Foreflight not updating METARS , Lightning or NOTAMs

[kurtfly]

I recently submitted a bug report to ForeFlight because it does not update the METARS, Lightning or NOTAMs once I am in flight. Starts off ok but once i get a couple hundred miles away from starting point i notice METARS are unavailable. All these products are displayed perfectly on the Skyview display, just not on Foreflight. When I was in-route to Sun n Fun i was looking at the weather about 100 miles ahead when entering the Tampa area and noticed the airports had a "Green" dots indicating VFR (Flight Category) but when i check the METAR it say's not reporting "METARs". I would suspect the "Flight Category" is obtained from the METAR? I talked to Foreflight about this at SnF and they told me how to log info and upload for them to evaluate. Had the same problem on both legs back home to Texas. I have since sent them a couple log files and screen shots. This has been turned over to their engineering department. They say they have no timeframe for the fix.

If you are like me, and use Foreflight for look ahead weather take caution.

Flying with a HDX1100, SV-ADSB-472, IFD-540. ForeFlight on SkyView WiFi.

 

[RVDan]

I have the same problem. Did you ever get a resolution

 

[Carl_Froehlich]

What receiver are you using to feed ADS-b information to your ForeFlight device?

Carl

 

[kurtfly]

No the problem has not been fixed. I am using the Skyview SV 472 receiver. My neighbor has an all Garmin system and has the same problem. It is definitely a Foreflight issue. I tried two different generation tablets and even flew with neighbor and confirmed problem is present when Garmin is feeding Foreflight also. I have sent Foreflight screen shots, pictures of Skyview display showing the METAR and Foreflight showing it unavailable.

If I use the free Flight Plan.com app i can display METARS fine. I have been constantly complaining to Foreflight (Boeing) since April, with no estimate to fix. They act as if I am the only one experiencing this problem. You only see this problem when you are on a long flight, over 2 hours or do not have internet access right before takeoff. My tablet is WiFi only connection, so, I normal Pack right before TO. I can then display METARS for about 1 hour before they start dropping out. On a recent flight from Denver to Fort Worth I had no textual METARS after 2 hours of flight. Graphical winds, vis, cigs, all appeared to work ok (but there is no time on this data). If I look on the SV HDX the METARS are there.

My Foreflight subscription ends in 1 month. I do not plan on re-subscribing unless it is fixed. My main hold out is the learning curve of the new app from flight plan.com. But it is free and all the same charts are included. VFR and IFR.

You would think with the explosion of EFB use they would throughly test the legacy parts of the program. Foreflight also keeps secret of all the bugs reported and what they are working. They do not notify users of any defects. Since I discovered this fault last April, Foreflight has come out with approximately 5 updates. None of which fixed this problem.

I would recommend contacting the Foreflight support email. It is in the app menu. If enough people complain they may get it fixed sooner.

Kurt

 

[PhatRV]

No the problem has not been fixed. I am using the Skyview SV 472 receiver. My neighbor has an all Garmin system and has the same problem. It is definitely a Foreflight issue. I tried two different generation tablets and even flew with neighbor and confirmed problem is present when Garmin is feeding Foreflight also. I have sent Foreflight screen shots, pictures of Skyview display showing the METAR and Foreflight showing it unavailable.

If I use the free Flight Plan.com app i can display METARS fine. I have been constantly complaining to Foreflight (Boeing) since April, with no estimate to fix. They act as if I am the only one experiencing this problem. You only see this problem when you are on a long flight, over 2 hours or do not have internet access right before takeoff. My tablet is WiFi only connection, so, I normal Pack right before TO. I can then display METARS for about 1 hour before they start dropping out. On a recent flight from Denver to Fort Worth I had no textual METARS after 2 hours of flight. Graphical winds, vis, cigs, all appeared to work ok (but there is no time on this data). If I look on the SV HDX the METARS are there.

My Foreflight subscription ends in 1 month. I do not plan on re-subscribing unless it is fixed. My main hold out is the learning curve of the new app from flight plan.com. But it is free and all the same charts are included. VFR and IFR.

You would think with the explosion of EFB use they would throughly test the legacy parts of the program. Foreflight also keeps secret of all the bugs reported and what they are working. They do not notify users of any defects. Since I discovered this fault last April, Foreflight has come out with approximately 5 updates. None of which fixed this problem.

I would recommend contacting the Foreflight support email. It is in the app menu. If enough people complain they may get it fixed sooner.

Kurt

Unfortunately I think this is the bug in how ForeFlight recognizing the Dynon WiFi signal. When ForeFlight disconnects from the Dynon WiFi, I shutdown ForeFlight, reset the iPad WiFi connection, and restart ForeFlight. This seems to work every time now.

