IOLab FAQ

IOLab How To's and Troubleshooting

The content below provides generally helpful tips and hints for using your IOLab, including some troubleshooting. This section will be updated to include instructions with the Web Application during Fall 2026.

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Troubleshooting

Issues with Running the Software Application
• Windows only: The IOLab application does not open when I try to run it, or the application crashes when I move from one step to another in the lesson player.

  In some cases - particularly on computers with Chinese or Korean characters in path names and/or computers where the default Documents folder is on the users One Drive - the application will crash because it can't find the Documents folder. The typical symptom is that nothing really happens when you double-click on the application shortcut.
  
  In these cases an Envioronment Variable can be defined that causes the application to put the IOLab-Workfiles folder (used by the application to store data) in a different location.
  
  If you think this may be your issue you can try the following:
  
  1) Create a folder on your C drive called C:\temp.
  
  2) Open the Environment Variable control panel by typing “Environment Variable” in the windows search bar:
  
  
  3) Set the environment variable IOLabRootDir to point to this directory using the Environment Variable control as shown below. This will cause the IOLab working directory to be put in C:\temp rather than your Documents folder:
  
  
  4) Try running the application again.


Recording Data
• I'm having trouble with the connection between the IOLab software application and the IOLab device.
  • Perhaps the IOLab dongle is not detected by your computer.

    • If the status bar looks like this then your computer has not recognized the IOLab dongle:
      
      

    • Your Windows operating system may have assigned a Bluetooth device to the same COM pot as your IOLab dongle.

      This has only been seen in Windows so if you are using a different OS this is not your problem.
      You can check for this problem by opening your device manager and looking in the Ports section, which will tell you which devices have been detected and what COM port they have been assigned by Windows:

      
      
      In the example shown above, Windows has found only one serial device, called USB Serial Device. This is the IOLab dongle. (Note that if you have installed the IOLab driver - which is not needed for Windows 10 so don't worry if you havent - then this may be called IOLab Serial Device).
      
      The COM3 designator that follows the name tells you that Windows has internally given your IOLab dongle the name COM3 (the actual number might be different for you). So far this is all normal.
      
      The problem arises if there are any other serial devices that have been given the same COM number by the Windows operating system. Windows should never do this in theory, but in practice we have seen that it will occationally do so for a certain brand of bluetooth speakers. Having two devices with the same COM number can cause the system to ignore one of them - it just depends on which one was detected first - and this can cause the IOLab dongle to not work properly.
      
      So if you see that you have two devices with the same COM number, and that one of these is a Bluetooth device, please try the following:
      • (1) Go to Settings and disable Bluetooth on your computer (image below).
      • (2) Unplug your IOLab dongle and then plug it back in again.
      • (3) Run the IOLab application - hopefully it will detect the Dongle and will work fine.
      • (4) Turn Bluetooth back on if you need it.
      
      
    • Other possible reasons this might happen. And ways to fix them..
      
      
      • Perhaps your IOLab dongle is not plugged in to a USB port on your computer.
        Plug it in.
      
      
      • The USB port might be stuck or unresponsive.
        Restart your computer. Try a different USB port.
      
      
      • If you are running anti-virus software other than Windows Defender it may have disabled or removed the code that recognizes the IOLab dongle.
        Go to the settings for your anti-virus software and tell it that the IOLab application is safe.
      
      
      • There might be a poor electrical connection between the dongle and the USB port due to oxidation or mechanical misalignment.
        Jiggle it, clean it, or try putting a USB adapter or extender between the dongle and the USB port.
    
    
  • Perhaps your IOLab is not properly paired with its dongle.
    • If your dongle is un-paired.
      
      
      • If the status bar and lights looks like this then your dongle is not paired to your IOLab device:
        
        
        The video linked here will show you how to fix this.
        
      
      
    • If your dongle is paired to a different IOLab.
      
      
      • If the status bar and lights looks like this then your dongle is paired to a different IOLab device (i.e. not the one you are trying to use):
        
        
        
        To fix this, start by un-pairing the other device: Click on Remote 1 in the status bar
        and then click Unpair Remote 1 (the red button in the image below):
        
        Then pair your dongle and remote as shown in the video linked here
      
      
    • When your IOLab and its dongle are properly paired it looks like this:
      
      
      • If the status bar and lights looks like this:
        
        
        
      
      
  
  
• My IOLab turns off as soon as I start recording data.
  • It could be caused by low batteries.
    
    
    

    You should replace the two AA IOLab batteries with new ones. Use the included screwdriver to open the battery compartment on the back of the device. Make sure you are using brand new replacement batteries. Our experience has been that low quality batteries don't last very long and don't end up saving money, so try to use name-brand batteries if you have some available. The battery voltage reading in the Remote 1 status indicator should be well over 3 volts if the batteries are new (shown below):
    

  • It could be caused by antivirus software (Avast and others).
    
    

    Some anti-virus software - specifically those designed to stop ransomware attacks - can prevent the IOLab application from writing to the Documents folder. This will cause the application to stop after a few seconds. A common product that does this is called Avast. The following three images show how you can temporarily disable the ransomware feature on Avast, which will allow the IOLab software to run.

    
    

    Students have reported that if the above approach didn't work they tried uninstalling and reinstalling Avast. After doing this they ran IOLab again and this time a pop-up appeared asking if they wanted Avast to block or allow IOLab, which solved their problem

    Similar approaches should work for other anti-ramsomware products as well, like the one built into Windoes 10 (which seems to be disabled by default).

Tips & Hints

Saving, Naming, and Exporting Data

Saving and Recalling Recordings.

