the latest update resolves this and you can update the firmware

[Pete Allen 0]

@Stephen-Glavin hopefully the Android update will help and we can get you up and running.

[arikb]

@Pete-Allen-0 Okay. It didn't solve my problem. I still can't upgrade. I left the devices overnight and it doesn't seem to reduce the battery charge by a lot.

Since the USB cradles are at this moment unobtainable, is there another way to bypass this problem?

[Pete Allen 0]

@arikb If you look for WiFi access points, can you see one called PyCom_AP_Firmware_Update?
If so, this tells us that the PyGo is in update mode and waiting for something to connect.

[arikb]

@Pete-Allen-0 Yes, the phone connects to that access point and then eventually gives me the failed message.

[Pete Allen 0]

@arikb That's strange. Please could you let me know what Android version you are using?
We can do a manual update from a computer. It is slightly more technical, but would hopefully get you up and running quickly.

[andreas58]

@Pete-Allen-0 I use an iPhone so IOS. In the meantime I have managed to upgrade 1 device. However both do not charge...

[arikb]

@Pete-Allen-0 I'm using Android version 9.

I don't have a problem with "more technical", but I don't have a USB cradle. Can I do it using WiFi from my computer?

Also, could you remove the 600 seconds between message limitation here?

[Stephen Glavin]

Is there any way to get the pygo to exit update mode. After deleting it from the app I can’t re-add it so long as it’s in that mode @Pete-Allen-0

[andreas58]

After a few hours of trying to get the two pyGo's (pygo1 and a pygo2) to work which fails. The status: pygo1 is updated, pygo2 not, on my iPhone only the message "Checking for Update" . Both pygo's absolutely do not charge, only get warm. The batteries are not taking any power....

[Peter Bankuti]

@Pete-Allen-0
Hi, i got my 2 PyGos delivered today, including the wireless charger. Downloaded the pyLife App for my android phone just today. Neither my PyGos show anything on the screen. My phone can not find any of the devices while scanning through PyLife app. I do not have a QC2.0 qualified power adapter, so i just connected the charger to my plain Samsung adapter which meets the needs printed on the backplate of the charging pad: DC 5V/2A, 9V/1.8. However neither of my PyGos start getting charged... i guess the batteries got completely discharged during delivery... But how do i start? I mean i have an android phone, downloaded the app from google just now, the charger pad indicates green-blue-greensequence...but the PyGos do absolutely nothing. There is not even a pin map so that i could wire up some DIY soulution to get things started. So what am i supposed to do to get started at last?