Frequently Asked Questions
Jump to a section: Setup & Connectivity · Using MUGIC® Data · Understanding Your Device · Sensor & Hardware · Getting Help.
Setup & Connectivity
What's the difference between AP mode and Client mode — and which do I need?
What it does
MUGIC® creates its own Wi-Fi network that your computer joins directly.
MUGIC® joins an existing Wi-Fi router that your computer is also connected to.
Needs a router?
No — works with no router and no internet.
Yes — needs a 2.4 GHz router or hotspot.
Multiple devices?
Several computers can join MUGIC®'s network.
Several MUGICs can send to one computer.
Computer stays online?
No — your computer leaves its normal network to join MUGIC®'s.
Yes — your computer stays on its normal Wi-Fi / internet.
Best for
Quick start, one computer, no network available.
Performance and studio setups, staying online, sending to specific computers.
Which do you need? If you want your computer to stay on its normal Wi-Fi/internet, or you need to send data to one or more specific computers on your network, use Client mode. If you just want MUGIC® and one nearby computer talking to each other with no router, AP mode is simplest. Switch modes with a 2-second long-press of the "M" button.
My device does not connect to the network?
If you've configured your MUGIC® for Client mode but it isn't sending data to your computer, work through the checklist below in order. The most common cause is the first one.
Use a 2.4 GHz network
MUGIC® connects only to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks. It cannot see or join 5 GHz networks. This is the most frequent reason a device fails to connect, because many modern routers and phone hotspots use 5 GHz by default.
iPhone / iPad hotspot: Go to Settings → Personal Hotspot and turn "Maximize Compatibility" ON. This forces the hotspot onto 2.4 GHz. Then reconfigure the MUGIC®.
Home / studio routers: Connect the MUGIC® to the 2.4 GHz network. If your router uses a single network name for both bands ("band steering"), you may need to enable a separate 2.4 GHz network, create a 2.4 GHz guest network, or temporarily turn off the 5 GHz band while you configure.
Venue or managed networks: Ask the network administrator for a 2.4 GHz SSID.
Note that your laptop, tablet, and phone connect to 5 GHz networks without any problem — so a network working on those devices does not mean it will work with the MUGIC®.
Reboot the device after configuring — and don't rely on the "Success" message
After you save Client-mode settings, the "Success" message means your credentials were saved, not that the device has connected. The MUGIC® attempts to join the network the next time it powers on.
Power-cycle the MUGIC® after configuring it.
Then confirm it actually connected using Step 3 below.
Confirm it really connected
Don't trust the popup — verify directly:
Watch LED3. In Client mode, fast blinking purple means MUGIC® is still trying to connect; slow, steady blinking purple means it connected and is sending data.
Look for MUGIC's own Wi-Fi network. If, after rebooting, MugicConnectXXXXXX reappears as an available Wi-Fi network, the device failed to join your network and fell back to Access Point mode. That means the connection did not succeed.
Check for data. Point your receiving software at the configured port (default 4000) and watch for incoming OSC data. If data arrives, you're connected. (On macOS you can quickly test with nc -ul 4000 in Terminal.)
Check the assigned IP. In the BLE Configurator, the device's diagnostics will report Client (STA) mode and an assigned IP address when it has joined successfully.
Check your network name and password
Network name (SSID): 1–32 characters. There is no minimum length for a single device — a short name is fine.
Password: 8–63 characters. Passwords longer than 63 characters are not supported; some ISP-provided routers (e.g. certain AT&T gateways) ship with very long default passwords that exceed this limit. If yours is longer than 63 characters, shorten it in your router settings or use a different 2.4 GHz network.
Double-check for typos, and note that both fields are case-sensitive.
Still not connecting?
Try your phone's hotspot with "Maximize Compatibility" on, as a known-good 2.4 GHz test network — this isolates whether the issue is the device or the network.
Reach out on our Discord community (on mugicmotion.com, click Support → Community) with the network type you're using and what you observed in Step 3.
How do I know my MUGIC® actually connected?
The configuration popup ("Success" / "Configuration accepted") only means your settings were saved — MUGIC® applies them and tries to connect after it restarts. Power-cycle the device after configuring, then verify:
Watch LED3. In Client mode, fast blinking purple = still trying to connect; slow, steady blinking purple = connected and streaming. In AP mode, slow blinking blue = sending data.
Check for MUGIC's own network. If
MugicConnectXXXXXXis still an available Wi-Fi network after restart, MUGIC® did not join your network.Watch for data on the configured port (default 4000). On macOS you can test quickly with
nc -ul 4000in Terminal — if lines appear, you're connected.
I'm connected, but no data arrives on my computer
If MUGIC® shows it's connected (slow blinking purple in Client mode) but your software sees nothing:
Set the Client IP. In Client mode, MUGIC® only sends to the IP address(es) you configure. Enter your computer's IP address in the Client IP field (see below).
Match the port. The default is 4000 — make sure MUGIC® and your receiving software use the same port.
Check your firewall. A computer firewall can silently block incoming UDP. On macOS: System Settings → Network → Firewall — allow your receiving app, or turn the firewall off while testing.
Same network. Your computer must be on the same network MUGIC® joined.
