Logitech R500 presentation clicker stopped working with iPad

[Big Byte]

I have a 6th Generation iPad mini that was bought new less than a year ago, as well as a Logitech R500 presentation clicker/pointer that was bought new about 4 months ago. I use the clicker to advance Microsoft PowerPoint presentation slides via Bluetooth connection.

Everything was working fine up to and including last week, but not today. I went in this morning and set everything up as I normally do each week, but the clicker did not work.

I have tried the following to troubleshoot the issue, but nothing so far has helped:

1. Changing the battery: although the indicator on the clicker didn't show that the battery was depleted, I put in a fresh battery anyway. That didn't work;
2. Powering off the iPad and started it up again: that also didn't work;
3. Turning Bluetooth off and then on again: that didn't work;
4. Re-pairing the clicker: I had the iPad "forget this device" and then paired it again with the iPad, but that didn't work either;
5. Connecting the clicker via USB: I used the USB dongle that comes with the clicker to connect to the iPad via USB, but that didn't work;
5. Performing software update on the iPad: I keep my devices relatively up to date, but updated my iPad to iOS 16.3.1. Still, that didn't work.

Despite the clicker having recently stopped working with my iPad, it still works as expected when paired with my MBP. So, I'm assuming the issue may not be with the clicker.

I've done everything I can to resolve this issue, and I'm now at a loss. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Thanks.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

You've done all the basic troubleshooting I would have done, and some brief reading on Logitech's site doesn't suggest anything differently. I would take this up with Logitech and see if they can help.

 

[ferrarr]

Maybe the iPad app you are using the clicker with needs updating? Maybe delete the app, then redownload.

 

[Big Byte]

Maybe the iPad app you are using the clicker with needs updating? Maybe delete the app, then redownload.

It may very well be an app issue.

One thing I've noticed since I created this thread, is that, on the iPad, the clicker does work when the PowerPoint presentation is on the "Home" menu, and also when it's on the "Slide Show" menu. It's only when I go to the "Presenter View" menu under "Slide Show" that the clicker stops working. Again, this was not an issue before, so it's odd that it has arisen now.

I'll look into seeing if the app (MS Office PowerPoint) needs to be updated.

Thanks.

 

[Big Byte]

So, I downloaded and installed MS Office PowerPoint on another iPad that will be used by us... and, same thing.

Actually, not really, as the clicker did work (even in Presentation View)... but only for a day, and then reverted to the same issue.

It's getting frustrating, as it's difficult to control a camera and a mixing board while having to manually advance the Ppt slides by tapping the screen.

Anyway, hoping someone has thought of something new I can do to try to resolve this issue.

Thanks.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I can only suggest trying a different clicker. We know it used to work until recently; the problem persists across multiple iPads; and it started to work again on the second one, then failed. That leaves the clicker potentially being faulty.

 

[Big Byte]

I can only suggest trying a different clicker. We know it used to work until recently; the problem persists across multiple iPads; and it started to work again on the second one, then failed. That leaves the clicker potentially being faulty.

Well, I think I can say that I solved the problem, and it's not the clicker.

Here's what happened:

After I posted yesterday, I contacted Logitech's customer support and their agent tried to help me resolve this issue. No luck.

So, I then decided to take another stab at troubleshooting this issue, and thought of any variables that I may have missed. In doing so, I realized that the clicker worked completely fine when paired to my laptop, and thought "why doesn't it work on the iPad"? - same clicker, same file, same software, etc.

At that moment, it came to me that the Ppt file was saved on my laptop, but not on my iPad, as I only Airdropped the files to my iPad when needed and never "saved" them on it, and, voila, it worked! Problem solved!

Why this matters? I don't know, as before the clicker stopped working last month, it was working completely fine, even though I never saved the files on to the iPad before yesterday.

Is this a permanent fix? I hope so. Did MS, iPad or Logitech change something in the meantime? I don't know, and I don't really care, as everything works fine now and I'm happy. I just hope that this fix is permanent.

Thanks for all of your help!

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Well if that turns out to be the fix... well that's bizarre but ok. If not, buy a new clicker. The software is obviously able to work with the clicker when it wants to, so that's the only variable left.