11. Troubleshooting

Organized by symptom. Values in this chapter (timings, thresholds) are the exact behaviors described in the earlier chapters. For a guided check of a target that misbehaves, the app's Help page walks you through the same list and can record a troubleshooting series for Fastmark support — see §11.9.

11.1 Range setup checklist

Check these before shooting

Detection rate and precision depend on how the target is set up. When shots go missing or the grouping degrades, run through this list:

• The target's sensors must be clear of anything that could obstruct them. Blow accumulated dust off with compressed air; if water has accumulated, let the target dry.
• Consumables must not overlap and must not be too worn. Replace them before their tears become too large — a tear is too large once a projectile can pass through it without striking the consumable.
• Leave no obstacle within 50 cm behind the target. That distance can sometimes be reduced depending on the obstacle's material and the caliber used.
• Keep the target out of direct sun. The speed of sound used to locate the impacts is derived from the air temperature, which the target measures on its own board and refines from every clean shot; a housing heated by the sun throws that estimate off, costing precision or detection rate. Shade the target, or let it cool.
• Keep a clear line between the phone or tablet and the target, and do not lay the device flat — incline it to avoid connection problems.
• Projectiles must not be supersonic when they reach the target. Some ammunition always is (.357 Magnum at 25 m); for others it depends on barrel length, ammunition type, shooting distance…

11.2 Discovery & connection

No target appears in the app (counter stays hidden)

1. Is the target on? Its LED must show the steady dim idle color. Hold the switch until the LED lights — a quick tap does nothing, and a target with a critically low battery refuses to start with no LED at all: put it on the charger (§2.2).
2. Remember the target powers itself off after 30 minutes idle — it may simply have gone to sleep since you switched it on (§2.6).
3. Is the phone's Bluetooth on? When it is off, the target button in the app bar becomes a Bluetooth-disabled icon: tap it — the panel says "Bluetooth is off" and, on Android, offers "Enable Bluetooth" to turn it back on in place. The panel closes by itself once Bluetooth is usable.
4. Were the Bluetooth permissions granted to the app? If refused, the same disabled icon appears and its panel says "Bluetooth permission is missing": grant the permission in the phone's app settings, then return to the app — scanning resumes by itself, no restart needed.

The target is listed but cannot be selected (row greyed out)

• An "Update" chip on its row → its firmware must be updated first; the app opens its page for you (§3.6). If the page reads "Obsolete version of the application…" instead, it is the app that must be updated.
• An "Other device" chip → another device is connected to it; one connection at a time (§3.4).
• A spinner → a series is loaded on it ("busy"); wait for it to finish, or power-cycle the target if it is a leftover.
• You already have a target assigned → one target per device outside supervisor mode (§3.3).

A target vanishes and reappears in the list

Normal at the edge of radio range: a target is dropped once its signal has been silent for 15 s and returns as soon as it is heard again (~1–2 s). Move the device closer to the line if it happens indoors at short range — thick walls and bodies attenuate the signal.

11.3 During a series

The connection dropped mid-series / the app crashed / the phone rebooted

Nothing is lost. Reopen the app (or just wait, for a radio drop): the target is re-adopted within seconds and the series resumes live, including any shots fired during the gap — the target keeps the running series and the app rebuilds from it (§6.7). Do not power-cycle the target: that is the one thing that discards its running series.

A shot was fired but nothing appeared

• Was the phase green? A shot fired outside a shooting phase is still recorded, but it appears as a cross and scores nothing (§7.3).
• A shot clean off the target produces nothing — at the end of the phase it is filled in as a zero-point miss automatically, or add it yourself with "Add miss" (§7.3).
• If shots keep going missing, run the target troubleshooting from the Help page (§11.9).

A shot appears as a cross instead of a scored hit

Crosses are recorded-but-not-scored shots: fired outside the valid window, an extra shot in a rapid-fire exposure, a warm-up shot in a Benchrest practice column, or a reading too degraded to locate (§7.3). This is the intended behavior, not a fault.