Your data is saved every time you do a recording. You can see all of your recordings, listed from newest to oldest, by clicking on the Folder icon which brings up the Resource manager as shown below. Just click on a recording to recall it.

Naming a Recording

Naming your recordings is a good way to make sure you can find them again (since the Resource manager has a nice search feature). Just click on the little pencil at the top right corner of the recording in the Resource manager; this allows you to add a Name and a Comment. :

Saving Snapshots of your Data.

IOLab Snapshots are much more than images of your screen (if you just want an image you should use your computers screen-capture feature). You can think of IOLab Snapshots as bookmarks that take you back to the view you had on your screen, including zooming, panning, analysis selections, etc. When you upload your data to the repository, snapshots are uploaded as well.


To recall a snapshot, just click on it. All of your data is still there so you can continue your analysis from the point where you left off.

Exporting and Sharing Data.

• Exporting Data from the Application to CSV files.
  To export data to a CSV file (which can be opened in Excel or Google Sheets for further analysis), click on the Tool bar icon at the bottom left of a chart and then on the Export to CSV button. The data is saved in the Documents/IOLab-WorkFiles/export folder on your computer.
  
  
  The format of the data in the CSV file is shown below. The file contains one row for every sample that the IOLab collected, so it might be quite long.
  
  The columns that will probably be of most interest to you are time (which contains the time of the sample in seconds relative to the start of the recording), and cal[...] which contains the calibrated data for each trace shown on the chart. If the sensor has three axes (x,y,z), like the accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope, then these are named cal[0], cal[1], and cal[2]. If the sensor has one axis, like the force probe, then this is named cal[0].
  
  
  
• Exporting Data from the Application to the Repository and Sharing.
  • Creating a Repository Account.
    You can open the cloud repository from the IOLab application by clicking on the cloud icon:
    
    You can also get to it directly from any web browser at iolabrepository.azurewebsites.net/.
    The first time you do this you will be prompted to create an account as shown below.
    
    
    
  
  

A Video Example of Recording, Zooming, Snapshots, and Sharing.

This video uses no sound:

Analyzing Data

Zooming and Panning.

The buttons shown below are used to zoom and pan the data displayed in a chart:


Zooming is done by selecting the Zoom icon and then left-clicking and dragging to select a region of the chart. When the mouse button is released the selected region will fill the chart. Zooming can also be done separately in the vertical and horizontal directions by selecting the appropriate tool from the zoom drop-down menu. When the zoom icon is selected, single-clicking once on a chart will undo the last zoom and double-clicking on a chart will auto-scale.
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Panning is done by selecting the Pan icon and then left-clicking on a chart and dragging it around.

Selecting a Region and Finding Mean, Standard Deviation, Area, and Slope.

Select the analysis icon and then left-click and drag the mouse on a chart to select a region. The same time region will be highlighted on all open charts as you do this. Double-clicking on the chart will remove the selected region.


Selecting a region as shown above will bring up analysis results for each trace on each chart being displayed. The color of the results will match the color of the trace. Only one trace is selected in the above chart so only one set of analysis results is displayed. The meaning of the numbers is shown below:

Smoothing.

If the data appears noisy it may be desirable to use the smoothing feature to make it look nicer (though be aware that the noise can be useful data too). To smooth the data on a chart select the tool-bar icon at the bottom left corner of the chart to bring up the tool-bar, and then select the amount of smoothing you want from the drop-down. The bigger the number, the smoother the result.

Doing a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT).

If your data has interesting frequency components (for example, recording sound with the microphone or an LED light-bulb with the light sensor as in the data shown below), then doing a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) allows you to study this by showing the selected data in the frequency domain.

To display an FFT click the Analysis icon then select the tool-bar icon at the bottom left corner of the chart to bring up the tool-bar, and then select the number of points you want to include in the FFT by using the drop-down menu. When you move the cursor on the chart there will be a gray region that moves with it to indicate the data being used to calculate the FFT. Single clicking will drop or pick back up the gray region. An new FFT display will appear below the original chart, and will change as you move the gray region.


Moving the cursor down to the FFT will freeze the gray region and will allow you to explore the FFT instead. The horizontal axis of the FFT is frequency, and moving the cursor over the FFT will display the frequency and amplitude at the location of the cursor. Left-clicking and dragging may allow you to see more of the FFT. In the data shown below, the cursor is on the peak which the display shows is at around 120 Hz. This is the frequency that LED light-bulbs flash at in North America.

Other Information

Video Library (evolving).

• IOLab Sensors.
  • The Force Probe
    • How it Works
      
      
    • Calibrating the Force Probe
      
      
    • Re-Zeroing the Force Probe
  • Analog Inputs and Outputs
    • Measuring Voltages Produced by IOLab
      
      
    • Measuring External Voltages
      
      
    • Using the DAC to Produce Voltages
      
      
    • Using D6 to Produce Voltages
      
      
  
  
• Introduction to Random Experimental Uncertainty.
  • Part 1
    
    
  • Part 2
    If you want to download the simulation used in the video below, click here.
    
    
    
  • Part 3
    
    

Using the Accessory Pack for Electricity and Magnetism.

• What's in the box?
  
  (See also PDF documentation linked here).
  
  
• Figuring out the Resistors Values
  1 Ω , 100 Ω , 1 kΩ , 2 kΩ , 4.7 kΩ , 10 kΩ
  
  
• Figuring out the Capacitor Values
  22 µf, 56 µf, 220 µf
  
  
• If the holes in your breadboard are too tight:
  
  
  • Use the pins at the other end of the wires with clips to loosen up the holes:
    
  
  

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Last updated 7/12/2021 at 2:20 pm CT by mats@illinois.edu