User

15.01.2007 00:17:27

Hello !

I've try to pair my Wii remote on my iMac G5 (10.4.8, Internal Bluetooth) but I was unable to do it (I've already try with the Red button...)

Any suggestions ?

Thx by advance ! 

User

23.01.2007 21:04:01

Hello Vevev,

thanks for asking. I've had the same question in an email I just 
answered, so please accept my apologies for shamelessly copy and 
pasting it here:

-- cut -- 
Please note that the Wiimote driver is still in experimental state.

Apart from that, please make sure the "Bluetooth Receiver" is showing 
an active (green) state in the RB menu that you can access in the 
system's menu bar. You can also make Remote Buddy look for your 
Wiimote at startup by checking the respective checkboxes in 
"Preferences > Hardware > Bluetooth Receiver".

Another common error source are empty - or near empty - batteries. If 
you have another pair of batteries around of the ones you use are 
rechargable: give it a try. 
-- cut --

Hope that helps.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

28.01.2007 17:00:30

thanks you ! 
Doesn't work :"( 
But I'll wait for the next version ! 
Thanks again for your help !

Last edited: 28.01.2007 17:01:40 

User

01.02.2007 18:38:02

Hello Beber,

I've had a chance today to try the Wii Remote specific code on my 
iBook G3 with a Bluetooth dongle and it worked fine (although it 
displayed an error message to me that was not correct (i.e. there was 
no such error ;) - I'll have to look into that).

Something you should make sure is that you have Bluetooth enabled for 
about a minute before you try to pair your Wii Remote with Remote 
Buddy. That can also hold correct for the time right after boot. I 
don't know why this, but it definately is. I've Bluetooth turned off 
all of the time unless when I'm writing code for the Wii Remote. If I 
try to pair it immediately after turning Bluetooth on, I fail. If I 
wait for a few seconds (=> thus one minute should be safe) and then 
try the pairing, everything works like a charm.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

01.02.2007 20:13:43

Hello !

Thanks you for your help.

I've try to Enable Bluetooth (like you, it's always disabled), I've wait 1minute, then fire up Remote Buddy... But it doesn't work :"((. I'm on a G5 iMac with Build-in bluetooth.

Thanks again for your time !

Beber 

User

02.02.2007 17:00:01

Hello Beber,

thanks for your reply.

Just to be sure: have you actually activated the Bluetooth Receiver 
in Remote Buddy? Or, asked differently, does it ask you to push the 
buttons 1 and 2 simultaneously?

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

10.05.2007 05:41:04

I also have this problem. I have been through the FAQ and have tried all of the suggestions there. I have replaced the batteries with fully charged rechargables. I have deleted and re-added the remote in bluetooth setup. It works fine with DarwiinRemote and the battery meter in that program shows a full charge. I wondered if maybe it was causing the problem. Should I uninstall DarwiinRemote? I really want this program to work, and I am considering purchasing it if I can get it to work. 
Thanks, 
Drew 

User

11.05.2007 19:43:02

Hello Drew,

thanks for asking.

Have you really worked through all of the possible error sources 
provided in the FAQ?

I.e.: is Bluetooth turned on? For longer than just a few seconds 
before trying to connect a remote control? 
Is the "Bluetooth Receiver" in Remote Buddy turned on? 
Is the Kernel Extension installed? (it isn't if you don't see the 
"Bluetooth Receiver" in Remote Buddy) 
And most importantly: was the Setup Wizard used for initial pairing?

And there are more possible error sources (currently not in the FAQ):

Is any other software running on your computer that uses Bluetooth at 
the same time?

Are any other Bluetooth devices active / in use with the Mac at the 
time of pairing?

You don't need to uninstall DarwiinRemote. You just shouldn't run it 
at the same time as Remote Buddy.

Please also don't use System Preferences to remove the remote 
control. That will undo any pairing previously performed with Remote 
Buddy and require you to repeat the "Setup Wizard" procedure.

If this does not help you solve the problem, a short step-by-step 
description of what you do when trying to pair the remote control 
with your Mac as well as answers to above questions would be very 
helpful in trying to find the cause of the problem.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

