Many of you had been asking for a diagnostic tool that did not require bluetooth pairing and now here it is - The Bobcat Diagnoser allows you to get detailed information of your hotspot by simply entering the miner's IP address in your web browser.

While a key feature of this diagnoser is that it does not require bluetooth, it is a local diagnoser, meaning that you be on the same LAN as the hotspot to access the web interface. The hotspot must be online to access the diagnoser, as the page will not load if your hotspot is offline. Lastly, while the diagnoser can be viewed using any browser, we recommend you use either Firefox or Chrome as they make JSON files very easy to read.

What Exactly Does this Diagnoser Do?

Along with simplifying the process for checking Bobcat's firmware delivery, this diagnoser will consolidate valuable insights and key data related to your miner without requiring you to input a single query or having extensive coding knowledge. In accessing this diagnostic tool you will be able to:

1. Prevent Hotspot Overheating w/ Alert Features

2. Check Real Time Miner Syncing Information

3. View Your Hotspot's Current Helium and Bobcat Firmwares

4. Identify Miner Issues (e.g. Miner Not Starting)

5. Reboot/Reset/Resync/Fast Synce your hotspot

Understanding the Diagnoser Menu

Temperature

1. There are 2 temperature points on the CPU

2. If the temperature is above 65°C , the diagnoser will show an ‘alert’ by changing the color of the temperature menu in the label.

• Red = Above 70°C | Yellow = Between 65°C and 70°C | White = Below 65°C)

Sync Status（feature updated on 12/17/2021*)

1. Green = Synced. Gap is smaller than 10 blocks

2. White = Syncing. Gap is bigger than 10 blocks

3. Red = Down

4. Down indicates the miner software has not started yet. Often you will not need to touch the hotspot when the status is down. The miner will restart on its own.

5. This reflects the miner's real-time syncing status and will therefore not always match what you see on the helium app, as the latter is often delayed.

6. Selecting this menu item allows you to see the miner's height and blockchain height. A fully synced miner will have a miner height that is larger than the blockchain height.

7. A negative gap is a good thing. It means you're at the head of the blockchain.

*The Sync Status will show loading when the LED status is yellow and the miner is loading snapshot. This happens when: (a) the miner is falling behind; (b) the db is broken (c) the db is automatically being cleared to free up disk memory (d) when user triggers fast sync/reset/resync. Leave the hotspot alone when sync status shows loading and let it do its thing.

Miner (5s, Miner Slow Down)

This section takes around 5 seconds to load. Do not keep clicking if it’s loading, or the page will not load; Do not check this repeatedly, as it will slow down your miner

Most important info in this section:

• "miner_alert": - shows the miner (aka the docker process) has started; if instead, you see ‘red alert’ as below, it means the docker process has not started for some reason.

• "ota_version": "1.0.2.9" - Shows the Bobcat Firmware Version; Check here to check against the latest firmware updates.

• "Image": "...2021.08.2.0_GA" - shows the Helium Firmware Version

• "height": [ "24246 947944",] - The first number is the election epoch and the second number is the block height of your miner. You just need to pay attention to the second number. You will be able to tell the true syncing status of your miner by checking this number against the block height number

• nat_type - If this shows anything other than ‘none’, your hotspot may be relayed. Check here to see how you can remove the relay status.

Ports (Updated 11/16)

On the /miner.json page, you will see the open/close status of these ports.

Port 44158 - If the status is open, it means this port can be accessed from the internet. Your hotspot can still show relayed however, if the Nat_Type is not "none".

Port 80 - This port should be closed, although it will be alright if the status is open, because the diagnoser has disabled external IPs from visiting so it’s not possible for others to attempt to manipulate your hotspot by taking hold of the diagnoser.

The miner.json page now displays a user’s public and private IP address, as well as port open/close information. Port 22 on your private IP is open by default. Port 22 on your public IP should is closed by default.

11/5 Update

Added ‘time out’ display if tcp port scan exceeds 5 seconds. Port 44158 will show "timeout/closed" instead of "closed". Do not be alarmed as this will not affect mining insofar as you have a listen_address in your Peer Book.

Public IP display will show "unable to get your public IP," if the diagnoser cannot get your IPV4. Do not be alarmed as this does not affect mining.

Display of your public IP in the /miner.json page

Your public IP will be shown inside the miner (5s) page

Explorer, Onboarding, and Helium API

These are shortcut links to the Helium explorer page, the dewi onboarding API information, and the Helium API page for your hotspot.

Blockchain Height

Provides the true helium blockchain Height number.

Net Speed (30s, miner slow down)

You can test your network speed by selecting this menu item. The test takes about 30 seconds to complete and you should not test it repeatedly. Doing so will slow down your internet speed, which in turn will slow down your miner.

Reboot （new feature added on 8/28/2021)

1. This feature power cycles the miner without physically having to unplug and plug the miner back to power.

2. The hotspot LED will turn red once it starts rebooting.

3. Using this feature will require that you input the username (bobcat) and password (miner).

Fast Sync (new feature added on 9/10/2021)

This is an alpha feature that gives healthy miners a sync boost, so they can quickly catch up to the top of the blockchain from the block they are syncing at.

IMPORTANT: this feature will NOT work for healthy miners whose gap to the blockchain is smaller than 400 blocks.

Resync Miner (feature updated on 9/10/2021)

This action deletes the blockchain data. It does not, however, delete the helium software. Your miner will start syncing from 0.

 

Reset Miner (new feature added on 9/10/2021)

Consider this a system wide wipe over. This action deletes both the blockchain data and the helium software. Your miner will reload everything and start syncing from 0.

