Anyone had grief with a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 dropping connection to the VictronConnect app mid-session?

Picked up a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 about three weeks ago and I'm having a frustrating time keeping it connected to VictronConnect on my Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S21, Android 13). It'll pair fine, I can see all the live data — battery voltage, PV watts, the lot — but after maybe 60–90 seconds it just drops. Sometimes it reconnects on its own after a minute, sometimes I have to kill the app and start again. Bluetooth on the phone is otherwise rock solid.

The controller itself seems to be doing its job — 200W of panels on the roof of my Sprinter, feeding a 100Ah lithium (Fogstar Drift), and the charging figures look sensible when I do catch a full readout. It's running firmware 1.61. I've got it mounted inside a locker about 1.5 metres from where I usually sit with the phone, so range shouldn't be the issue.

Wondering if anyone else has hit this. Is it a known bug with this firmware version, or could it be interference from something else in the van — the DC-DC charger maybe, or the inverter? I've seen a few vague mentions of Bluetooth gremlins on other forums but nothing concrete.

Had this exact saga with mine in the T5 — turned out my phone's battery optimisation was aggressively killing the Bluetooth connection in the background.

Go to Settings > Apps > VictronConnect > Battery > Unrestricted and also disable Adaptive Battery for it specifically.

Samsung's One UI is particularly brutal for this — it'll murder background Bluetooth like it owes it money.

Also worth checking you're on the latest VictronConnect firmware (v6.x series fixed a few Android 13 BT stability issues), and make sure the MPPT itself is on current firmware too — you can push that update through the app when it does connect.

Mine's been rock solid since sorting the battery optimisation, both in the van and out in the garden office setup.

Hey @YorkshireExplorer, worth checking one more thing alongside what @T5Project mentioned — have a look at your phone's developer options and make sure Bluetooth scanning is behaving itself. Also, I found that keeping the phone screen on during a session helps massively, as Android can throttle background Bluetooth activity the moment the display sleeps.

One other culprit that caught me out was simply distance and interference — my inverter charger was generating enough electrical noise to upset the BLE signal when I was more than a metre or so away. Moving closer sorted it straight away.

If none of that helps, try completely forgetting the device in Android's Bluetooth settings and re-pairing fresh through VictronConnect rather than the system menu. Solved a stubborn connection issue for me on a similar setup. Good luck!

WingAndPrayer88 | 47 posts

Something nobody's mentioned yet — the 100/30 can be a bit temperamental if there's RF interference nearby. I had mine dropping out constantly until I realised my inverter was the culprit. Moving my phone closer to the controller during a session made a noticeable difference.

Also worth checking your VictronConnect app version. There was a dodgy build a while back that had Bluetooth stability issues on Android specifically. Make sure you're on the latest release from the Play Store — Victron push updates fairly regularly.

If you're still struggling after trying what @T5Project and @ValleyBoater suggested, it might be worth posting your firmware version for the MPPT itself too. Outdated controller firmware can cause handshake problems with newer app versions. You can update it directly through VictronConnect when you do manage to hold a connection. 👍

ShortCircuit56 | 134 posts

Good shout from @WingAndPrayer88 on the RF interference front — worth investigating that. One thing I'd add that hasn't come up yet: double-check your firmware on the 100/30 itself. Victron pushed out some Bluetooth stability fixes in recent releases and older firmware can be genuinely terrible for dropping connections mid-session. Open VictronConnect, go to the device settings and hit "Product info" — if it's prompting an update, do it. You'll need to stay close and keep the screen active throughout the update or it'll fail partway through. While you're at it, also try forgetting the device in your phone's Bluetooth settings and re-pairing fresh rather than just reconnecting. Sometimes the pairing table gets a bit mangled and a clean pair sorts it right out. Sorted mine after weeks of the same headache.

Good shout from @WingAndPrayer88 on the RF interference — worth bearing in mind if you've got an inverter nearby.

One thing I'd add from my shepherd's hut setup: firmware version matters more than people realise. If your 100/30 is running older firmware, the Bluetooth stack can be genuinely flaky. Connect via USB-OTG to a laptop running VictronConnect and check whether there's an update pending — sorted persistent dropouts on mine almost immediately.

Also worth noting: the "Keep screen on" toggle within VictronConnect itself (under settings) made a noticeable difference for me during longer monitoring sessions. Android will still try to kill background Bluetooth without it.