13.05.2007 20:53:50

I *really* have worked through all the solutions provided in the FAQ. I am not a novice user. I have gone through the Bluetooth Setup Assistant and paired my remote with my computer. I have tried several times to use the setup wizard in Remote Buddy to pair with the Wii Remote with the application (after it has been setup in Bluetooth Setup Assistant). Each time it gets to the second pane and after pressing either the red button under the battery panel or the 1 and 2 buttons simultaneously, it says "Pairing successful. Configuring device..." The LED's on the Wii remote blink. I have let it sit like this for over two hours with no success. Eventually the message changes to "Preparing pairing... please wait..." This also has sat like this for at least an hour. This should not take this long, correct? I assume something is going wrong, but I could let it sit overnight. When this process is occurring, CPU usage by Remote Buddy jumps to 11% and the kernel CPU usage goes to around 30%. I have reinstalled the kernel extension once to see if that was the issue, but it has not affected anything. There is no other bluetooth software running on my computer. I have tried pairing both while my bluetooth Mighty Mouse is connected and while it is off and disconnected. I have not tried it with any other bluetooth devices connected at the same time. I know the problem is something on my computer because my Wii remote works with a friends computer with Remote Buddy. I am using a PowerBook G4 17" 1.5 GHz with 2 GB of RAM. It is running an up to date 10.4.9. If there is any more information I can provide please let me know.

Last edited: 13.05.2007 20:54:39 

User

14.05.2007 16:33:05

Thanks for the extensive report. And sorry if you should have felt 
offended by any of my questions. They weren't meant that way.

Two things worth taking a closer look at, though:

1) you are using the Bluetooth Setup Assistant to pair the Wiimote 
2) Remote Buddy seems to keep stalling at "Configuring device .." on 
your machine

Regarding 1): 
You shouldn’t use that assistant for your Wiimote at all. Remote 
Buddy is all you need and that you should use for that purpose, really.

Regarding 2): 
This sounds like the exact problem the kernel extension is in place 
to solve for Bluetooth devices: communication errors caused by 
elements of Apple's Bluetooth stack. Please have a look at your 
system.log via /Utilities/Console.app during pairing. Do new lines 
appear during pairing that carry HID in them? Any other messages 
related to Bluetooth or that only appear while attempting to pair? 
Any such output would be very interesting to me.

I don't know, whether 2) stems from 1) or whether your Wiimote has a 
different device address prefix than is detected by Remote Buddy's 
kernel extension. To exclude the latter: can you please have a look 
at System Preferences / Bluetooth and have a look at what "Device 
Address" is listed for your remote?

Also, is your friend's Mac a PowerPC or Intel based machine?

You may also try to do the following: 
1) Use System Preferences / Bluetooth to remove your remote control 
from the list. 
2) Reboot. 
3) Avoid Bluetooth Setup Assistant and use solely Remote Buddy to 
pair your Wiimote.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

17.05.2007 00:54:36

My friend's Mac is an Intel. I believe it is a Mac Pro but I do not know all the stats on it. I assume it is running the most recent updates. He is the system administrator for the College of Architecture I am in and should be on top of things like that. I do not get any errors in console when I am running the connection wizard. (I was using the bluetooth System Preferences to add and delete the device because I assumed that was the wizard you were talking about in the FAQ. That was my fault.) The device address is 00-19-fd-ca-3d-5a. It appears as "Connected:" and "Configured:" while the wizard is running, but the "Paired:" status says No. When Remote Buddy is not running "Connected:" changes to No. If I take out the batteries while it is attempting to pair, the Remote Buddy bezel pops up and says "Nintendo RVL-CNT-01 disconnected". I have also tried connecting the remote with the classic controller attached and have had the same results. 
One more thing, though I doubt how helpful it will be. Using iStumbler to monitor bluetooth and log activity during the pairing process, I get this: 
[2007-05-14 13:11:59 -0400] bluetooth.scanner.update 2 items 
[2007-05-14 13:11:59 -0400]     Nintendo RVL-CNT-01 ??? 00-19-fd-ca-3d-5a -1mhz 
[2007-05-14 13:11:59 -0400]     drewskau's mouse ??? 00-14-51-c2-39-f6 -1mhz 
[2007-05-14 13:12:04 -0400] bluetooth.scanner.update 2 items 
[2007-05-14 13:12:04 -0400]     Nintendo RVL-CNT-01 ??? 00-19-fd-ca-3d-5a -1mhz 
[2007-05-14 13:12:04 -0400]     drewskau's mouse ??? 00-14-51-c2-39-f6 -1mhz 
[2007-05-14 13:12:09 -0400] bluetooth.scanner.update Nintendo RVL-CNT-01 ??? 00-19-fd-ca-3d-5a -1mhz 
[2007-05-14 13:12:14 -0400] bluetooth.scanner.update Nintendo RVL-CNT-01 ??? 00-19-fd-ca-3d-5a -1mhz 
[2007-05-14 13:12:19 -0400] bluetooth.scanner.update Nintendo RVL-CNT-01 ??? 00-19-fd-ca-3d-5a -1mhz 
The change to a single item is when I turned off my bluetooth mouse to see what would happen. If I turn the mouse back on it returns to two items. The "Samples" column while the wizard is attempting to pair with the Wiimote ranges from about 50-70 the vendor that is displayed is 00-19-FD Paired is No, Linked is Yes, Favorite is No. Maybe that could help some... 
Also, should I be emailing directly or should I be posting in this forum? If I should be posting, a simple usability feature I would like to request is a link in the reply emails that get generated from forum posts so that users do not have to navigate all the way back here... 