 

[kurtfly]

Not in my case. The easiest way to show this is by not connecting to the internet prior to a flight. Just go to your airplane and immediately connect your tablet to the Skyview network. Once you are receiving ADSB data try to look up a local airports METARs. They all will say Not Available. No mater how long you allow for an update. But you will see a green, blue or red dot over the airport indicating VFR, mvfr, or IFR if enabled.
In a real life situation I have internet prior to takeoff and pack before flight. So, I will start off with METARS, but as I get further away and after about an hour they go stale and stop updating completely.

My tablet is a WiFi only. Does not have a cellular data plan. Not sure if that matters.
My neighbor also experiences this with an all Garmin panel. Problem is not isolated to Skyview.

I first noticed this earlier this year when I flew from Texas to Tampa, Fl. When I was arriving into the Tampa area I had no METARS. But other ADSB data’s appeared to work.

Foreflight has acqnowledged they have a problem, but have not corrected this in 6 months time yet. I have emailed and sent log files, pictures, etc.. They just won’t give me an update on when they expect to have this fixed. They keep there dirty laundry hidden. No list of squawks or bugs are available from Foreflight. My subscription ends at the end if the month. I have already began transitioning to FltPlan Go app. It is free and includes all VFR and IFR charts. It does not have all the bells and whistles that ForeFlight has, but it is $250 / yr less.

Kurt

 

[ve0kog]

there is really some bizarre behavior with the FF.

Yesterday I lost all ADSB traffic in FF but when I checked the ipad wifi connection it was still showing as connected to Skyview.
Later on I got the dreaded "Skyview has disconnected" alert however FF continued to show the ADSB targets as if nothing happened.

I have not paid attention if METARs are getting updated in FF compared to the WX reports on the HDX Info page. Will check that next time.

I really don't understand what causes the occasional Skyview disconnects. Could it be because the wifi USB adapter is in the back of the display behind a metal enclosed panel and the signal is shilded and just not strong enough?

Would it make sense to move the USB port to the panel front?

 

[maartenversteeg]

Should not be needed, you say shielded but I assume that the bottom of the control panel is open

 

[ve0kog]

Foreflight has acqnowledged they have a problem, but have not corrected this in 6 months time yet. I have emailed and sent log files, pictures, etc.. They just won’t give me an update on when they expect to have this fixed.

I flew several flights with the Stratux and it seems to have no issue with updating metars, notams, etc forflight. It's very easy to see the update times of various items - just tap on the ADSB box in the top left corner

Did foreflight acknowledge a problem specifically with the Skyview ADSB?

 

[kurtfly]

I have seen this problem with both a Skyview system and a Garmin System. In both systems the status says it is updating but unable to display it when selecting an airport. You have to be over 1~2 hours in flight or more than 200 Miles from your departure point. You can also see this problem by not allowing any internet connection for a couple hours before takeoff. If i flew to lunch and was on ground for a couple hours then flew back home I could not see return METARs on Foreflight. If you have “nearest baro” set on your bottom bar it will display “———-“ when no longer processing METARs. See attached photo.

Foreflight has acknowledged they have a problem. They just don’t advertise their problems.

see photo below. Airport KMBY is in front of me about 80 miles. It shows a green dot indicating it is VFR. But when I tap the airport to see the textual METAR it says not available. At this point, 2 hrs into flight, all airports say metars not available. In front or behind me. I have to use info tab on Skyview to see the METARs.

This is repeatable 100% of the time. If you are a local flyer only you probably won’t notice it. Unless you routinely jump in you plane and fly without checking the weather on Foreflight prior to takeoff.

Kurt

 

[PhatRV]

I wonder if ForeFlight failed to update the metar info.

 

[kurtfly]

Foreflight updated just before Thanksgiving. I can no longer get Foreflight to use the Skyview GPS or my IFD gps. No position data available. I normally have it use the IFD gps but now it won’t see either. No longer get the message if I want to load flight plan to the IFD. So, Foreflight is totally useless now with a Skyview connection.
Notice on picture, No Fix, and how no fields are filled in. I tried rebooting Foreflight and tried it on 4 different flights.
kurt

 

[PhatRV]

The status shows that your Foreflight had lost the wifi connection to the Dynon. You need to reset the wifi on the iPad. Close Foreflight completely and reopen Foreflight. Then you should see the wifi icon appear. Only after then you can see the live status on Foreflight.

This is a problem with Foreflight.

 

[kurtfly]

Tried that several times. Notice I am receiving ADSB data. But the GPS is not being decoded. i tried connecting with FltPlan Go. It connects and works good. It is just another software issue with Foreflight. They keep pushing new features but fail to test if it affects the old features. This is only one problem that has surfaced with Foreflight update. But this is the most severe.

kurt

 

[PhatRV]

I find the bugs in Foreflight annoying. I used it for route planning and for viewing the big picture. For the rest of the navigation and ADSB weather, I get them from the Dynon HDX.