How do I find my computer's IP address (for the Client IP field)?
macOS: System Settings → Wi-Fi → Details → "IP Address". Or in Terminal:
ipconfig getifaddr en0.Windows: open Command Prompt and run
ipconfig, then read the "IPv4 Address".
Enter that address in MUGIC®'s Client IP field. Note that your computer's IP can change when you switch networks, so re-check it if you move to a new location.
My Wi-Fi password is longer than 63 characters — MUGIC won't accept it
MUGIC® supports Wi-Fi passwords up to 63 characters, which is the Wi-Fi standard's maximum. Some ISP-provided routers (e.g. certain AT&T gateways) ship with longer default passwords. Either shorten the password in your router's settings, or connect MUGIC® to a different 2.4 GHz network — for example a phone hotspot with "Maximize Compatibility" turned on.
Using MUGIC® Data
Can I use MUGIC® without Max/MSP or Ableton?
Yes. MUGIC® streams standard OSC over UDP, so any software that can receive OSC/UDP works — Max/MSP and Ableton are just common examples. You can write your own receiver in Python, JavaScript/Node, Processing, Pure Data, TouchDesigner, Unity, and more. See "How do I receive MUGIC® data in my own software?" below.
How do I receive MUGIC® data in my own software (OSC / UDP)?
MUGIC® sends one UDP packet to port 4000 (default) containing a single OSC message:
To receive it:
In Client mode, set the Client IP to your computer's address (see "How do I find my computer's IP address?").
Open a UDP socket on port 4000 in your software and parse the incoming OSC message.
For the full field-by-field breakdown of the datagram, see Data API and MUGIC® Datagram and description.
How much data does the device send?
The data is sampled by default every 20ms (50Hz) and sends a single UDP packet of less than 512 bytes, as a result the network traffic is minimal. The frequency can be adjusted through the loop_delay parameter, but the device maximum frequency is every 10ms (100Hz) and while possible, it is hard to configure the sensor to achieve this throughput.
Understanding Your Device
What do AP, Client, BLE, OSC, and SSID mean?
AP mode (Access Point)
MUGIC® creates its own Wi-Fi network for a computer to join. Blue LED. Works without a router or internet.
Client mode (Station / STA)
MUGIC® joins your existing Wi-Fi network and sends data to computers on it. Purple LED.
BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy)
Used only to configure MUGIC® from the BLE Configurator web page. It does not stream motion data.
OSC (Open Sound Control)
The message format MUGIC® sends its motion data in.
UDP
The lightweight network transport that carries the OSC data, by default on port 4000.
SSID
The name of a Wi-Fi network.
What do the LED colors mean?
🔵 Blue
AP mode. Solid = ready to connect; slow blink = sending data.
🟣 Purple
Client mode. Fast blink = trying to connect; slow, steady blink = connected and sending data.
🟡 Yellow
USB mode — sending data over the USB-C cable.
🟢 Green
Bluetooth mode — available for configuration (does not stream data).
🔴 Red
Reset in progress; blinking red indicates an internal error (power-cycle the device).
For the full guide, including how to switch between modes, see Various LED3 Modes.
Sensor & Hardware
How physically accurate is MUGIC® ?
The sensor integrated in MUGIC® is a Bosch BNO055, one of the best fused IMU on the market. For technical documentation incl. range and accuracy, please see their documentation (https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/datasheets/BST_BNO055_DS000_12.pdf)
Can I track absolute position with MUGIC® ?
This is a hard problem with any IMU sensor, since they only provide orientation and acceleration, not speed or position. For instance, it is physically impossible to distinguish a device traveling at constant speed from an immobile device since in both cases acceleration is zero. Using additional constraints (such as when the device is mounted on a doorframe or other physically -constrained element, or if the device undergoes a cyclical motion such as a rotation about a fixed axis) it is possible to achieve excellent positioning. For a free-form sensor like MUGIC® , it remains an active research project to estimate accurate speed and position, although in theory using physical constraints from an instrument such as a violin (if mounted on the box hand) should help.
(https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/datasheets/BST_BNO055_DS000_12.pdf)
What's the difference between MUGIC® 1 vs. MUGIC® 2
Developer note:
Without going too deep into the technical details, the Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) in MUGIC V2 allows the different functions of the device to work together in a timely fashion. For example, in the MUGIC V1, when getting a Web request, we would have to process it, return it, and then resume sending off the datagrams. The datagram is supposed to come every 20 ms, but there would be some jitter because of all these other functions. Hopefully, there is much less jitter in the RTOS in the datagram, even though we are also performing the web and BLE functions simultaneously. We will not miss a web request for reliability because the device is otherwise busy doing other tasks. In V1, it was sometimes hit or miss and some requests could go unanswered, resulting in additional bugs.
Getting Help
How do I report a bug or request a feature?
For quick help, our Discord community — on mugicmotion.com, click Support, then Community — is the best place; the team and other users can help and follow up. To file a bug you want tracked, open a GitHub issue on the BLE Configurator repository: github.com/mugic-dev/ble-config/issues. When reporting a connectivity or data issue, please include:
Your MUGIC® mode (AP or Client) and firmware version.
What you did, what you expected, and what actually happened.
Your computer's operating system and the type of network you're using (home router, phone hotspot, venue network, 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz if known).
For anything not suited to a public channel, contact us via mugicmotion.com.
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