The app won't connect to the control module or DIG module

The tablet is on the wrong Wi-Fi Most likely

Check:

1. Open the tablet's Wi-Fi list. If you haven't done this before, Tablet basics: Wi-Fi shows each tap with pictures.
2. Read the network at the top of the list, marked Connected.
3. Compare it with your kit. Control module: the name starts with DitchAssist. DIG module: it starts with MECU_Ditch_Dig.

Shop or house Wi-Fi, a phone hotspot, or no network at all gives this red box.

Fix:

1. In the Wi-Fi list, tap the module's network.
2. Type the password 12345678. Leave Auto reconnect switched on.
3. Tap Connect, the blue button under the password.
4. If Android warns Internet may not be available, tap Always connect. Some tablets say Keep Wi-Fi connection or Always stay connected instead; they mean the same. Module networks never have internet.
5. Press the tablet's Home button (where it is).
6. Tap the Ditch Assist icon. The app opens where you left it, on the Connect window.
7. Tap the green Connect button.

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A tablet with a SIM card sends the app over mobile data

Check:

1. Look at the top of the tablet screen. Signal bars or 4G / LTE next to the Wi-Fi icon mean mobile data is on.
2. Open the Wi-Fi list. The module's network shows Connected, but Connect still fails.

Android keeps sending the app's traffic over the phone network when a Wi-Fi network has no internet, so the app can't reach the module.

Fix:

1. If Android shows Internet may not be available for the module's network, tap Always connect.
2. If you don't see that question, turn mobile data off while you work: open the pull-down panel (how) and tap Mobile data so it goes grey. Turn it back on at home.
3. Go back to Ditch Assist and tap the green Connect button.

The module has no power, or is still starting

Check:

1. Look at the control module (or the DIG module). Are any of its lights on?
2. Did the key or the power harness switch just go on? The module's Wi-Fi takes about 30 seconds to appear in the tablet's list.

Fix:

1. Turn the key on.
2. Check the switch on the power harness is on.
3. Wait 30 seconds.
4. Join the module's Wi-Fi (see the tablet is on the wrong Wi-Fi) and tap the green Connect button.

No lights at all? See The module Wi-Fi isn't in the list.

Another phone or tablet already holds the connection

Check: Has anyone joined a phone or a second tablet to this module's Wi-Fi? If it's nearby and switched on, it may have taken the connection.

Fix:

1. On that phone or tablet, open its Wi-Fi list.
2. Tap the DitchAssist network (on some phones, tap the gear icon next to it).
3. Tap Forget. That device won't join the module again by itself.
4. On the cab tablet, tap the green Connect button.

Auto-detect timed out

Check: The tablet is on the right network and nothing else is connected, but Connect still fails.

Fix:

1. Check the Wi-Fi name once more (how).
2. Tap the green Connect button again.
3. DIG module only: tap Manual Options, the small link under Bluetooth GPS. Two cards appear at the top of the window.
4. Tap the DIG Module card (the right-hand card, Tap to connect). The app connects to the DIG module directly.

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Too far away, or steel between the module and the cab

Check:

1. Carry the tablet right up to the module.
2. Tap the green Connect button there. If it connects there but not in the cab, it's range or line of sight.

Fix: Mount the module where it can see the cab, with no steel in between. On a pull-type scraper, move it from the tongue to an upright part of the frame. See Mount the control module.

The module or app is stuck

Check: Everything above checks out and it still fails.

Fix:

1. Switch the module off with the switch on the power harness.
2. Wait about 5 seconds, then switch it back on.
3. Close Ditch Assist fully: how to close an app.
4. Open Ditch Assist again and accept the safety warning.
5. Wait 30 seconds for the module's Wi-Fi, and check the tablet rejoined it.
6. On the Home screen, tap your workflow card (for example Ditching). The Connect window opens.
7. Tap the green Connect button.

The tablet isn't on the module Wi-Fi Most likely

Check:

1. Open the tablet's Wi-Fi list (how, with pictures).
2. Read the network marked Connected. For a control module it must start with DitchAssist.

