An idle phone can act as a Wi-Fi relay: the FPVSIM timer joins the old phone hotspot, and the main device running the Timer App joins the same network, thus splitting a long wireless distance in two. The tutorial uses Timer Solo as the main scenario and explains the Timer Multi variant that relies more on the capabilities of the phone and its reliability limitations.
Understand the network topology of the old-phone relay
The old phone creates a local hotspot, and the timer connects to it as a client. The main phone or computer joins the same hotspot, then connects through the Timer App using the IP address that the hotspot network assigns to the timer. Placing the old phone higher up and between the two endpoints shortens each wireless hop and reduces obstructions.
This still uses a consumer phone hotspot; it is not equivalent to a wired network. Operating-system power saving, carrier settings, automatic shutdown, and crowded RF conditions at the venue can affect the hotspot. Treat it as an option to validate in advance, not as an untested replacement for a dedicated router.
Configure a Solo timer to join the phone hotspot
On the old phone, set an SSID using only simple letters and digits and use a strong password you generate yourself. Do not reuse the example credentials from the public video. Turn on the hotspot first, then connect the device running the Timer App directly to the timer hotspot and open the timer router settings.
Enter the old phone hotspot SSID and password accurately into the timer, save them, and restart the timer. If needed, connect directly to the timer again to note the IP address it received on the old phone hotspot. Then connect the main device to that hotspot and use the recorded IP address to reach the timer.
Placement and stress testing determine the actual result
Place the relay phone above the main obstructions and roughly between the timer and the device running the app. The final test should run long enough, with radios, VTX units, other hotspots, and venue users all operating under realistic conditions. A brief successful test at an empty venue does not establish stability during the busiest part of a race.
If the connection drops intermittently, first check whether the hotspot is sleeping automatically, whether the phone has entered a power-saving mode, whether either wireless hop is obstructed, and whether the timer IP address has changed. For multi-drone races or critical timing, the video still recommends a wired network when conditions allow.
The Timer Multi variation depends on simultaneous phone connections
The Multi arrangement in the video requires an Android phone that can keep its own hotspot running while also joining the Timer Multi access point as a Wi-Fi client. Not every Android phone or iPhone supports this simultaneous operation, and its behavior can change after system updates.
You must therefore test all three requirements on the actual phone: its hotspot stays enabled, it joins another Wi-Fi network at the same time, and the main device can access the timer. If any part is unstable, return to a supported router or wired arrangement.
Operation steps
- Create a secure hotspot on the old phone
Use a simple SSID and a unique strong password. Enable the hotspot first and disable power-saving policies that automatically put it to sleep.
- Connect directly to the timer and open its router settings
First connect the main device to the timer hotspot, then open the timer network configuration in the Timer App.
- Enter the old phone hotspot credentials and restart
Enter the SSID and password accurately, save them, and let the timer reconnect to the old phone network.
- Find the timer IP address on the hotspot
If necessary, reconnect directly or check the hotspot client list to record the address assigned to the timer.
- Join the same hotspot on the main device and connect to the IP
Connect the phone or computer running the Timer App to the old phone hotspot, then connect to the recorded timer address.
- Test placement under realistic interference conditions
Place the old phone higher up between the two endpoints and run a sustained stress test with the race-related RF equipment enabled.
- Try the Multi variation only if the phone actually supports it
Verify that the phone can maintain its hotspot and Wi-Fi client connection simultaneously. Otherwise, use a router or wired network.
FAQ
Can any old phone act as a relay?
Not necessarily. It must sustain a stable hotspot. The Timer Multi variation also requires keeping the hotspot and Wi-Fi client connection active at the same time, a capability that varies by device and operating system.
Why is it better to avoid punctuation in the hotspot name?
The video found that automatically generated iPhone names containing apostrophes or other special characters could cause compatibility problems. A short alphanumeric name removes that variable.
Can I use the password shown in the video?
No. Credentials in a public video are already public. Set a unique strong password for your own race network.
Is an old-phone relay always more reliable than a router?
Not necessarily. It may improve coverage by shortening the two wireless hops, but still depends on phone hotspot policies and the RF environment. Stress-test thoroughly for critical races and give preference to a wired connection.
Why can the main device not find the timer?
Confirm that the main device and timer are both on the old phone hotspot, that the timer has restarted and received an IP address, that the address has not changed, and that the hotspot has not enabled client isolation.
Full timeline transcript
Transcripts are arranged according to video time, making it easy to quickly locate the explanation content. Transcript language: English.
