USB Mode FAQ Setup Guide

FAQ


Does this support MSFS / FSX / P3D / X-Plane / ETS 2 / ATS / ATS 2 / Assetto Corsa / iRacing / Elite: Dangerous / Star Citizen / Infinite Flight?

Yes.


What other games are supported?

Any game that supports the FreeTrack or TrackIR protocol should work with SmoothTrack.


When you move your head, don't you look off screen? How does this work?

You keep your eyes on the screen and your head movements are exaggerated, so slight movements of the head translate to larger movements of the camera. It becomes very intuitive very quickly.


My computer is hooked up via Ethernet and my phone via WiFi - will this still work?

Yes! You just need to make sure your device can reach your PC. It’s possible you will need to open ports up in your router for this, though. Check this site for info on how to set up port forwarding on your router.


What is the best place to set up my phone?

Best is as central as possible in front of your face. I usually just prop my phone up under my monitor. But you can also buy a cheap phone clamp and position it closer to your face. As long as you're not more than 1-1.5 arms' lengths away from your phone and it's as centered as possible, you should be good.


This is amazing! Do you have any tips to achieve even better latency?

Thanks for the kind words, anonymous stranger. A couple tips: Use a 5 GHz WiFi, use the USB connection mode, have the camera close to your face.


I’ve followed your setup instructions, but the octopus in OpenTrack is still not moving! What could I be doing wrong?

Here are a few extra things to try if the normal steps don’t work, in the order of how often they helped folks with issues. So sorry - I know all too well how network issues can be a headache. The good news is, once you find the solution, you’re good!

  • Rebooted your PC & device?
  • Check your router, could be it is blocking ports? Maybe set up port forwarding? Check this site for instructions for your router.
  • Check if you have a VPN running - you may need to open it up for ports as well?
  • Are your PC and device really on the same network?
  • If you are on iOS 14, have you made your device discoverable in its network (wifi settings) and have given SmoothTrack permission to access the local network?
  • Double-check your port in OpenTrack - is it still the same (e.g. importing an .ini with OpenTrack settings can change it)
  • Can you ping your PC from your device (On iOS, I use the free app iNet+ for this, on Android, PingTools Network Utilities)?
  • Tried making your PC into a mobile hotspot and connecting to it from your device?
  • Have you tried (temporarily) completely disabling your firewall? If it starts working you know it’s your firewall, if still not you know it’s something else...


Everything was working great but suddenly the movement is super jerky and random!

That’s not a question, but anyways...the jerkiness is something a very few have reported. Usually what fixes it is one of the following:

  • a full reboot of both PC and phone
  • Changing the port to something else instead (4343 or something)
  • Changing the network to 5 GHz instead of 2.4 GHz
  • Picking a different filter like Hamilton or Accela
  • Unplugging peripherals like especially a VR system
  • Uninstall and reinstall OpenTrack itself on your PC


I bought the game on iOS - can I have it for free on Android? (or vice versa)

Sorry, no - the two store systems are completely distinct so it is like Xbox and Playstation. Buying the game in one system does not unlock it in the other.



© 2020 John Goering