My toy keeps disconnecting mid-session
Bluetooth drops are usually one of five things: range, interference, the laptop sleeping, battery, or a flaky Bluetooth dongle. Quick fixes for each.
A toy that drops mid-session is almost always one of five things. The fixes are quick. Try them in order.
1. Move closer
Bluetooth is short-range. The signal weakens fast past about three meters, and a human body in the way makes it worse.
- Keep the toy within arm's reach of your computer.
- Avoid putting the toy under a blanket or behind a wall when it is far from your computer.
- If you need range, bring a Bluetooth dongle on a USB extension closer to the toy.
2. Move away from Wi-Fi routers and USB-3 hubs
Bluetooth uses the same 2.4 GHz radio band as Wi-Fi and USB-3 ports. Both can drown it out.
- Move your laptop away from your Wi-Fi router.
- Unplug USB-3 hubs near the laptop if you can. Especially anything plugged into a USB-3 port right next to your Bluetooth chip.
- If you have a microwave running, the toy will probably drop. This is normal.
3. Stop the laptop from sleeping
When the screen sleeps, the system can let go of Bluetooth too. Some sessions cut out exactly at the sleep mark.
- Plug your laptop into power, not battery.
- Keep the lid open.
- ToyControl tries to keep the screen awake while a session is playing, which works on most modern systems. If your screen still dims, check the system's display sleep setting.
4. Charge the toy
A toy with a dying battery will drop the connection just before it powers off. The toy may also throttle its signal at low battery.
- If you have been playing for a while, check the toy's battery indicator (most Lovense toys flash when low).
- Plug it in for ten minutes and try again.
5. Try a different Bluetooth adapter
Built-in Bluetooth on some laptops is weak. If you have tried everything above and drops continue, a $15 USB Bluetooth adapter often solves it instantly.
- Look for a Bluetooth 5.0 (or later) dongle.
- Plug it in, restart Chrome, pair the toy fresh.
- If your laptop has internal Bluetooth, disable it in the system settings so Chrome uses the new dongle.
When a drop is normal
A single brief drop when you walk away from the computer is normal Bluetooth behaviour. ToyControl will reconnect when you come back. What is not normal is drops every few minutes during a sitting session.
If drops persist after all five fixes, click Report a bug in the top-right of the app. Include the toy model and the OS you are on; we will look at the timing log.