Dig* (new feature added on 10/15/2021)

Dig command stands for Domain Information Groper. It is used for retrieving information about DNS name servers and is commonly used by network administrators to verify and troubleshoot DNS problems and perform DNS lookups.

In this json file, you will see the IP addresses for the 24 Helium seed nodes, as well as your hotspot’s connect status to the seed nodes. Your hotspot needs at least 1 successful dial to connect to the blockchain and mine. If all 24 dials ‘failed’, then you have a network issue. In this scenario, you should follow the steps provided on this community resource to fix your network.

* Dig is a temporary feature that may not be available in the future.

Peer Book (feature updated on 11/16/2021)

Peerbook information will now display inside the miner.json page. Checking the P2P (Peer-to-Peer) network is one of the first health checks you can perform to see how your miner is doing. You want to see if you're connected to any peers, whether your NAT type has been correctly identified, and that you have some listen addresses.

Your hotspot's peer book shows the hotspots peer to peer status. As long as you have an address listed in listen_addrs and some peers in the table at the bottom, you're connected to the p2p network and good to go.

If the listen_addrs is via tcp/44158, it means your hotspot is not relayed. A relayed hotspot's listen address will be via another hotspot on the network

Must Read: How to Use Fast Sync, Resync Miner, and Reset Miner

Consider the reset, resync and fast sync features in this order: prescription medicine, OTC (over the counter) medicine, and supplement. The first two treat symptoms and the last one only boosts the immune system. Resync will reload the snapshot, while the Reset feature will not only do the resync but will also rebuild the docker.

You should always try the resync feature first. If the system notification shows the resync was successful, you can then follow up with a Fast Sync to boost syncing speed.

If the system notification shows the resync failed, then opt to utilize the reset miner option instead. You can still follow up with a fast sync once the reset is successful.

OTA Version Display (new feature added on 11/1/2021)

The Bobcat OTA version is now displayed at the bottom of the Diagnoser menu

Light Bulb LED Status (new feature added on 11/1/2021)

We’ve added a light bulb icon that reflects your hotspot’s actual LED light status.

When you perform a resync, reset or fast sync, the light bulb color will turn white (see below) first, to indicate the progress has successfully started (You will need to refresh the menu in order for the status change to display. ) During this time, your hotspot's LED will first turn yellow, before finally turning green - make sure the hotspot does not lose power or internet connectivity.

Auto Remove relay status (added on 11/4/2021) The diagnoser will now port forward 44158 if your router's UPnP is enabled and 44158 isn't opened yet. This automatically removes the relay status for you. Please disable UPnP if you don't want to automatically forward port 44158. You can still open the port manually.

User Guide (new feature added on 9/24/2021)

Will direct you to this specific blog post.

Troubleshooting

A shortcut that links to an unofficial community resource where you can find step by step guides for how to resolve issues with relays, onboarding, 0 witnesses, and much more!

FAQs

1. When will the Diagnoser be launched?

The feature will become available once the upcoming OTA is complete, currently scheduled to push at 7.30 pm PDT 8/3. Please stay tuned for the OTA announcement.

2. How do I access the Diagnoser?

• Connect the miner to the internet

• Run Diagnostics using the Helium App or the Helium Utility App to get the miner IP address

• Enter the IP address in your browser

 

3. How to get my diagnoser IP from the Helium App?

Follow the screenshots below to access your IP address using the Helium app. If you are the hotspot host and do not have access to the owner’s Helium App, you can also run diagnostics using the Helium Utility App to get the miner IP address.

4. I have located the miner IP from the helium/utility app, but why I can't access the diagnoser when I enter the IP address on my tablet/PC?

You can only access the diagnoser locally. If your miner is away in a different location (ie. not on the same LAN), you cannot access the diagnoser. Additionally you will not be able to access the diagnoser if you are not using the same internet as your hotspot OR you are on your phone's data plan while the miner is using wifi/ethernet.

 

5. I am on the same LAN as the hotspot, but I still can't access the diagnoser

The miner's IP address may have changed. Run diagnostics report again to get the latest hotspot IP and use it to access the diagnoser. Any newly added devices into your network may result in a change of device IPs, including that of your hotspot. It is best to fix the hotspot's IP address first, (especially if you want to remove its relay status, as port forwarding requires your miner to have a static IP address), so the URL for the diagnoser will not change in the future.

6. The diagnoser is showing large fluctuations in my miner's temperature. Is this normal？

The diagnoser shows the temperture inside CPU. Activities such as the sudden increase of witnesses, beacons or pairing with other hotspots to send blocks out can cause a sudden increase in temperature. There is no reason to be alarmed. This is totally normal.

7. My Bobcat is already installed and it's hard for me to pair bluetooth to find out the device's IP address. Is there another way for me to find my miner's IP address?

Yes. In your router settings, find the device named 'bobcatminer'. You'll find it's IP address listed there.

8. Why the sync status is red and status says alert?

This is normal. It means your miner just started syncing & there is a long way to go to catch up to the blockchain. The next Diagnoser update will change the sync status to 2 colors: (1) green means fully synced & your hotspot should be making rewards; (2) white means it’s not synced & will not make rewards.

9. How do I choose between resync and rest miner?

You should always try to resync first, as this is less ‘destructive.’ Use the reset feature only as a last resort if resync did not work.

10. When can I use Fast Sync?

Fast Sync is a ‘supplement’. You cannot use it on a ‘sick’ hotspot or a hotspot that’s fully synced. It is best to use after a successful reset/resync, when the LED has turned green. You can also use it on a healthy hotspot that’s out of sync.

11. If I choose reset miner, do I have to set up my hotspot in the helium app again?

No.

12. I see a negative gap in Sync Status. Is it normal?

Yes. It means your miner is fully synced and ahead of the blockchain. This is normal.