Hello everyone, this is DJI from FPVSIM. For folks that have been following FPVSIM timer for some time, you know that this system is designed to be super versatile in terms of how you connect the timer to the software. So today, I'm gonna introduce you a very useful way to connect to the timer that is not super obvious, but it's super useful and super simple. Let me show you. Here's an old phone I found from a drawer. Either iOS or Android should work.
What we're gonna do is this phone will have its hotspot open and then act as a bridge. The timer will connect to the hotspot and then you will have another phone or a laptop that will connect to the hotspot exposed by this phone. And then this phone will act as a bridge in the middle. Then you can put this timer somewhere and then put the phone somewhere in the middle, ideally high enough so you can get good signal reception.
And then you can extend the range between your app and the timer using an old phone in your drawer. Let's take a look at how to get it configured. It's super simple. So in your phone, probably a lot of us have used the hotspot feature, right? Just go to settings and then network and internet. Go to hotspot and tethering. Make sure you have hotspot turned on.
And in the hotspot, I just set a hostname. This will be your Wi-Fi router name. Here I set it to old phone and set some password for demo purpose. I just set it to 8 ones. So this is the only configuration you need to do on your phone. That's it. And then let's power on our timer. Once the timer is on, let's connect to the timer's hotspot. Here I'll use my desktop for demo purpose. So go to Wi-Fi.
And find the timer's hotspot. Starts with FPVSIM-DASH. Here we go, FPVSIM-Z. And then connect to it. Now we're connected. In an app, just connect to the timer hotspot. By the way, you can use another phone or laptop to configure. It doesn't have to be a desktop. OK. Make sure it's connected. And then go to its router settings. So here I already connected to the hotspot, right?
Wi-Fi router is set to the phone's hotspot, which is old phone, right? And Wi-Fi password is just 8 ones. Once it's set, click Save and reboot. And then the timer will try to connect to the phone's hotspot. Let's reconnect to the timer's hotspot. Looks like it's already connected? Okay, it's already connected.
Let's go to the timer IPs. Now you can see that the timer not only has its own hotspot IP, this IP is used when you connect to the timer's hotspot directly. And this is the IP the timer has when it connects to the phone. So let's remember this IP address 247.2.
Now, what we're going to do is, we will switch our Wi-Fi, instead of connecting to the timer directly, right? We'll actually connect to the old phone's Wi-Fi hotspot. Here we named it as old phone, right? I'm putting the password here. Since I already connected to the phone once, I already put in the password, so it remembers it. But if you connect to the first time, right? Just putting the password. And then once you are connected to the phone, right? Now your timer will lose connection to the
You can see the timer connection is always updating. Now with that connection, you can put the timer in the field.
You can also use iOS-based systems as a bridge, but there's one little gacha. By default, iPhones use weird naming.
It turns out that a single quote in the Wi-Fi name is kind of incompatible in a lot of cases. So if you want to use iOS as a bridge, try to rename your Wi-Fi hotspot to some name without a special character. I'll put the settings path on the screen. Now people are probably wondering, can you do this with multi-timer as well? And yes, you can.
For iOS, I haven't seen it provide this feature, but for this particular Android I'm using, you can actually have hotspot and Wi-Fi on at the same time. As you can see here, I have both hotspot icon and Wi-Fi icon. If your phone can also do this, then you can also use this as a bridge to bridge between your multi-timer and the software. Let's take a look. Let me power on the multi-timer.
We still have our hotspot on, right? Now go to your Wi-Fi and connect to the timer's main hotspot. Sorry, this one is a little noisy. So the main hotspot of the multi-timer is FPVSIM-AP. The password is timer.FPVSIM. Now it's connected back to our app.
Go to Wi-Fi, still make sure you are connected to the old phone, right? Now we can actually connect to the multi-timer using the phone as a bridge. So here I've got an 8-way 8-channel timer to set up an 8-channel. You can see all of them are now connected. We start a race, right? You can see all the signals coming from the multi-timer. This is a little noisy. Let me power it off.
In real race, this is put in the grass, pretty far away, so the noise is fine. Just want to add that wireless connection, despite having the bridge, is susceptible to interferences. So if you have a lot of pilots flying at the same time, still prefer to use the wired connection for multi-racers. Solo practice is fine. Cool, let's take a look at how it works in reality. I'm gonna put the phone somewhere between the desktop and the timer. Here's the phone.
New flight begins. You rested for one minute fifteen nine just now.
16 7 16 4 15 9 15 2 15 5 Taking a break, you flew for 1 minute 30 seconds 9 just now. As you can see, this is working very well, super stable.
So if you also want an extra range, but don't want to carry a heavy router, this might be a good choice for you. Just an old phone, out of a dryer, get it charged, turn on hotspot, that's it. Cool! I hope this video is useful. This is Jay from FPVSIM and I'll see you next time.
