Most AiM loggers broadcast their own WiFi network, and AimMac talks to them over it. The original Solo and Solo DL, which have no WiFi at all, connect over USB instead — see Over USB at the end of this page, which also covers connecting a SmartyCam.

Connecting over WiFi

  1. Turn WiFi on on the device (on a Solo 2: Menu → WiFi).
  2. Join the device's network. The quickest way is from inside AimMac — see Finding your device's WiFi below — or join AiM-<model>-<serial>-<name> from macOS yourself.
  3. Select Device connection in the sidebar. AimMac detects the logger on its own and the header changes to your device's name and model.

Finding your device's WiFi

You don't have to go to System Settings and work out which network is which logger. Open the device dropdown at the top of the Device connection page and pick Connect to Device Wi-Fi…, or hit Find Device Wi-Fi… on the waiting screen.

AimMac scans for AiM access points in range and lists them by device name rather than raw network name, with each one's signal strength, so a paddock full of loggers is still readable. Hit Join on the one you want.

Connecting to a device's WiFi from inside AimMac, with four loggers listed by name and signal strength

Connecting to a device's WiFi from inside AimMac, with four loggers listed by name and signal strength

A device's own network has no internet connection, so AimMac offers to put you back on your usual network when you're finished.

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macOS only reports WiFi network names to an app that has Location permission — without it a scan returns results with no names at all, which looks identical to nothing being in range. AimMac asks for the permission on this screen if it doesn't have it.

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If you've never set a Device Name on the logger, that's fine — AimMac shows its model or its address instead. (Before 1.4.6, a logger with no name set was never connected to at all, however many times it answered.) Solo 2, Solo 2 DL, Solo 2 DL V2, MXG 1.2, MXS 1.2 and MXS 1.3 are recognized by name; any other AiM logger that answers still connects, and shows whatever it reports about itself.

Since 1.5.1, AimMac identifies a logger by the platform code in its identity record rather than by a code that shifts with firmware, so a device that reports no name and no recognizable model still comes up correctly named.

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Joining the device's network usually means losing your internet connection, because your Mac can only be on one WiFi network at a time. That's normal. AimMac reconnects you to your usual network automatically when you're done — and there's a Reconnect WiFi button if it needs a nudge.

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If the device is on a non-standard network, you can enter its IP by hand in the device settings rather than relying on detection.

The device pages

A row of icon buttons under the device name switches between five pages.

Sessions