Connecting to the Reach

From a workflow card

1. Tap a workflow card on Home. The connect step opens.
2. Tap the Emlid Reach button. The app looks for the Reach on the hotspot, reads its serial number, and opens its position stream.
3. On success the same three-row system check runs as in Ditch Assist mode: the connection row, GPS Signal, and GPS Accuracy. Wait for RTK Fixed (green) before surveying or grading.
4. Tap Continue.

Simulate lets you walk through the app without any receiver — it is the only other choice in the connect step; Lite offers no Bluetooth and no controller options.

From Pre-Flight Checks

Tap the orange Pre-Flight Checks button in the main-menu sidebar, then Connect / Change — the picker offers the same two choices, Emlid Reach and Simulate. The connection row shows Emlid Reach RS3 · Lite active in green once the receiver is activated, or Emlid Reach RS3 · Not activated in amber with an Activate button beside it. A Guidance only — no hydraulic control line reminds you there are no valve tests here. Disconnect releases the Reach cleanly.

If the connection fails

The connect step tells you exactly what went wrong:

• Tablet isn't on a Reach hotspot. Join the Reach WiFi (password emlidreach) and try again. — the tablet is on some other network. Open Wi-Fi settings and join reach:XX:XX.
• Reach found, but no NMEA TCP output is configured. Open Settings → Ditch Assist Lite → Setup guide. — the receiver is reachable but has no position output set to TCP Server in NMEA format (it is off, set to Client, or not NMEA). Do step 1 of Setting up the Reach.
• Reach found, but the NMEA port refused the connection. Check that Position output is TCP Server and try again. — the Reach reports a TCP Server NMEA output, but that port did not accept the connection: the output is switched off or still starting. (The port number is read from the Reach, so a port other than 9001 is followed, not refused.)

If the Reach goes quiet

If no positions arrive for 10 seconds, the app drops the connection and shows a red connection lost notice — then keeps trying to reconnect in the background every 2 seconds. When the Reach is back, the connection comes back on its own; you do not have to tap anything. The GPS badge and chevrons dim while the position is stale so you can see the readout is frozen.