Q: What's the difference between how I'm used to Perch working and how it works with USB connectivity?
A: Historically, Perch has connected between the Perch camera and the tablet over Bluetooth connectivity. With the new capabilities, the Perch cameras will have the ability to talk to the tablets over USB as well, which would require a USB cord to be plugged into the camera's USB port as well as the tablet on the other end (whether it's USB-C, Lightning, or in rare cases, Micro USB).
Q: Will Perch devices with USB capabilities no longer work over Bluetooth?
A: They will still work over Bluetooth! The devices will automatically take USB as their main form of connectivity if they're plugged in via USB, but when you unplug the cord, you can simply click the "Find New Device" button on the screen that pops up and connect via Bluetooth as you normally would.
Q: Even when my device is plugged in over USB, it doesn't connect like I'd expect it to.
A: This could be caused by a few reasons, one of which is iteration of the cameras. Only the cameras with the proper hardware will have the ability to communicate over USB, which older models may not have. If you're not sure whether or not one or more of your cameras has this capability, please contact your Perch representative or reach out to our support team at support@perch.fit.
It could also be caused by permissions on the tablet itself - when you're connecting it via USB for the first time, you should get a pop up from the tablet asking you whether or not you'd like to allow permissions through. Make sure that you accept this, as you may experience these connectivity issues if the permissions are denied. If you think this could be the issue, try unplugging the USB from the tablet, deleting and re-downloading the Perch app.
Lastly, try replacing the USB cord itself - connectivity requires many parts, and this is a crucial piece of the puzzle!