Troubleshooting a problem with Ekahau Sidekick 2, such as Sidekick not booting, Sidekick disconnecting, Sidekick not recognised by Ekahau Survey, or your Sidekick not responding, is easy using this step-by-step guide.

This Ekahau Sidekick 2 troubleshooting guide describes how to troubleshoot Ekahau Sidekick 2 problems, including the meanings of the Ekahau Sidekick 2 display status indicator and LED colours. In this article we describe several Sidekick faults and scenarios that Ekahau do not currently cover in their online Ekahau Sidekick documentation.

For technical training on Ekahau AI Pro, including the Ekahau ECSE Design course, ECSE Advanced and ECSE Master training courses, plus our own one-company training on Ekahau Pro, Ekahau Sidekick and Ekahau Connect tools, check out our Ekahau Training Courses.

For technical support from Ekahau, go to https://support.ekahau.com

You can use Ekahau’s Chat bot (“Agatha”) to ask a question, then raise a support request.

You can also email Ekahau Support at support@ekahau.com or call the number +1 (877) 607-8777.

The Ekahau Customer Support team is available Monday through Friday (except Ekahau, Inc/OY holidays).

Troubleshooting Ekahau Sidekick 2

Ekahau Sidekick 2 Battery Charge

Press the Sidekick 2 Power button briefly (less than 1 second) and watch the Status Indicator. Check against the table below.

What does the Status Indicator / LED bar show?

Check Ekahau Sidekick 2 Firmware version

When using Sidekick 2 with Ekahau AI Pro on a laptop:

• Start up Ekahau AI Pro on your laptop
• Connect the Sidekick 2 to your laptop
• Press the Sidekick Power button – for around 1 second (and no more than 2 seconds ) – to switch on the Sidekick
• Check the Sidekick Status indicator sequences against the above table as the Sidekick 2 starts up
  • When you first press the Power button, the Sidekick status indicator should indicate Green – indicating that the Sidekick battery is charged
  • The indicator should then turn blue briefly, followed by the Red – Orange – Green sequence, indicating that Sidekick is booting up (getting ready)
  • After around 60 seconds, the indicator should show steady Green, indicating that Sidekick is connected to your laptop, tablet or smartphone via USB-C

You should see the green “Sidekick 2” icon in the top right corner of the Ekahau AI Pro screen:

What’s the level of charge in the Sidekick 2 battery?

Click the icon, check the Sidekick firmware version and check for firmware updates:

Problem with Ekahau Sidekick USB-C Connection

Check that your USB-C cable is reliable and is giving good connectivity between your laptop, tablet or smartphone and the Sidekick 2. If you suspect a problem, try using a different USB-C cable.

If you see the following Sidekick Status Indicator sequence, this indicates that Sidekick 2 has booted up, but does not have a good USB-C link to your laptop, tablet or smartphone:

• When you first press the Power button, the Sidekick status indicator should indicate Green – indicating that the Sidekick battery is charged
• The indicator should then turn blue briefly, followed by the Red – Orange – Green cyclic sequence, indicating that Sidekick is booting up (“getting ready”)
• After around 30 – 60 seconds, the indicator shows steady Blue

Ekahau Application not running

If you see the following Sidekick Status Indicator sequence, this indicates that Sidekick 2 has booted up, has a good USB-C link to your laptop, tablet or smartphone, but is not able to connect with your Ekahau application:

• When you first press the Power button for 1 – 2 seconds, the Sidekick Status Indicator should glow Green – indicating that the Sidekick battery is charged
• The Status Indicator should then turn blue briefly, followed by the Red – Orange – Green sequence, indicating that Sidekick is booting up (“getting ready”)
• After around 30 – 60 seconds, the indicator should show steady Green
• After around 10 minutes, if you don’t launch an Ekahau application (such as Ekahau AI Pro), or if Sidekick 2 cannot communicate with your Ekahau application, the Sidekick Status indicator should follow the Red – Orange – Green sequence, indicating that Sidekick is shutting down
• The Sidekick 2 Status Indicator will then turn off when your Sidekick has shut down (and powered off).

Ekahau Sidekick Factory Firmware Mode

Sidekick 2 can be switched on in Factory firmware mode, so that it will fall back to factory settings and load the factory-provided version of the firmware.

This might help to resolve problems such as your Sidekick 2 refusing to start due to a previous failure when upgrading the firmware.

When Sidekick 2 is started in Factory firmware mode, the Status Indicator initially glows with a magenta colour (pink/purple); then proceeds to permanently erase any recently-upgraded firmware, and reverts to the original factory firmware version.

After resetting a Sidekick 2 to factory firmware, to use the Sidekick with Ekahau applications you will need to upgrade the firmware using an Ekahau application, such as Ekahau AI Pro.

Booting Ekahau Sidekick 2 in Factory Firmware Mode

To boot Sidekick 2 up in the factory firmware mode, press the Power button and keep it pressed long enough so that the status indicator shows a Magenta (pink/purple) colour.

Release the Power button and the device will boot up in Factory firmware mode, with the following Status Indicator sequence:

• Magenta – for approximately 45 seconds; the Sidekick 2 fan will also run
• White
• Off

Now connect Sidekick 2 with a USB-C cable to your laptop, tablet or smartphone. You should see the following Status Indicator sequence:

• White
• Off

Now launch Ekahau AI Pro. The Sidekick 2 Status Indicator should show stead Green if your Sidekick battery is adequately charged. The Ekahau AI Pro should prompt you to update the firmware to the latest version.

Updating Ekahau Sidekick 2 Firmware

When you connect Sidekick 2 to a device and run an Ekahau application, such as Ekahau AI Pro, you may be notified that a firmware update is available. This happens automatically of you have recently reset your Sidekick 2 using Factory firmware mode.

If you choose to Update your Sidekick, you will see the following sequence of events.

• The Sidekick 2 Status Indicator flashes Green on the right hand side of the indicator at 3Hz (3 times per second) for around 30 seconds
• The indicator then flashes White – alternating between flashing just on the right hand side, then the entire bar
• The Status Indicator should then flash White (full bar) for around 40 seconds
• The Status Indicator turns off and the fan may run
• The Status Indicator should then show:
  • Red for 1 second
  • Blue for 1 second
  • Steady Green

Your Ekahau application should then confirm that the firmware was successfully updated:

Ekahau Sidekick 2 User Guide

The Sidekick 2 User Guide is available here:

https://support.ekahau.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/10749240988059/Ekahau_Sidekick_2__User_guide_EN.pdf