Troubleshooting & FAQ

Symptom	What to do
Phone won't connect to the device hotspot	Confirm the device is powered. In system Wi-Fi, manually select GILABS-XXXXXX. Ignore the "no internet" warning and stay connected, then tap Add Device in Visio Companion again.
Card inserted but it won't record / app shows no free space	Most likely a slow, fake, or incompatible card. Use a genuine card rated at least A1 / V30, verify its real capacity (H2testw or F3), and format as FAT32. See SD cards.
Preview flickers or stutters	This is the live decode struggling to keep up — not a device fault. The recording on the SD card is unaffected (it doesn't drop frames).
Viewer opens the file but shows no video	Make sure you opened the .mcap file itself, and that your MCAP viewer supports H.265 (in Foxglove Studio, use a recent version).
A very long recording is slow to play / uses lots of memory	Keep individual recordings shorter, or split capture into multiple sessions.
Not sure whether the device is on	Check the power LED on the top — if it's lit, the device is powered on.
How do I power down safely?	Stop the recording in the Visio Companion app (in always-on mode, do this before you power down), wait for it to finish saving, then disconnect USB power. Never cut power mid-recording — you can lose data.

Still stuck? Contact your GI Labs representative with your device serial (the XXXXXX in the hotspot name) and a description of what you saw.