FAQs and Known Issues
FAQs
SimFly Linker Connection
My SimFly Pad Cannot Connect to the SimFly Linker
This is the most common problem, don’t worry, just follow this article for troubleshooting. If the problem persists, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Can I use a wired connection to connect the SimFly Pad device to my PC?
Unfortunately, this method is not currently supported because the network transmission method used for a wired connection differs from the current underlying implementation.
Cockpit Controls
Can I connect multiple devices at the same time?
Yes, you can. However, please ensure that all connected devices are using the same panel and its variant.
Is there a trial option for Premium panels?
Currently, only in the Android version, we offer a 7-day trial. You can find the "Get Free Trial" button on the unlock panel dialog. (Note: To get the trial, you need to bind an email first.)
Why does the Android version have significantly fewer panels compared to the iOS version?
The main reason is that I am currently developing this app alone in my spare time. Generally, since I am more familiar with iOS development, I prioritize creating the iOS version first. If a particular panel proves to be popular, I will then consider porting it to the Android platform.
How much does the Core plugin or the Cockpit Controls feature affect my game performance?
Very little. The Core plugin only starts working after SimFly Pad switches to the Cockpit page and executes “Connect”. Because it uses update notification and asynchronous refresh mechanism, even when using a panel like B737 with hundreds of data variables, the impact on the game FPS is very small.
Some panel buttons are not functional or are out of sync with the game.
If you are using the FBW A380 or A320, please try switching to the stable version. For other aircraft, ensure you have updated to the latest version. If the issue persists, please contact us.
I have a Windows device that supports touch controls. Can I run SimFly Pad on it?
SimFly Pad does not support the Windows operating system. However, you can try running the Windows Subsystem for Android on your Windows device and then install the Android version of SimFly Pad.
Video Streaming
FPS Drops When Using Fenix MCDU or G1000 Video Transmission
If you experience FPS drops when attempting to stream images such as the G1000 or A320 PFD/ND to SimFlyPad, it is usually caused by two reasons. First, MSFS has poor performance optimization for pop-up windows, which is a known issue in MSFS 2020. The second reason is related to the data streaming process itself. If you are using the Android version of SimFlyPad, SimFlyLinker currently employs a compression algorithm, which consumes a small amount of CPU resources. (On my AMD 5800X CPU, it consumes approximately 4% of the CPU.)
For some users, turning off vertical synchronization can significantly improve the performance of pop-up windows. (Needs to be turned off in both game settings and graphics settings)
I Can’t Pop Up My Window Anymore
After using the pop-up window transfer feature of SimFly Linker, you might find that in your next gaming session, no matter how you click Right ALT + Left Mouse Button, you can’t see the window pop up anymore. Don’t worry, it’s not that the window can’t pop up; rather, after the window pops up, MSFS immediately moves it to a remembered location by MSFS. (This happens because SimFly Linker moves the window to a hidden position during streaming. If the window’s position remains hidden when you exit the game, MSFS will remember this incorrect position.)
To reset the position of your current pop-up window: You can click the RESET Popup Windows button on the Tools page of SimFly Linker.
To make MSFS remember the “correct” position of the pop-up window again, after clicking the “RESET Popup Windows” button, keep the pop-up window open and return to the game’s main menu.
If your mouse does not become a zoom icon when you press the RightAlt key, Go to the MSFS’s Control Option, search “NEW UI WINDOW MODE” and rebind the Right Alt key to it.
After starting the stream, the image displayed for one second and then went black. (iOS shows “unstable network,” while Android shows “FPS: 0.”)
This issue is still under investigation. So far, it has been observed that this may occur if you have multiple monitors and are using specific NVIDIA drivers. You can try temporarily disabling one of your monitors in the system display settings or switching to a different graphics card driver.
“Unstable network” appears after 1-3 minutes of streaming.
I have received feedback from a very small number of users experiencing this issue. Their final solution was to replace the 4 memory sticks they were using (4x16GB) with 2 memory sticks, which resolved the problem.
FDR Function
How much does the FDR plugin affect my game?
Very little. The FDR plugin will automatically start every time you fly (there is no need to start SimFly Linker in advance). Due to the use of asynchronous reading and writing technology, and the data read and recorded is very small, so the impact on performance can be ignored.
After my flight, I couldn’t find the record on the FDR page
The FDR plugin filters out records under the following conditions – flight time is less than 2 minutes or there are less than 10 valid record entries. If you find that you meet these conditions but still can’t see the FDR record, you can click the “Open Files” button at the bottom of the FDR page to check if the corresponding files have been created in the folder that appears. If the folder does not exist as indicated, it is likely that some third-party plugins have changed the path where the data is saved. Please contact me at ethantoken@gmail.com, and I will help you investigate the issue.
Misc
SimFly Linker unexpectedly quit.
This might have been caused by a program crash. You can try updating SimFly Linker to the latest version first. If the issue persists, you can open the installation directory of SimFly Linker, find the “crash” folder, and locate the crash file inside. You can send it to us, and I will analyze the cause as soon as possible and work on fixing it. Thank you!
At the same time, since SimFly Linker and Core plugin communicate through API via memory, the efficiency of data transmission is also very high.
How much does each function of SimFly Linker affect my FPS?
Very little.
SimFly Linker mainly interacts with MSFS through API, and the underlying code is written in C++. When running normally, SimFly Linker almost 0 CPU, even in streaming video mode, the usage of CPU is still around 2%.
The only performance fluctuation may occur during video recording, but due to the use of Windows’ latest screen recording function (this is the main reason why Windows system requires version 1903 or above), the performance fluctuation is quite small. According to tests, in a host configuration with a 6900XT graphics card + 32GB memory + AMD 6800, using the 60fps 1080p recording option, the game’s frame rate fluctuation is about 2-3%.
Also, at the end of the recording, SimFly Linker’s use of memory will spike briefly because the program needs to read the recorded video into memory for processing and writing to disk.
[Android Only] Some fonts appear to be clipped or there are gaps between panels.
You can go to the system settings and adjust the font size to “S” to fix this.
Purchase and payment
Please see this article.
Known Issues
The Fenix A320 EFB CANNOT show the navigation map due to a WebKit framework bug. [iOS version only]
Workaround: None. We are waiting for the WebKit bug to be fixed.
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