Troubleshooting
The most common stumbles, grouped by topic. If yours is not here, write to support@materis.io.
Scanning and discovery
The scan does not find a device I know is online
Three frequent causes, in order:
- Its network is not registered or the chip is off — the sweep only covers the enabled ranges in the scan panel.
- It blocks ping — some devices limit or drop ICMP. If you know its IP, register it by hand with Device (+) on the bottom rail.
- It sits behind a router — the scan will only see it if its IP falls inside a registered range, and it will arrive without a MAC ("MAC unreachable").
For stations hanging off an AP with a session there is a better shortcut: the radar in the Stations column asks the AP itself and does not depend on the scan.
The scan fails with "No network connection"
Your PC has no active network interface at that moment (cable unplugged, WiFi off, VPN down). Reconnect and scan again.
A device says "MAC unreachable"
It is in another segment, behind a router, and from that distance the scan only sees its IP. Not a problem: signing in identifies the device fully, MAC included.
A device's IP changed and the app shows the old one
Scan again: each device's identity is its MAC, so the re-scan updates the IP without losing name, references or credentials. On routed devices (no visible MAC) the automatic match is not possible — sign in at the new IP and the app recognizes it as it identifies itself.
Sessions and monitoring
A radio's session shows amber with an open padlock
That radio only answered over unencrypted HTTP: username, password and metrics travel readable inside your network. The app marks it instead of hiding it so you can decide — the underlying fix is enabling HTTPS or SSH on the device.
I use a laptop over WiFi and sessions flicker or readings are irregular
Everything the app measures travels through your own PC's connection. If the laptop's WiFi drops packets or reassociates, sessions fall and watched devices show "No answer" — symptoms identical to a problem in the network you monitor, but whose origin is your connection.
The recommendation is to wire the laptop to the management network while monitoring. The metrics the radios themselves report (signal, link latency) are not contaminated — but reaching them depends on your connection.
A station shows "Absent" but answers ping
"Absent" means the session was lost, not necessarily the device — and the app makes that distinction for you: absent devices get a periodic ping, and the chip tells you which case it is. "Answers ping but refuses the session" is the signature of an exhausted radio (no CPU or memory left to open the encrypted session, even though the kernel keeps answering pings); "does not answer ping either" is a device that is down or unreachable. Reconnection is retried on its own with the stored credentials.
The Downlink/Uplink columns are empty on some devices
That is correct: airOS 6 devices do not compute that capacity estimate, and the app prefers an empty cell to a number that looks like capacity and is not. The same goes for Thr. TX/RX on each session's first reading: there is nothing to compare against yet.
The app's latency does not match my ping
They measure different things. The column is measured by the radio over its wireless hop; your ping also crosses your local network and everything in between, and is answered by the radio's CPU, which serves ICMP last. Neither is "wrong" — they need not match. To see both side by side, turn on "Medir también con ping propio" (Preferences → Sonda de red): the cell shows both measurements, and the contrast is diagnosis.
The sentinel did not warn about an outage at dawn
The sentinel watches while the app is open — it is not a background service. Whatever happens with the app closed it will not see; the app itself says so at the bottom of the alerts panel.
Windows asks for firewall permission when using the speed test
That is normal: the speed test server opens a listening port on your PC so the radio can connect and measure. It only listens while you keep it on and stops when you turn it off or close the app.
License
Activation says the device quota is full
The license is already active on its maximum number of machines. Free the slot from the old PC (License view → "Release license") and activate on the new one. If that PC no longer exists (formatted, dead disk), write to support@materis.io to release it.
Activation is rejected because of the email
Activation requires the license holder's email — the same one used at purchase. Check which one you bought with; if you need to change the holder's email, write to us.
What if I have no internet for a while?
Nothing, within a margin: day-to-day use needs no internet and the license tolerates up to 30 days without revalidating. Past that margin the app will ask for a connection to continue. And if the server cannot be reached, the app does not lock you out: "could not check" is never treated as "license rejected".
I reinstalled the app and the trial button is gone
The trial is one per machine and its countdown runs from the first launch after the first install — reinstalling or deleting data does not reset it. If you tried it and it worked for you, the next step is the Full license.
Projects and snapshots
I opened my project on another PC and it asks for a code
That is the transfer code: the project's credentials are anchored to the PC where it was created. Read it on the original PC (Share project), enter it once on the new one and that machine stays linked.
I protected a snapshot and want the trimmed data back
Not possible: the trim is permanent, in the file itself — that is precisely the protection's guarantee. That is why the confirmation modal offers to create an unprotected copy first, kept in your history. If you created it, the full data is there.
I want to recover a device I discarded with "Not a radio"
In the Others table, click Remove on its row and scan again: the device reappears in Detected as if new, ready to sign in.
Frequently asked questions
Can SignalScope change my radios' configuration? No. It is read-only by design: no path exists in the app to modify a device.
Does it work with radios other than Ubiquiti airMAX? Today the app manages Ubiquiti airMAX radios. The rest of your network's devices (ONUs, switches, routers) can be registered under Others, with a name and basic availability watch.
Do you support MikroTik? Not yet, but yes in future versions: it is on the roadmap. In the meantime, your MikroTiks can live under Others — with their own name, availability watch and a sentinel alert if they stop answering.
Does it support Ubiquiti LTU? Not yet — LTU runs a firmware different from airOS and compatibility is under evaluation.
Do I need to install Npcap or any other driver? No. Discovery uses ping and the system's ARP table; the app installs nothing extra.
Does my data go to any cloud? No. Everything lives on your machine — the detail is in Security and privacy.
Is the trial feature-limited? No: full access for 30 days. The only difference is the duration.
Can I use my license on more than one PC? Up to your license's device quota (visible in the License view). To move machines, release the slot on the old one and activate on the new one.
What happens to my projects if my license expires? Nothing is deleted. The app returns to the license screen and, once you renew or activate, everything is right where it was.
Does it send WhatsApp or email notifications?WhatsApp and Telegram, yes — the sentinel's alerts can reach your phone, choosing which events and with what urgency (how to enable it). The honest limit: it watches while the app is open — it is not a 24/7 service; that continuous watch will come with the future server edition (Linux). Email it does not send.
Is there a web version? Not planned for the desktop app. The future server edition will be a web application by nature — managed from the browser.
Is it available for Mac? Not yet — today SignalScope is a Windows 10/11 app. macOS compatibility is on the roadmap, with no committed date.
I am going to format my PC — do I lose access to my projects? No, as long as you do two things before formatting:
- Write down each project's transfer code (Share project). When you format, the key protecting your credentials is lost with Windows, so your own PC becomes "a new PC" for the project: opening it will ask for that code once, and with it you recover everything. Without the code, the file does not open — that is precisely the shielding that protects it if it falls into the wrong hands.
- Release the license (License view → "Release license") so the slot is not left taken by the old install.
And the usual: the .sscope is a file — back it up to another drive before formatting, as you would with any important document.