How the status codes work #
Your map uses its five legend LEDs (the column of VFR, MVFR, IFR, LIFR and INVALID dots, VFR at the top) to tell you how it is doing. While everything works they simply show the legend colours. When something is wrong, all five switch to one colour and slowly pulse. The rest of the map keeps showing the last weather it received, so a status code never blanks the map.
- The colour tells you where the problem is. Blue is your network (WiFi or internet), amber is the weather service (aviationweather.gov), red is the map itself.
- The number of lit dots is the code number, counted from the top (VFR) dot down. One blue dot at the top is code Blue 1, the top three dots blue is Blue 3.
- All five dots green means the map is starting up and waiting for its first weather. This is normal for the first 2 to 3 minutes after power on.
- Codes clear by themselves. As soon as the cause is gone, for example your WiFi is back, the legend returns to its normal colours and the next weather update is shown. You never have to reset anything.
- The map fixes most network problems on its own. It reconnects to WiFi, restarts its networking and, if nothing helps, reboots. If it cannot reach your WiFi for 15 minutes it opens the PilotMap WiFi Config network so you can enter new WiFi details (see how to connect PilotMap to your WiFi).
The same code, with a short explanation, is shown on your map’s own web page at http://<map name>.local (the address you wrote down during the WiFi setup) and as text at http://<map name>.local/status.json. When you contact support, tell us the code or send us that page.
All codes #
| Legend LEDs | Code | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Green (all five) startup | Starting up, waiting for the first weather | Wait 2 to 3 minutes. |
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Blue 1 network | No WiFi connection | Check your router. If the map cannot connect for 15 minutes it opens the 'PilotMap WiFi Config' hotspot; join it with your phone to enter your WiFi details. |
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Blue 2 network | WiFi connected but no internet | Check that your internet works on another device. The map reconnects WiFi, restarts networking and finally reboots by itself; no action needed unless it stays on for hours. |
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Blue 3 network | WiFi setup hotspot active | Join the WiFi network 'PilotMap WiFi Config' with your phone and enter your WiFi details. |
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Amber 1 weather service | Internet works but aviationweather.gov is unreachable | Nothing to do; the weather service is down. The map retries every 2 minutes. |
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Amber 2 weather service | aviationweather.gov returned an error or unreadable data | Nothing to do; the map retries every 2 minutes. If it stays for hours, contact support with this code. |
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Amber 3 weather service | Rate limited by aviationweather.gov | Nothing to do; the map waits 10 minutes before trying again. |
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Amber 4 weather service | Weather received but no airports matched | Contact support; the airports file on the map is probably wrong. |
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Red 1 device | config.py could not be loaded | Contact support. |
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Red 2 device | Airports file missing or empty | Contact support. |
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Red 3 device | Software restarted 3 or more times in the last hour | Contact support and send the log file. |
VFR MVFR IFR LIFR INVALID | Red 4 device | Airports file length does not match the LED count | Contact support. |
