Skip to main content

Troubleshooting & Frequently Asked Questions

This guide provides solutions for common connectivity, hardware, and permission issues when setting up and running Switchboard.

📶 Connection & Pairing Issues​

"Cannot connect to desktop" / Connection Timeout​

  1. Verify Same Wi-Fi Network / Subnet:
    • Ensure your phone and computer are on the same local network subnet.
    • If your router broadcasts both 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz bands, verify that AP Isolation or Client Isolation is disabled in your router settings.
  2. Check Windows Firewall:
    • Windows Defender Firewall may block incoming connections on port 9427.
    • Allow port 9427 through Windows Firewall: 
      New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Switchboard Daemon" -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 9427 -Protocol TCP -Action Allow
  3. Disable Active VPNs:
    • Third-party desktop VPNs (or mobile VPNs) often route all traffic through a remote tunnel, preventing direct local LAN communication. Turn off local network kill-switches or bypass LAN traffic in VPN settings.

Pairing QR Code Expired​

  • Pairing codes expire automatically after 5 minutes for security.
  • On your desktop app, click New code or refresh the Paired Devices tab to generate a fresh QR code.

🖥️ Desktop App Issues​

"Waiting for the Switchboard daemon…" after an update​

The desktop app runs a small background service (the daemon) that does the actual work, and an update replaces it while it is running. From v1.0.3 the app waits for the daemon to come back and restarts it by itself if a request finds it gone, so this should clear within a few seconds on its own.

On an older build, or if it persists:

  1. Quit Switchboard from the tray icon (right-click ➔ Quit) and open it again.
  2. If your antivirus quarantined switchboard.exe from the app's resources/bin folder after the update, restore it and allow the file.

🖥️ Display & DDC/CI Issues​

"Monitor brightness does not change"​

  1. Check Monitor OSD Settings:
    • Many external monitors ship with DDC/CI disabled by default.
    • Use the physical buttons on your monitor to open the On-Screen Display (OSD) menu. Look for DDC/CI, Command Interface, or Communication under System or Miscellaneous settings, and ensure it is set to Enable.
  2. Display Cable Quirks:
    • Some cheap HDMI or DisplayPort adapters / KVM switches omit the I2C DDC communication pins (pins 15 and 16 on HDMI, or AUX channel on DP). Connecting directly to the graphics card or using a certified cable resolves this.
  3. Multi-Monitor Display Mode:
    • DDC/CI requires each monitor to have an independent hardware head. If Windows display settings are set to Duplicate / Clone Displays, DDC/CI controls may only apply to the primary panel. Set display mode to Extend desktop to this display.

"Laptop display shows brightness but no contrast"​

  • Internal laptop displays (LVDS / eDP) do not have hardware contrast adjustment mechanisms. Contrast control is intentionally hidden for internal screens.

🔊 Audio & Media Issues​

"Per-app mixer is empty or missing an application"​

  • Windows WASAPI only creates an audio session once an application actively produces sound. If Chrome or a game is launched but has not played any audio yet, Windows does not register a session. Start playback for 1-2 seconds, and the app slider will appear.

"Album artwork is not showing on Android"​

  • Album art extraction requires the active music player to publish artwork through the Windows System Media Transport Controls (SMTC) API. Spotify, Apple Music, and modern browsers (Chrome/Edge) support this out-of-the-box. Ensure your browser media session flags have not been disabled.

📱 Android Client Tips​

Connection Drops When the App Leaves the Screen​

By default the session ends once the last screen is gone and nothing is transferring — an idle app should not sit on a socket. To keep a desktop connected instead:

  1. Open Settings ➔ Connection in the Android app and turn on Stay Connected.
  2. Grant the notification permission when asked. The ongoing notification is what keeps the process resident, and it carries the Turn off button for the mode.
  3. If the Allow Background Battery Use row appears below the switch, tap it and accept. Without the exemption, Android's Doze mode suspends network access while the screen is off and the link sleeps with it.

With this on, the phone reconnects on its own after a drop — retrying with a backoff that doubles from one second to a thirty-second ceiling, so a desktop that was switched off is picked up within half a minute of waking. Tapping Switch desktop or Disconnect in the app is still an explicit stop and is not undone by the reconnect.

File Transfers Pause in Background​

  • If Android terminates transfers when the screen is locked:
    1. Go to Android Settings ➔ Apps ➔ Switchboard.
    2. Select Battery ➔ Unrestricted.
    3. Ensure Notifications are permitted so the foreground service notification can maintain continuous network execution.