User

17.05.2007 19:57:01

Thanks a lot for the info.

The reason why Remote Buddy fails to cooperate with your Wiimote is 
that it is completely ignored by the Kernel Extension for its unusual 
device address. Knowing this, though, a fix is easy and will be part 
of the next update (probably Preview 15 c / RC2). I can mail you a 
test version, if you want.

The iStumbler output is totally fine and contains all info I needed, 
so I'll not need any further data from you.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

17.05.2007 20:48:12

Thanks for all the help. I would love a test version if you do not mind sending that to me.

Last edited: 18.05.2007 04:52:52 

User

19.05.2007 20:04:15

The new version works great! Thank you so much for all your help getting it working. You have won a loyal customer as soon as I get some spare change together! 

User

21.05.2007 17:47:02

Thanks for the feedback!

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

21.05.2007 21:34:05

Hello Felix,

Can you send me that test version too? I have exactly the same problem: it won't connect to my Wii controller although pairing is successful.

Thanks,

Ex

User

23.05.2007 14:50:01

Hello,

I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask for your patience for another couple 
of days (max). It'll then be generally available.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

27.05.2007 17:52:48

How many more days do you want us to wait? It's been a week since I bought my Wii Remote and I still don't know whether it really works...

Darwiinremote doens't work properly (IR support is buggy) on my PPC Mac. This is your chance to gain another customer.

Ex

User

27.05.2007 23:03:02

No more waiting ;-) .. the update has already been released yesterday. 

User

29.05.2007 15:46:23

Is it normal that every time I wake from sleep, I have to use the setup wizard to pair my wiimote again? 

User

29.05.2007 16:44:01

Nope. You shouldn't have to do that. If the Bluetooth Receiver is 
active, it should find and connect to the remote after just pressing 
1 + 2 on it.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

30.05.2007 13:36:13

When I wake from sleep, the bluetooth receiver option in the RB menu stays red. I have to run the setup wizard to get it to go green. Using preview 15c.

And oh, I remapped the global RB menu button from the B button on my wiimote to the home button. Home button works to bring up the menu but I still have to press the b button to close the menu. Is this intentional? 

User

31.05.2007 02:41:01

If you see a red "light" in front of the Bluetooth Receiver, 
selecting the respective menu entry - or clicking on that "lamp" in 
the menu, will make it become active again.

It should automatically become active if you have selected "Search 
for remote controls on startup" in "Preferences > Hardware > 
Bluetooth Receiver".

The menu configuration Behaviour is intentional for now, but may be 
configurable at a later point.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

01.06.2007 15:27:47

After some experimentation, it seems that on my machine, the bluetooth receiver in RB is not be enabled after waking from sleep, even if it was enabled and paired with a Wiimote prior to sleep.

However, enabling the "disconnect remotes when computer goes to sleep" removes this problem...

BTW, has there been any consideration for motion gestures? I can imagine something like, flick left and right to switch to different virtual desktops. 

User

25.07.2007 06:49:36

This topic helped answer my problems with pairing the Wii-mote. It was not working until you suggested to turn off all my other bluetooth devices. I use my mac mini as my tv, and so I have both a bluetooth keyboard and mouse paired all the time. Just thought I would point it out in case you want to add that hint to the FAQ. Love the program! This is making my mac mini act even better as my whole entertainment device.

Damon 

User

25.07.2007 20:33:02

Thanks for the feedback!

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

17.01.2008 20:26:01

I am have the same problem as the originator of this post. I have gone through the forums and tried to solve the problem through all of the convetional methods, but my wiimote has yet to successfully finish pairing with my mac.

I am running a powerbook g4 1.33ghz with internal bluetooth. 
I just purchased a wiimote today, and the first thing I did with ti was use it with Darwiin Remote. After being unimpressed with its lack of abilities, I downloaded Remote Buddy and have been trying to use it since. No success. Did darwiin remote mess something up? What do I need to do? 

User

18.01.2008 03:26:11

I just recently updated from 1.8.1 to 1.8.5, and I am now having the same problem listed by NeilM and others listed above. Specifically, when I try to connect my Wii Remote to Remote Buddy, the Setup Wizard hangs at "Pairing Successful. Establishing connection..." and the 4 blue LEDs on the Wii Remote start flashing and won't ever stop. I've waited about 10 minutes or so and nothing ever changes.

