Crashing Tablets. Help

V5 Question
1

Hey guys,
This is that other post I was talking about.
I’m facing an issue whereby the tablet we are using are crashing out of the system on a regular basis. I’m told that when the restaurant is quiet, (and thus, not many tablets are in use) they are much more stable.

The error I’m getting points to it being network related, but I’m not sure why that would be. I will post this complete error at some point, but am more looking for some points on how to make the system more stable in general.

The hardware:
Server: Custom build. 8GB Ram. Quad Core i7, SSD, Win 7 Pro. Only running SambaPOS - nothing else. Not even connected to a screen.
Tablets: 8x Dell Venue 8 Pros. They are running a mix of Windows 8 and Windows 10. Neither OS seems more stable than the other.
WiFi APs: Ubiquiti Unifi APs. These are normally fantastic. I’ve used them for all sorts of applications, and they’ve never failed me. I’d be surprised if these were the cause of the problem…

I started with 3 APs, all on the same SSID. I found that the tablets hung onto one AP, and only jumped when the signal was at 0%, so now I’m on just one AP. There is nothing else on this AP, just the tablets (oh, and a printer).

I’m wondering if anyone has managed to resolve a similar problem, and if so, how they did it.

The other thing I’m thinking, and this is a HUGE ask, but for a later release, would it be possible to simply have a “reconnect” button? So when the tablet loses connection, we can just hit reconnect, instead of the application completely crashing out? I realise that probably is not an easy implementation, but hey, don’t ask, don’t get.

My other suggestion, again completely off the wall, is to release a Linux version. This would enable a free RDP setup. Whilst the company I work for is not against spending money, shelling out on an Terminal Services setup is not cheap at all. I know not much about programming, but I reckon this would be pretty difficult in comparison to my other suggestion, although possibly better.

Thank you,
Bryn

2

In regards the RDP server solution it works out hugely cheaper just the have multiple USFF PCs to RDP to.
I buy job lots of dell usff 780 for arround £70 each - core2duo 3ghz 4gb ram, 160gb hdd.
Allot cheaper than RDP server and if any issues with RDP server all go down where multiple PC give some redundancy.

3

Version 5 does have a reconnect feature. Are you using RDP?

You should invest in some tools to find dead spots in the wifi coverage and fix them. Also make sure you don’t have power savings features that turn off wifi. Also make sure your wifi leases are not expiring.

Version 5 will try to reconnect 5x

1 Like
4

You might want to use range extenders not just APs

5

Not sure how hard that would be but like the idea of a dialog saying cannot connect to database after the 5 attempts and button to reconnect rather than a ‘crash’ and restart the program… Seems more ‘refined’ that a crash/program close…

6

Don’t think it’s that simple. But that does sound nice. It would be better to solve the real problem.
Though. I mean if after 30 seconds it still can’t connect then your wifi is having issues. You should narrow those down.

7

Indeed there is obviously a problem needing fixing.
This would be most benificial for tablet use where connectivity is more vulnerable to issues.

8

My point is if I know something is more vulnerable I would invest in trying to increase the network reliability vs a dialogue telling me it’s bad.

1 Like
9

I really don’t think it’s as simple as it sounds for Emre to do that. It’s not like it has a pause button. But I agree it sounds nice if it is possible.

10

Hey guys,
I am trying to fix the underlying problem, but in the meantime it’s causing issues. It would be far simpler (for new people using SAMBAPOS) to have a reconnect feature. I know, and I already said, that I doubted it would be a simple fix for Emre, but you never get if you never ask.

You might want to use range extenders not just APs

May I ask what the difference between APs and Range Extenders are? Would the existing APs need to support anything (WDS for instance)?

Version 5 does have a reconnect feature. Are you using RDP?
You should invest in some tools to find dead spots in the wifi
coverage and fix them. Also make sure you don’t have power savings
features that turn off wifi. Also make sure your wifi leases are not
expiring.
Version 5 will try to reconnect 5x

No, I’ve got the software installed directly onto the tablets.
Although I don’t have any tools, the tablets show full signal, and the APs show around 75% signal. I’m fairly sure there isn’t a problem there.
All power save features are turned off in the settings, but I believe the tablet is ignoring the settings.
I imagine it would be easy to increase that to say, 10 or 15 times to try to reconnect?

11

Hi Bryn - I have seen your avatar before so you probably an experienced Samba person.

From my experience in trouble shooting these issues I would use process of elimination. It seems from the language it is the wireless routing and no matter what emre does you always never have a great reliable system IMO.

Those Dell tablets I have seen with a docking station, right? I would got a get a Dock ASAP and run a hard wired test and see the results :smile: If you are on the money then that tablet should give you a clear indication on whats up.

Quickest path from “A” to “B”. Just a few cents worth and many years of trouble shooting…

12

could be poor ability of the APs handeling multiple tablets. Could be getting interference from peoples phones that have WiFi sharing turned on. There are ways to secure that. Also if tablets move around a lot you should turn off beamforming and invest in good omnidirectional high gain antennas. Setup static ip for tablets as well. Be sure they are set to only use your network and connect via static IP.

I have read some Dell venue have weak modems.

I mentioned it above but iphones in particular are notoriously easy to accidentally leave wifi hotspot turned on creating possible interference havoc on a venue’s WiFi. You need strong high gain external omnidirectional antennas for a reliable system.

1 Like
13

Be sure to check wifi channel, I am confident to say for wifi ‘roaming’ APs must have the same SSID and WEP/WPA code but MUST be on different channels.
I believe you are best to allow 2 or more channels between APs with overlapping coverage.