Scores seem shifted from the point of aim

The impact positions are consistent but the group scores off-center? Check the target's exposure: a target in direct sunlight misreads the air temperature used for the acoustics — shade it and let it cool (§11.1). To evaluate pure grouping regardless of sight setting, use "Auto center" (§7.6).

"Number of selected targets is incorrect" when launching

A shooter's target badge is orange: they don't have the required number of targets assigned — the notice under their name says how many to choose. Fix the assignment (§3.3) and launch again.

"The series did not start"

A target failed to accept the start (usually radio interference, or it powered off at that moment). Check the target's LED and battery, then tap "Retry" — the series starts fresh; nothing was recorded (§6.7).

"Some targets could not be stopped — retry" when leaving a series

A target did not acknowledge the stop (radio drop at that moment). The series page stays open so nothing is left running unnoticed: check the target's LED, then go back again to retry the stop (§6.1).

No beeps or spoken commands

The three sound options are off by default — enable "Play beeps" / "Play commands" in Settings → Sound, and check the device's media volume (§10.2).

The target LED stays dark during the preparation phase

By design: the preparation-phase light ships disabled. Enable "Show LED for: Preparation phase" in Settings → LED if you want it (§10.4).

11.4 Target hardware

The target went off by itself

Three blinks then dark means a normal shutdown; the causes, in order of likelihood: the 30-minute idle timer (§2.6 — disable it from the target's page, or note that any shot resets it), an empty battery (charge it — there is no low-battery warning before shutdown), or overheating at 80 °C (shade the target and let it cool).

The target won't switch on

Hold the switch longer — the press must still be held an instant after the LED would light. If there is still no LED at all, the battery is critically low (charge it) or the unit is too hot (let it cool). A Sport 17 switches on by inserting the target medium, not by a button (§2.2).

The target behaves oddly after a lot of experimenting

Factory-reset it: three brief presses of the switch, then the long power-off press. This restores the default name and auto-shutdown setting (§2.7).

11.5 Firmware updates

The update failed ("Error")

The target keeps its previous firmware and keeps working — nothing is damaged. Move the phone next to the target, check the target's battery, and run "Firmware update" again (§3.6).

After the update the target disappeared

Normal: the target blinks three times, reboots, and reappears in the list within a few seconds with the new firmware version on its page.

"Obsolete version of the application, please update from the store"

The target's firmware is newer than this app. Update the app; the target is fine.

11.6 Account & sync

My results don't show on my other device

• Both devices must be signed in to the same account — data recorded while signed out belongs to the device profile, not the account (§4.2).
• Sync needs an internet connection on both sides; changes upload in the background within moments of connectivity returning.

I signed in and my previous sessions disappeared

They are not lost: everything recorded before signing in stays with the device profile. Sign out to see it again (§4.2).

"Send code" is greyed out

Signing in needs internet — the card reads "Needs internet access, please disconnect from target network if needed".

"Invalid version" at startup

This app version is below the service minimum. Update the app from the store; nothing else is possible on that screen (§1.3).

"Configuration has changed. Please close and restart the application."

Close the app completely and open it again (§1.3).

11.7 Multi-shooter / supervisor

I can't add shooters or a second target

Both need supervisor access on the account, and extra targets must be among the account's registered targets — check the User page (§4.7, chapter 9).

A device at the range keeps opening other lanes' series

Put it in passive mode for its own target (§9.6).

One shooter's target dropped during a supervised series

Only that target is released; the rest of the line continues. The dropped target reappears in the list within seconds; if its series was still running it is re-adopted automatically (§6.7).

11.8 If all else fails

• Power-cycle the target and restart the app — recorded results are never lost by a restart.
• Check both version numbers (app: the menu's footer; target: its page) against the versions this manual applies to.
• Run the guided target troubleshooting from the Help page (§11.9) — it checks the target for you and lets you send Fastmark a report with everything support needs.
• Contact Fastmark support with the app version, the target's serial number, and what you observed — the serial number is on the target's page (§3.5).

