Bluetooth device troubleshooting guide

Ian Jones and Cameron H. Good, Ph.D. April 15, 2025

This guide is intended to help you troubleshoot Bluetooth devices that are either not turning on or not communicating with the computer. Please follow the steps below in order, as these represent the most likely causes of your issues.

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Verify PDC box functionality

It is critical to ensure proper power is being delivered to the antenna and behavioral cage. Follow these steps to check the PDC box power setup:

Power settings

Confirm that the duty cycle is set to 100% to ensure constant power is delivered to the cage and that pulsing is turned off. For a cage that is 25 cm x 25 cm or larger, ensure that the power setting is at 10 watts. For smaller cage sizes first try setting the antenna power to 6-8 watts, as too much power in a small cage can cause excessive wire heating and reduce power efficiency.

Cage tuning and autotuner function

Verify that the cage is properly tuned. Turn on the autotuner and check that it responds when you turn the knobs. Both indicator lights next to the knobs should be blue when optimally tuned. If they are red, please following the antenna tuning instructions found in the NeuroLux User Manual.

Wiring checks

Ensure that both wires are securely connected to the autotuner and not loose, then check that the wiring on the cage aligns with the configurations outlined in the NeuroLux User Manual. You can use an optogenetic indicator/witness device to verify that the antenna is delivering the appropriate power to the cage, as the device should light up when placed within the cage.

Check the environment

Environmental factors can often cause connectivity issues. Place the animal cage away from any metal surfaces and avoid having the cage directly beside or above metal objects, as this can block power transmission or detune the antenna. Metal can also directly interfere with Bluetooth signal transmission to the computer.

Verify Bluetooth software and device functionality

Once you have confirmed optimal power to your experimental setup, the next steps are to check that your computer, acquisition software, and Bluetooth device are properly working.

USB antenna installation

Ensure the included USB antenna is installed into a port on your laptop computer.

Driver functionality

Confirm that the Bluetooth driver is working as expected. To confirm functionality, open the device manager and check for the Realtek Bluetooth 5.3 Adapter under the Bluetooth dropdown. Right click on the driver and select ‘Disable device’, then reenable the driver by selecting ‘Enable device’. Ensure there is no yellow exclamation point next to this driver indicating a warning. If the driver is still showing a warning, or not present at all, try reinstalling the driver following instructions on the manufacturer site: https://www.mytechkey.com/pages/driver53-download

Software and device watcher

The device watcher is the service responsible for discovering Bluetooth devices in the vicinity of the antenna. Ensure the device watcher is started by selecting ‘Search for devices’ at the top left of the NeuroLux Bluetooth software. If the watcher is already on, restarting the watcher can sometimes resolve issues with discovering devices. Restart the device watcher by clicking ‘Stop watcher’, then reselect ‘Search for devices’. If this does not fix the issue, restart the NeuroLux Bluetooth software.

Device positioning

Sometimes a Bluetooth device is positioned in the cage such that the cage is sending the necessary power, but the device is out of plane with the magnetic field or in the center of the cage where the magnetic field strength is at its weakest. To maximize power to the device, hold the device parallel to the floor next to the wires in the inside corner of the cage, which delivers maximum power to the device. For devices implanted in animals, gently secure the animal close to the cage wires to maximize power to the device. Alternatively, if in possession of a booster coil, place the animal in the center of a booster coil for 5-10 seconds to temporarily boost device power while powering the cage antenna at maximum power.

Additional tips

• Always refer to the NeuroLux user manual for detailed cage antenna wiring diagrams and additional configuration information.
• If connectivity issues persist despite these troubleshooting steps, please contact NeuroLux customer support for further assistance ([email protected]).