GoPro Hero 8 Black issue

TonyEvo

Hi, I'm having big problems using my gopro 8 Black. I can't see the live preview of what I'm filming. I press Rec and the gopro is commanded without problems. I stop the session and the gopro stops. I go to view the video of the gopro in the session, it asks me to connect the camera 2/3 times (it displays the SSID, but it does not connect). then turn off the video camera and end.

TonyEvo

https://youtu.be/tVqooNitY3I

Motorola One ZOOM,ANDROID 10,STOCK FW.

Same issue on Xiaomi mi A3

aol_of_RaceChrono

@TonyEvo

1) You can see the preview if you click the GoPro box. It will show the preview for the camera that has its configuration box highlighted. That said the preview shuts off once the recording is started.

2) I will re-test the Wi-Fi connection, and try to fix it. It's tricky thing on Android, but I will do my best.

3) Which OS version do you have on the A3?

aol_of_RaceChrono

OK, I did some testing:

- RaceChrono Pro v7.2
- GoPro HERO 8 Black with latest firmware
- Xiaomi Mi A3 with Android 10, not the latest firmware because I think it will update to Android 11 => Connects fairly reliably, maybe fails only 25%, preview shows up fine every time
- Google Pixel 2 with Android 11 => Connects every time (Android 11 has improved the Wi-Fi API) and works just fine otherwise too
- Samsung S20 5G with Android 11 => Connects every time, but preview does not always show up. Disabling and enabling preview from the configuration box helps. This is a known problem on Samsung phones that I have not been able to solve.

Unfortunately I do not have the Motorola to test. If you have more details, then I might be able to do more testing. Also please do not expect it to work perfect on all systems, as GoPro's are very tricky, and Android's Wi-Fi connection API has bugs and it works a bit differently on almost every device

TonyEvo

1)if I click on the preview box it stays black and constantly asks me to connect.

2)ok

3)Motorola One Zoom

Xiaomi mi A3

aol_of_RaceChrono

@TonyEvo Looks like you're using the "Bluetooth" option for the camera connection, and the Wi-Fi connection is not working at all. Does the GoPro app show the preview? It's the first thing to resolve. If GoPro app does not work, then nor will RaceChrono.

I usually have to switch off the 5 GHz Wi-Fi, and use the 2.4 GHz option on GoPro before I can connect on Android phones.

TonyEvo

yes, with the GoPro app the live preview works, even if the connection is not very fast on the GoPro app, but even that is a very buggy app, given the reviews.

aol_of_RaceChrono

@TonyEvo can you switch the camera to 2.4 GHz just to see if it works better with RC?

TonyEvo

i tried both 2.4 and 5ghz, same problem. But even with the official gopro app, the connection isn't exactly great. As soon as possible I will try other 2 phones that I have aside (lenovo zuk Z2 and Xiaomi Mi note 3) and see if it works.

aol_of_RaceChrono

@TonyEvo Unfortunately this is very hard to fix unless I find a combination of devices where I can reproduce the issue. It might be impossible even then.

Suggestion: You could stop using the GoPro remote control -feature, and control the camera manually, copy the video files using a memory card reader, and use the "Automatic sync" feature described here: https://racechrono.com/article/480 . It works much more reliably, and is the preferred way now.