Direct mode to PC

[hokc77]

Hi there,

New user here. I have set up my Pro X2 card and it worked fine over my wireless router to my laptop.
For the direct mode, is it limited only to iphone, ipad and android devices? Can i use my laptop to connect to the card using direct mode? I can see the Eye Fi SSID in my laptop but can't connect

http://img709.imageshack.us/i/eyefiproblem.jpg/

Help would be greatly appreciated

[magown]

I'm trying to do the exact same thing on my mac. The connection times out during authentication. Theoretically I don't see why it doesn't work. If they can get it working right, it will be the ideal setup. I would prefer not to have to bounce the pictures through a phone when I'm trying to offload pictures to a computer.

[jablonsky]

Some things to check:
- Does the card currently have media files it's trying to upload?
- Is your computer set to receive them? Set this before you connect to the Direct Mode network.
- Is there another network in range that the card is set to connect to? If so, turn it off or remove it from the card.

Try raising the first Direct Mode slider (time to wait for a connection) to 1 or 2 minutes so you have plenty of time.

As a side note: every time I tried Direct Mode with Windows XP, the PC connected within a minute or so and obtained an address (10.105.106.2), but photos didn't upload until I quit and restarted Eye-Fi Helper. Not sure why.

[pkgermonpre]

Hi,

same problem here. Exact same.
Tried the solutions offered. No avail.
Help ?

Peter

[pkgermonpre]

Hi again

REALLY would like some feedback please.
I need to operate this system in three days

Canon 550D
Windows XP SP3
Canon Selphy Photo printer
no wireless nor wired network available

Pictures taken with the 550D should be transferred to the laptop, which prints them automatically on the Selphy (using SilentPrint, which prints every new picture appearing in the watched folder)
I have over 500 photos to print this way, and would like this to be automated - else I need to take out the card every 5 minutes, transfer manually and reinsert the card.
And no, changing to a Mac or Vista or whatever is not an option, sorry.
So, the Ad-Hoc connection is all that remains, and is actually why I bought the card (I actually bought two, after reading the positive reviews etc. It now seems that when people try to use it in real life, it does not work.

So, getting slightly p.... off here. Can any of you Eye-Fi people please help ????

[MikeV]

Ok... to make sure this works to the best of its ability...

1. Remove all wireless networks from the Eye-Fi card and enable Direct Mode.
2. Remove all known wireless networks from the computer. This is to make sure that the computer doesn't connect to another wireless network, preventing it from connecting to the card.
3. Change the Direct Mode settings for the card...
3a. You may want to change the "Wait for connection" setting to a minute... sometimes Windows isn't the fastest at seeing new networks and connecting to them. A minute or two should be fine, but 30 seconds probably isn't long enough.
3b. You may also want to extend the "Wait after Transfer" timeout. This is how long the card will wait after it has transferred all pictures before it drops the Direct Mode network. If you'll be taking pictures every minute, then setting it to 2 minutes should be fine. Just keep in mind that even when not transferring pictures, if the Direct Mode network is in operation, your camera's battery life will be affected, so I wouldn't recommend the "Never" setting, unless you have extra batteries.
3c. Click the "Enable Direct Mode" button on the Direct Mode settings screen. This will cause the card to create the Direct Mode network.
4. Connect your computer to the Direct Mode network using the SSID and password given in the Eye-Fi software.
5. Once your computer has connected to the network successfully, you can remove the card from your computer.

Now you should be able to...

6. Eject/Safely Remove the Eye-Fi card from your computer.
7. Start your printing software.
8. Put the card in your camera and take a picture.
9. Wait a moment for the card to create the network and the computer to connect to it.
10. Once the computer has connected to the network, it will transfer the picture. If you take more pictures before the card disconnects, they should transfer a lot faster because the connection is already established.

[pkgermonpre]

Thanks Mike

I have gone through all these steps before, and to no avail. Increased frustration does not help of course.
The DirectMode network as broadcasted by the Eye-Fi card can be seen in the Available Networks list on the laptop, but I cannot connect to it - like other users before on this forum.

However, I have played around some more hours (too much, I hate to say) and have found a consistent way to create an AdHoc network in this laptop, and the Eye-Fi card connects to this network without needing the Direct Mode. Transfers are now a matter of seconds and for the first time in 2 weeks, I feel happy about the card.
So in my setting, this works fine, and I wonder why anyone would need DirectMode to connect to a PC (maybe to an iPad, yes, but definitely not to a PC).

I will post the detailed steps in a separate post with appropriate title, but here goes:

Setting: XP SP3 laptop with only wireless internet connection, no cable in the LAN port

1. Create Ad Hoc network on the PC

Open My Network Places
Enable Internet Connection Sharing on Local Area Connection (Wired Adaptor)
Open Wireless Network Connection adaptor Properties - Wireless Networks
Click Advanced - Computer-to-Computer (ad hoc) networks only" and "Automatically connect to non-preferred networks"
Add a new preferred network
Name "AdHoc", type : Open - WEP - enter "1111111111" as network key
OK

2. Configure Eye-Fi card

a. Need to connect to internet first !!

Open My Network Places
Disable ICS on the wired adaptor
Enable "Any available network" on the wireless adaptor
Connect to the Internet

b. Insert Eye-Fi Card

Run Eye-Fi Helper and open Eye-Fi Center
Select Eye-Fi card settings
Networks - Private Networks
Add - Other network - enter AdHoc in "Network Name", select security type = WEP, enter network key 1111111111
Select "Network is out of range"
Click "Add network to Card" or "Card is idle"

c. Close Eye-Fi Center and restart Eye-Fi Helper

3. Connect Eye-Fi card to AdHoc network

a. re-activate AdHoc network on the PC

Open My Network Places
Enable Internet Connection Sharing on Local Area Connection (Wired Adaptor)
Open Wireless Network Connection adaptor Properties - Wireless Networks
Click Advanced - Computer-to-Computer (ad hoc) networks only" and "Automatically connect to non-preferred networks"

b. Insert Eye-Fi Card into camera

c. Open Eye-Fi Center on the computer

d. Take a picture

Without pictures to transfer, the Eye-Fi does not connect
The card should connect (maximum workable distance 5-6 meters only) and start transferring. Fast.

[dustinash]

I think that the reason you would want to direct connect to your computer would be obvious. It is far more useful then connecting to an ipad. The reason why is you can open lightroom and edit on the fly so check critical focus or even have someone working on processing while you shoot.

This is also possible when communicated off a seperate local network but is severely limiting in a) Security, your photos are moving on a seperate network and b) having to have access to that network c) convenience, you would have to set up on each local network.

Personally though I am about to try this because my card too will not communicate to my computer in direct mode. only after I shute down the computer and relog in does it show SOME of the images.

It seems to work a lot stronger on iphone but still working on it. Will post soon.