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What is the actual range of MetaMotionR?

bengloriousbenglorious
in iOS
I have the MetaMotionR and I the connection I get on my phone is quite unstable. I tried setting the transmitPower to the max possible which is 4 dBm but all I get is reliable connection up to 10 meters only. When I am outside it is even worse. I read a lot about that - cellphone interference could be an issue, the radio signal disperses too much outside, etc. But is there any way to increase the stability of the connection by using the advertising interval or advertising timeout settings. Thanks for the response!

Comments

  • EricEric
    • Which phone model and OS are you using?
    • What  is your indoor environment like?
    • How are you using the board?

    Those parameters are for BLE advertisements so I doubt they will address your issue.
  • bengloriousbenglorious
    Hey, I read it all and I saw they are for BLE advertisements. My colleague who works with the receivers on the same app but on android proposed that playing with the advertisements may help. I was not sure, so I decided to ask.

    Regarding the environment:

    - I used an iPhone 5 running 10.3.3 and an iPhone 6 running the 11.0.2.

    - The indoor environment is the open-office work space. That is where I would get about 10 meters of good connection, probably less. I guess it is because of the walls where I get the signal to get reflected.

    - I used the board with your mbient metawear app where you can test the led, accelerometer and all other things where I can get graphics drawn etc. I used it only to see when I loose connection. I also used the boards with the app I am building. There I am connecting to the board and using the AccelerometerBMI160 where I listen for the packedDataReadyEvent.

    I am guessing that only the trasmitPower is the one I can count on for range increase and there is no way to get more than what I am already getting? 
      

  • EricEric
    Try with another device on a different platform, such as an Android device or Windows 10 PC, and in other locations.  I am able to maintain connection at 15m while streaming with the MetaBase app.

    Yes, transmitPower is for range increase.
  • bengloriousbenglorious
    Thank you for the answer!
  • patricepatrice

    Hi Benglorious,

    Did you finally succeed to increase range with your iPhone while streaming, at least stabilize signal when using sensors outside ? Is it really better with Android or Windows 10 ?
    Upgrading transmitPower to .power4dBm help me a little but outdoor (in an open field) it really changes nothing particularly with windy conditions... I do not have the right explanation but like you, I do feel that the radio signal disperses too much, and as in my project sensors are moreover on the backside of my torso, signal has also to cross my body which is another difficulty to keep a strong signal...

    I am afraid that we have to wait for Bluetooth 5.
    Here are some interesting explanations from Nordic :
    https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected/things-you-should-know-about-bluetooth-range
    https://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/Bluetooth-5#nrf52series_anchor

    Hoping that a new Metawear-R with Bluetooth 5 will be soon available :-)

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