Fix:

1. Tap the network that starts with DitchAssist.
2. Type the password 12345678.
3. Tap Connect under the password.
4. If Android warns there's no internet, tap Always connect.
5. Press the tablet's Home button.
6. Tap the Ditch Assist icon. The app opens where you left it.
7. Tap the green Connect button again.

The module is still starting, or another device holds it

Check: Did the module just get power? Is another phone or tablet joined to the module's Wi-Fi?

Fix:

1. Wait 30 seconds after the module gets power.
2. If another device is joined: on that device, open the Wi-Fi list.
3. Tap the DitchAssist network (or the gear icon next to it).
4. Tap Forget.
5. On the cab tablet, tap the green Connect button.

A tablet with a SIM card sends the app over mobile data

Check: The tablet shows the DitchAssist network as Connected, and mobile data is on (signal bars or 4G / LTE at the top of the screen).

Fix: Answer Android's Internet may not be available with Always connect, or turn Mobile data off in the pull-down panel (how). Then tap Connect again.

The tablet isn't on the DIG Wi-Fi Most likely

Check:

1. Open the tablet's Wi-Fi list (how, with pictures).
2. Read the network marked Connected. For DIG it must start with MECU_Ditch_Dig.

Fix:

1. Tap the network that starts with MECU_Ditch_Dig.
2. Type the password 12345678.
3. Tap Connect under the password.
4. If Android warns there's no internet, tap Always connect.
5. Go back to Ditch Assist. Wait a few seconds: the app often connects by itself.
6. If it doesn't, tap the DIG Module card or the green Connect button.

The DIG module has no power, or its Wi-Fi isn't up yet

Check: Look at the status light on the DIG module housing.

Fix:

1. Turn the machine's key on so the DIG module gets power.
2. Wait about 30 seconds for its Wi-Fi to start.
3. Join the MECU_Ditch_Dig network (steps above).
4. Tap the green Connect button.

Out of range, or the Wi-Fi antenna is loose

Check:

1. Is the tablet in the cab? DIG Wi-Fi reaches only a few cab-lengths.
2. Is the Wi-Fi antenna threaded tight onto the DIG module?
3. Can the module "see" the cab, with no steel in the way?

Fix: Keep the tablet in the cab. Tighten the antenna by hand. Mount the module beside the cab, connector facing down, in clear view of the tablet. See DIG module and cables.

The DIG firmware is older than 1.7

Check:

1. Does the tablet refuse to join MECU_Ditch_Dig with the password 12345678? Modules older than firmware 1.7 use a different password.
2. If the tablet does join: in Ditch Assist, tap Settings, the fourth button down the right-hand column.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of Settings (how to scroll).
4. Find the DIG Module Firmware box, second from the bottom.
5. Tap Open on the right of that box. The app checks the module.
6. Read the message. This firmware is too old to connect to the app. Update the module to 1.7 to use it. means it needs an update before it can connect.

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Fix: Call Ditch Assist support. A product specialist walks you through the update. See DIG firmware update problems.

The module has no power or hasn't finished starting Most likely

Check:

1. Look at the module. Are any of its lights on?
2. Wait 30 seconds after the key goes on.
3. Close the Wi-Fi list and open it again, so it looks for networks again.

Fix:

1. Turn the switch on the power harness on.
2. Check the fuses are pushed fully into their holders.
3. Follow the power harness. It must go straight to the tractor battery: not a trailer plug, an auxiliary block or a cab power strip.
4. Check the connector between the power harness and the main harness is clicked together.

Details and photos: Connect the power harness.

You're too far from the machine

Check: Are you standing more than a few steps from the machine?

Fix: Get in the cab, then open the Wi-Fi list again.

The tablet's 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi isn't working

Check: Does the tablet see any other 2.4 GHz networks, such as a phone hotspot set to 2.4 GHz?

Fix: The module's network needs a working 2.4 GHz radio. Use a dual-band tablet; the Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ supplied with kits works.

DIG only: the network shows but won't join after a firmware update

Check: After a DIG firmware update, the tablet says the password is wrong (or "authentication problem") for the MECU_Ditch_Dig network.

Fix:

1. Open the tablet's Wi-Fi list.
2. Tap the MECU_Ditch_Dig network (or the gear icon next to it).
3. Tap Forget.
4. Tap the MECU_Ditch_Dig network again.
5. Type 12345678.
6. Tap Connect.

