Troubleshooting & FAQ

Most inspections go smoothly, but when something does go sideways it is almost always one of a handful of fixable things — a borescope that will not connect, a stalled preview, a murky image, or a sign-in that does not take. This section is the fastest path from "that's not working" back to capturing. Each problem below leads with the likely cause and the quickest fix.

12.1 The borescope will not connect

When Jug Scope cannot find or reach your borescope, work through these in order — most connection problems are solved in the first two steps:

1. Confirm your iPad or iPhone is on the borescope's WiFi network. For a WiFi borescope, the device has to be joined to the borescope's network (check iOS Settings → WiFi), not your home or hangar WiFi. Hardware setup is covered in §3, Hardware Setup.
2. Power-cycle the borescope. Turn it off, wait about five seconds, turn it back on, and give it a moment to start broadcasting.
3. Get closer. WiFi borescopes stream over a short-range connection. Keep the borescope within a few feet of your device.
4. For the Ralcam F4A, unplug the cable and plug it back in, and close the borescope maker's app.
5. Run Borescope Diagnostics from Settings → Troubleshooting to probe the connection and surface what is reachable.

12.2 The live preview is blank, frozen, or stalled

You are connected, but there is no picture, or the picture has frozen:

• Give it a few seconds. WiFi borescopes can take a moment to begin streaming after connecting.
• If the preview stalls mid-session, use the connection dialog's retry to re-establish the stream — this recovers most stalls without restarting anything.
• Check the lens cap and the LED. No light, or a capped lens, looks exactly like a dead preview.
• Move closer / reduce interference. A weak signal shows up as a frozen or stuttering preview before it drops entirely.

12.3 The image quality is poor

A washed-out, dark, grainy, or blurry picture is usually about light, distance, and focus — not the app:

• Adjust the borescope's LED brightness. Too bright washes out the detail; too dim adds noise. Most borescopes have a brightness control on the cable or pod.
• Get the right distance. Fill the frame without jamming the probe against the surface. Back off slightly if the center is blown out.
• Clean the lens. Oil film on the probe tip is a common, easily missed cause of a soft image.
• Hold still before you capture. The most common cause of a blurry shot is movement at the instant of capture — let the preview settle, then shoot.
• For WiFi borescopes, a weak signal lowers stream quality; move closer to your device.

For more on getting clean, analyst-ready captures, see §4.11, Tips for good captures.

12.4 I can capture, but I cannot upload, export, or share

Exporting, sending outside your shop, uploading to Savvy, or creating a customer link needs the inspection unlocked with one inspection credit, and once it’s unlocked those are free. Sending to your shop isn’t free; it’s paid once, at hand-off, with one of the shop’s credits, or your own if the shop has none. A plan doesn’t change that, and a lapsed plan doesn’t block it: a credit works with or without a plan. If the app asks for a credit, buy one in the app, or check whether the inspection was unlocked already. See §9, Billing & Plans.

12.5 My subscription is not recognized

If you have subscribed but the app still acts as though you have not:

1. Open Settings → Subscription and tap Refresh Subscription Status. Jug Scope re-checks with the App Store.
2. Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple Account you used to subscribe.
3. If you are offline, reconnect and try the refresh again — the app uses your last known status until it can reach the App Store.

See §9.6, Managing your subscription.

12.6 A shared inspection did not arrive

If someone sent you an inspection and it is not showing up:

• Give cloud sync a moment and confirm your device has a connection.
• Confirm you are signed in to the same account the inspection was shared to.
• If they sent a .jugscope file by AirDrop, Mail, or Messages instead of through the cloud, open that file directly to import it — see §10, Importing.

Sharing and cloud delivery are covered in §6, Sharing & Analysis.

12.7 An upload for analysis failed

If sending an inspection out for expert analysis fails:

• Confirm you are signed in to your Savvy Aviation account in Settings (see §11.9).
• Confirm you selected the matching aircraft in your analysis-account settings before uploading.
• Check your connection — uploading needs an internet connection.
• Retry; uploads are queued and resilient to brief drops.

12.8 Sign-in problems

If Sign in with Apple fails and you see “Apple couldn’t complete the sign-in. Try again in a moment,” the usual cause is not your device or the app — it is a brief delay on Apple's side while your new sign-in propagates through their system.

• Wait about ten minutes, then try again. This clears the great majority of these failures on its own.
• Make sure you are signed in to iCloud on the device and have a connection.
• If it still fails after a wait, send a diagnostic report (below) so support can take a look.

If you closed Apple’s sheet before it finished, Jug Scope says so under the button and simply waits for another tap (see §2.5).

12.9 Sending a diagnostic report

When something is not working and the fixes above have not helped, a diagnostic report is the best thing you can send support. From Settings → Troubleshooting, tap Send Diagnostic Report. Jug Scope packages your connection info, settings, and device details into a single report and sends it. No inspection images are included — only technical details that help diagnose the problem.

12.10 Frequently asked questions

Which devices does Jug Scope support?

iPad and iPhone running iOS or iPadOS 17 or later. Use a WiFi borescope, the Ralcam F4A (it connects over its own cable, Lightning or USB-C), or the built-in camera. On iPad, the Oasis/Vividia U-101 (USB) also works.

Which borescopes work?

Use a WiFi borescope, the Ralcam F4A (it connects over its own cable, Lightning or USB-C), or the built-in camera. See the Cameras page for the supported models.

Do I need a Savvy Aviation account to use the app?

No. You can capture, review, compare, export, and share without one. A Savvy Aviation account is only needed if you want to upload inspections directly for expert review.

Does the app work offline?

Capture works without a connection. Sign-in, purchases, and sending to a shop or to Savvy need one.

How many images is a full inspection?

Sixty-six for a six-cylinder engine and forty-four for a four-cylinder engine — eleven views per cylinder. More if you add Other Components. See §4, The Inspection Workflow.

Can I retake a single view without redoing the whole cylinder?

Yes. Navigate to any view, on any cylinder, anytime, and retake it. You can keep multiple takes and choose the best — see §4.6.

How much does Jug Scope cost?

Capturing needs a plan: an Owner / Mechanic plan or a Shop plan. So do importing past photos and sending to your shop, and creating a shop needs the Shop plan. Viewing what you’ve already captured, on any of your devices, never needs a plan or a credit. Exporting, sending outside your shop, uploading to Savvy, or creating a customer link needs the inspection unlocked with one inspection credit, and once it’s unlocked those are free. Sending to your shop isn’t free; it’s paid once, at hand-off, with one of the shop’s credits, or your own if the shop has none. See §9, Billing & Plans for the current plans.

12.11 Contact support

If you cannot resolve a problem, reach support at [email protected] and include your device model, iOS version, borescope make and model, and a diagnostic report (§12.9) if you can. We usually reply within two business days.