The odd thing is that Remote Buddy and the Wii Remote were pairing just fine a couple days ago before I updated to 1.8.5. I've tried all the things listed in the FAQs (replacing the batteries, using the 1&2-button method and the red-button method, waiting 1 minute after activating bluetooth before pairing, making sure the icon next to bluetooth receiver is green and not red, deleting and re-setting up the Wii remote with System Preferences->Bluetooth) but nothing seems to work.

I'm currently running RB on a 12" PowerBook G4 (PPC, of course) with Mac OS 10.4.11. I also just updated iTunes and QuickTime, but I doubt those updates would affect this. Also, I should mention that I'm still running RB in the 30-day trial mode (16 days left). I fully intend on purchasing a license at the end of the trial period, providing, of course, that I can get my Wii remote working again. But hopefully being in trial mode wouldn't affect something like this either.

Any ideas? 

User

18.01.2008 04:39:52

Count me as having the exact same connection problems as the others who have recently updated to 1.8.5, and now cannot get past the "Establishing connection..." phase of the Setup Assistant.

I reverted back to version 1.8.1 and can connect and disconnect my Wiimote as often as I like.

Leopard (10.5.1)/PowerBook G4 1.25 GHz w. internal BlueTooth 

User

18.01.2008 12:30:02

The kernel extension installation procedure has changed a lot and I'm 
afraid there's a small oversight on my end that *may* affect whether 
or not the BT-specific part of the kernel extension becomes active 
right after the upgrade.

After upgrading the kernel extension, you may have to restart Remote 
Buddy and/or your machine once. That should fix the problem.

Please let me know, if it does not.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

18.01.2008 14:41:03

Unfortunately that doesn't seem to have worked in my case, Felix; I have tried restarting both Remote Buddy and my computer numerous times without seeing a change.

This is after installing the update via the built-in updater, as well as installing it 'fresh' myself after removing any previously-installed components.

The Wiimote simply will not connect for some reason :/ 

User

18.01.2008 14:56:02

I've identified another possible cause of this problem and will upload 
a new update (1.4.7) shortly.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

18.01.2008 15:37:02

The update is now available for download.

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

18.01.2008 15:48:51

Working for now, will let you know if that changes.

Thanks for the speedy update! 

User

20.01.2008 02:31:27

Thanks, Felix -- the update has fixed the connection problem for me!

Unfortunately I'm now experiencing a *new* issue: I can no longer customize the button mappings for Front Row.. I prefer to have "A" be used to return to a parent menu, and "B" used for Play/Pause, and for some reason my preference settings are being ignored.

I've tried trashing the RB preferences, but no luck. At least the problem seems to be confined to Front Row. 

User

20.01.2008 22:55:01

Thanks for the feedback.

The Behaviour for Front Row on Leopard is hardwired, because:

- you can't change ratings of the current song anymore as it's now 
Front Row itself playing back these tunes, not iTunes (thus it's not 
possible to detect the currently playing song or change its rating - 
the new Front Row does - other than iTunes - not offers any APIs for 
this)

- it's no longer possible to put anything on top of Front Row. Thus, 
quite a lot of people did press the menu button long and opened the 
Remote Buddy menu. That menu, however, is overlayed by Front Row, so 
users could only see it after quitting Front Row, sending me a lot of 
complaints that "Front Row support doesn't work", when in fact it 
works very well, yet the new Front Row doesn't allow any windows on 
top of it.

So, while under Tiger you'll be able to customize the button mapping 
for Front Row as you used to, it's been disabled for Leopard since 
1.8.5 due to the usage problems users experienced due to the changes 
in Front Row.

The only thing I did not think of when doing this change was that you 
may want to relocate the menu button. I'll see what can be done about 
that.

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

21.01.2008 15:17:36

Ah, ok. That makes sense now that I see your explanation, although it would still be fantastic if you could allow changes to those buttons in a future update somehow.

The main reason I like the A and B buttons swapped in Front Row is because I find that putting the Wiimote down on lumpy surfaces (like a sofa) is often enough to activate the B button, which - when setup with the default mapping - causes the movie to exit abruptly and everyone in the room to begin throwing popcorn at me ;)

Last edited: 21.01.2008 15:17:55 

User

28.01.2008 23:51:01

I think I found a fine solution in V1.8.8.

Please give it a try.

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

29.01.2008 02:53:15

That works beautifully, Felix -- MANY thanks!!

:-D x1000