Troubleshooting

The meter glows yellow #

That's the meter starting up. It stays yellow until the app connects and sets your level, usually a few seconds. If it stays yellow:

Make sure the app is running (look for the star icon by the clock; it may be in the ^ overflow area).
A meter you use without the app stays yellow until you first tap it.

The meter is dark #

Any of these turns the meter off on purpose:

Your PC is asleep, shut down or signed out, or you quit the app. A meter powered from the PC's USB port also loses power when the PC sleeps.
Pause syncing is on. The panel says Paused; choose Resume syncing.
The Night schedule is set to turn the meter off. The panel says until when.
You're Free and the Accent light is switched off (Free shows no stars). Turn the accent light on in Settings › Look.
The app stopped unexpectedly. A Wi-Fi meter turns itself off within about 10 minutes when it hears nothing from the app. Start Busy Meter again.

The app doesn't find my meter on USB #

Try another USB-C cable. Many cables only charge and can't carry data. The one in the box carries data.
Try another USB port, ideally one directly on the PC rather than a hub.
"Another app is using the meter's USB port": close other apps that talk to serial devices (3D printer software, Arduino tools, flashing tools) and try again.
Unplug the meter, wait a few seconds, and plug it back in.

The tray icon has a red ✕ #

The app has no meter connected. Plug the meter in, or check it's powered and on the same Wi-Fi. If you haven't added one yet, right-click the icon and choose Set up a meter….

A Wi-Fi meter says "Offline since…" #

Check the meter has power (any USB charger works).
Check your PC is on the same network as the meter. A VPN can hide the meter from the app: disconnect it, or keep the meter on USB.
Office and guest Wi-Fi often stop devices seeing each other. Use USB there.
If you changed your router or Wi-Fi password, plug the meter into your PC and use Settings › Meters › Change Wi-Fi.
If the meter got a new address and isn't found, add it with Not listed? Add it by IP address in Settings › Meters.

The meter won't join Wi-Fi #

The meter needs a 2.4 GHz network, the right password, and no username login. See Set up Wi-Fi.

The meter keeps flashing red and blue #

Something is using your camera. The Camera row in the panel (under Listening to) or in Settings › Sources shows which app. Close that app or turn its camera off. To stop the camera driving the meter at all, turn the Camera source off, or change Camera in use in Settings › Levels.

The meter shows On a call when I'm not on one #

An app is using your microphone. The Microphone row shows which one. If it's an app that isn't a call (dictation, a voice assistant), add it under Don't count these apps in Settings › Sources.

Teams meetings don't show #

In Teams, turn on Settings › Privacy › Third-party app API. The Teams app row says when it's off.
Teams isn't running: start Teams.
Pair again if the row says Not paired.

Teams has no "Third-party app API" setting #

Some companies hide or turn off this setting, so the Teams app row can't pair. Your Teams status (Available, Away, Busy, Do not disturb) still shows: the row reads it from the Teams app itself and says from Teams' log. For more:

Microsoft 365 sign-in, if your company allows it (see Sources). If Microsoft says Need admin approval, you can send the request to your IT team.
Microphone and camera: calls and video meetings still light the meter (On a call, Flash).
A calendar link from Outlook on the web: meetings show from your calendar.

A calendar event didn't show #

Google and Outlook can take a few minutes to publish a new event to the calendar link.
Tentative and all-day events are ignored unless you turn them on in Settings › Levels › Calendar rules.
The link must start with https:// or webcal://. A link that says Can't reach may have been reset; copy a fresh one from your calendar.

A tap goes to Free instead of the next level #

Your finger rested on the pad long enough to count as a hold. Tap quickly. See The touch pad.

The meter changed level by itself #

A source changed (a meeting started, the mic came on). The panel shows what's driving the meter under Listening to. If you picked a level by hand, check how long it holds in Settings › Manual hold.

Save to meters says "Not saved to your meter" #

The meter "isn't set up as a Desk or Doorway". Its software was changed and it can't take looks. The look is kept in the app. Fix it with Recovery flashing; afterwards the app writes your look again.

Updates don't install #

Settings › About & updates › Check now. "Couldn't check (offline)" means no internet connection or the update server couldn't be reached; try again later.
Updates install when you quit the app, or straight away with Restart now.

My AI assistant can't reach the meter #

It says External connections is off, or nothing is listening: turn on Settings › Sources › External connections and make sure the Busy Meter app is running.
It wants to use the meter's USB port or Wi-Fi address, or asks you to close the app because the port is busy: say no. The app is using the port, as it should. Set the assistant up with the Busy Meter tools instead: see AI assistants.

Getting help #

Open Settings › About & updates and click Copy diagnostics. This copies versions, your meters and settings, and recent log lines, with sign-ins, passwords and calendar links removed.
Paste it into an email to hello@thebusymeter.com with a short description of what happened.