11.9 The Help page — guided target troubleshooting

Open menu → "Help". The page opens with a link card, "Open the user manual", which opens this manual in your language in the browser, and the "Target troubleshooting" procedure: six numbered steps — "Bluetooth", "Target", "Checks", "Detection", "Setup", "Troubleshooting series" — started with the "Start target troubleshooting" button. Each step opens once the one above has passed; a passed step folds to one line with its outcome and a "Change" link to redo it, a failed step shows what to fix and a "Retry" button.

1. Bluetooth — checks "Bluetooth is on" and "Bluetooth permission granted"; folds to "on · permission granted". Failing: "Bluetooth is off. Turn it on to continue." (with "Enable Bluetooth" on Android) or "The app is missing Bluetooth permission. Grant it in your device settings, then retry."
2. Target — "Does the target you're troubleshooting appear here?" lists every target in sight (name, model, "S/N "). Tap yours. If it is missing, tap "No, it's not here": the page reads "Please turn on the target" — "If the target won't turn on or charge, or if it's switched on right next to your device but still doesn't appear in the list, please contact us for product support." Should the chosen target vanish later, the page asks you to pick it again.
3. Checks — four checks in order, each gating the next, folding to "4 / 4":
   • "Target signal is healthy" — the target must have been heard within the last 4 seconds with a signal of at least −85 dBm. Failing: "The target's signal looks weak. Make sure your device isn't lying flat on the table — that can improve the connection. If the signal stays weak, send us a report so we can investigate." with a "Send a report" button: it sends the target's technical state (versions, battery, temperatures, link quality, acquisition settings — no personal data) to Fastmark and reads "Report sent — thank you, we will investigate.";
   • "Target is available" — failing: "The target is connected to another device. Disconnect it there, then retry.";
   • "Target is not busy" — failing: "This target is still running a series even though it reports itself as free — the connection was likely dropped. Please switch the target off and on, then retry.";
   • "Target is connected" — the app connects to the target itself. Failing: "Couldn't connect to the target. Move closer, make sure it's powered on, and retry."
4. Detection — "Your target is detected and available. Do you have an issue with shot detection or shot location?" "No" ends the procedure: "Everything looks fine." — "Have another question about the app or anything else?" — with an "Open the forum" button. "Yes" folds to "issue reported" and continues.
5. Setup — "Does your setup respect this checklist?" lists the five points of §11.1 (sensors clear, consumables, 50 cm clearance, no direct sun, subsonic projectiles). "No": "Adjust your setup so it matches the checklist, then use your target again. If the problem is still there with a correct setup, come back and start the troubleshooting." "Yes" folds to "matches the checklist".
6. Troubleshooting series — "You can shoot a troubleshooting series to help us investigate": "You fire 10 shots with no time limit, and the app records the raw acoustic signals for each one so the detection problem can be diagnosed and sent to support." and "Install the target as you would for normal shooting." The button reads "You need to connect to a user account" while signed out (sign in first — §4.3), "You need an internet connection" while offline, and otherwise "I'm ready to shoot":
   • the app creates a "Troubleshooting" session — 10 shots, no time limit — on the chosen target and starts it. The series screen shows no target face, only "Fire 10 shots, then stop the series and go back to the Help page to finish." and the button "I've finished — stop and go back", which stops the series without confirmation and returns to the Help page;
   • back on the page: "What would you like to do with this run?" — "Add a photo of the target taken with your phone, so we can compare your recorded series against the real impacts." "Add a photo" opens the camera and attaches the photo ("Your photo was added. We'll get back to you soon."; "Couldn't upload the photo. Please try again." on failure); "Send data" sends the run as recorded. Either ends with "Thank you" — "We received your troubleshooting series and will get back to you soon." — and a "Leave" button. "Cancel" discards the run ("Troubleshooting report was not sent.", with "Retry");
   • if no shot was detected: "No shot was detected during the series. Please retry." with "Retry", which starts a fresh run.

The troubleshooting session is kept for Fastmark support only: it does not appear in your events, nor in your statistics.