Iphone cannot connect to companion

App Inventor for iOS
,
#1

I am trying to connect the AI Companion to my iphone. The QR code comes up, my phone scans it, and then the phone does nothing, and doesn't load the app. About a minute later, the browser shows me an error message that just says "Companion Connection Error".

I am not sure why it will not connect and I do not see any errors on the phone, it is just stuck on the original page that asks to scan or enter the code.

I am testing with an app that has nothing other than a button. It works on the emulator. I have ensured that the computer and phone are on the same wifi network.

Any other ideas of why it will not connect?

Thank you in advance.

1 Like
#2

It's probably because the iOS Companion is still in testing; there are a lot of bugs that have recently arisen with it.

1 Like
#3

@yavnerd on which network are you connecting companion on iOS
see this what @ewpatton said

3 Likes
#4

Yes. I am doing this at home and both the laptop and the phone are connected to the same WiFi network. Are there any other known issues? Do I need to turn the cellular data off?

1 Like
#5

Does the QR code disappear after you scan it?

1 Like
#6

Yes. It disappears and the text code is filled into the box. And then nothing happens. After a minute or so, the browser pops up an error of “Connection Error”.

1 Like
#7

Which browser are you using? There have been some issues recently with Chrome. I'm curious if you're using Chrome and temporarily switch to another browser whether you see the same issues.

1 Like
#8

No issues for me with Chrome (or Firefox).

2 Likes
#9

Nor on Edge (even on my old Gen 2 iPad).

2 Likes
#10

I was using Chrome. I'll try again with Edge and report back. Thanks for the idea.

1 Like
#11

Edge is likely to exhibit the same issues because it is based on Chromium, the open source core of Chrome.

2 Likes
#12

I wasn't able to get it to work on Firefox either. However, I did try on a mac, and it worked there. However, I would really like to figure out why the Windows laptop isn't working - that is the primary device, and the mac is borrowed.

#13

Two possible things that might be an issue on Windows:

  1. If you have a browser extension installed like HTTPS Everywhere, it may be trying to load App Inventor over HTTPS which will break how App Inventor connects to the iOS companion.
  2. If you have a firewall configured on the computer, ensure that the browsers are allowed to make outgoing connections on TCP port 8001, which is the port used by the browser to talk to the companion app on the iOS device. If outgoing connections are being blocked, that would explain why all browsers fail to connect on Windows.
1 Like
AI Companion does not connect on phone
#14

Hmmm… I tried disabling Windows defender completely, as well as enabling but with an allow rule for tcp port 8001. None of these helped. I confirmed that Firefox isn’t using HTTPS-only mode. I am out of ideas, but we did manage to find an old chromebook that is working just fine with both a phone and a Mac. I guess I’ll just give up on Windows for now :). Thank you for your help.

#15

Error from Companion: error: unrecognized method. (irritants: setPollingRate)

hello
I tried connecting the iPhone through the fatal appinventor companion, but the above error occurs and a connection error occurs.