That's normal

Check: The warning appears right after you join the module, DIG or Reach network.

Fix:

1. Tap Always connect. Some tablets say Keep Wi-Fi connection or Always stay connected; they mean the same. These networks never have internet.
2. On a Samsung tablet, also turn network switching off in Intelligent Wi-Fi (Switch to mobile data, and Switch to better Wi-Fi networks if your tablet has it). Otherwise the tablet can leave the module every few minutes. Steps: Wi-Fi keeps dropping.

Anything that needs internet happens on another network first: installing the app, preparing LiDAR & Mapping fields, saving imagery, sending logs.

The app is set to Ditch Assist Lite

Check:

1. Close the Connect window with the X in its top right corner.
2. Look above the workflow cards on the Home screen. An orange LITE MODE banner means the app is set to Ditch Assist Lite.

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Fix (only if you have a control module or a DIG module):

1. Tap Settings, the fourth button in the column down the right side of the screen.
2. At the top of Settings, in the Mode box, tap Ditch Assist (the left half of the two-part button).
3. If a window asks Switch mode?, tap Switch.
4. Tap Home at the top of the sidebar.
5. Tap your workflow card again.

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You should see: the orange banner is gone from Home, and the Connect window shows Connect, Simulate, Bluetooth GPS and Manual Options.

Settings won't let you switch

Check: The app says Stop grading before switching mode.

Fix:

1. Tap Grade in the sidebar (third button down).
2. Tap the red Stop button near the top of the sidebar.
3. Tap Settings and switch the Mode as above.

Switching disconnects every source and clears the current workflow. Saved files are kept.

Reach found, but no NMEA TCP output Most likely

Check: The receiver is still set up as the cabled Rover for a control-module kit. Emlid Diagnostics shows it: Configured as Ditch Assist Rover.

Fix: program it as a Lite Rover from the app. Every tap, with pictures: The Reach is found but sends no position.

Tablet isn't on a Reach hotspot

Check: The red box reads Tablet isn't on a Reach hotspot. Join the Reach WiFi (password emlidreach) and try again. In the tablet's Wi-Fi list, the network marked Connected should be the receiver's own: Reach:XX:XX, or a name someone gave it, such as Rover:C7:77.

Fix:

1. In the Wi-Fi list, tap the receiver's network.
2. Type the password, usually emlidreach.
3. Tap Connect.
4. If Android warns Internet may not be available, tap Always connect. On a tablet with a SIM card you can turn mobile data off instead.
5. Go back to Ditch Assist and tap the green Emlid Reach button.

More causes: Tapping Emlid Reach fails.

Connecting is done from a workflow card or Pre-Flight Checks

Check: The Wi-Fi icon in the top bar is grey with a line through it. It only shows connection details (and Disconnect) while connected. The CONTROLLER box in Settings has a Disconnect button but no way to reconnect, by design.

Fix, from the workflow card:

1. Tap Home at the top of the sidebar.
2. Tap your workflow card (for example Ditching). The Connect window opens.
3. Tap the green Connect button.

Or from Pre-Flight Checks:

1. On the Home screen, tap Pre-Flight Checks, the orange button at the bottom of the right-hand column.
2. Tap Connect, bottom left of the Pre-Flight Checks window. (While connected it reads Change.)
3. In the Connect to Controller window, tap the green Connect button.

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Excavation with the control module connected

Check: You picked Excavation and the tablet is on the DitchAssist network.

Fix: The control module follows the GPS antenna, not the bucket tip. Tap Pick Different and choose a scraper workflow, or connect the DIG module for excavator work.

A scraper workflow with the DIG module connected

Check: You picked Ditching, Simple Grading, Forming, Tiling, Terracing or Leveling on the DIG network.

Fix: DIG can't move hydraulics. Tap Continue Anyway for survey and visual guidance only, or tap Pick Different and choose Excavation.

Excavation in Ditch Assist Lite

Check: You're in Lite mode on an Emlid Reach. The text says the app follows the Emlid Reach antenna, not the bucket tip.

Fix: Tap Continue Anyway. Check grade between cuts with the stick and bucket in the position you calibrated in. See Excavation with Ditch Assist Lite.