WiFish/Dagonfly Pro no longer compatible with current Android versions!

[pat77]

I purchased the WiFish black box device and was unable to connect to it. I tried another phone, and had good luck. Then I started digging....

Android 5.1 (and later?) will no longer stay connected to any wifi that does not have internet access (such as WiFish and Dragonfly Pro wifi) as determined by Google/Android. I can connect to the WiFish, but the connection almost immediately drops. On older versions of Android the WiFish works great.

See article here:
http://www.androidheadlines.com/2015/03/...ccess.html

Is there a work around for this? It's basically destroying half the market for WiFish and all of the Dragonfly Pro models. Is there any way to have these devices associate with a router (or connect them via wireless bridge) and then connect to the same router and have them discovered?

[Mark - Raymarine - Moderator]

Hello Pat77,
I am not aware of any incompatibilities at the moment with Raymarine's WiFish and Dragonfly Pro WiFi apps. I have a Droid Turbo 2 running Android Version 6.0 and the Wi-Fish app works just fine. While it is true that the device will state "No Internet Access Detected, wont automatically connect" if you tell it to connect it will and then will say "connected, no internet", but it works just fine.

[pat77]

Mark,

Thanks for the prompt reply. Perhaps this is an issue with Android 5.x only? I don't have anything running 6.0 ...only multiple variants of 4.x and two devices running 5.x. I think I have another 5.1 tablet I can try to see if there's any difference, but both 5.x devices drop the connection.

I am glad to hear that the newer OS no longer behaves this way, but having tried many times I can confirm that on Kyocera's Android 5.1 and LG's 5.0 the wifi will simply drop as soon as it determines there is no internet connection available.

On a separate note, totally amazed by the clarity of the images and ease of use, though I do wish the WiFish model (with no screen) was ignition protected.

[Don G Baldi]

I found that little buggeroo myself. I run an LG Volt with Android 4.4.2 and it wouldn't stay connected to the wifish. By going to Settings/Wi-fi/Advanced Wi-fi you will find a checkbox for Internet Unavailable. Uncheck that and you will stay connected to your wifish.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Noted.