Connecting to Eco-Worthy 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 Bluetooth enabled BMS to read settings

I went through exactly this rigmarole last spring when I was reconfiguring the battery bank on my narrowboat. The Eco-Worthy BMS Bluetooth app is — how shall I put it — not the most intuitive piece of software ever written.

What caught me out initially was that the app (it's the "Smart BMS" one, white icon) requires you to pair through the app itself rather than through your phone's Bluetooth settings. If you attempt the latter, it simply refuses to show any data. Took me an embarrassing amount of time to realise that.

A few things worth checking:

• Firmware on the BMS — some earlier units shipped with firmware that drops the connection repeatedly. There's no elegant fix; you just reconnect.
• Distance — the Bluetooth range on these is genuinely poor. I found I needed to be within about a metre, sometimes less, particularly if the battery is tucked away in a confined locker.
• Android vs iOS — I've found Android considerably more reliable with this particular app. My iPad refused to maintain a stable connection whereas an old Android handset worked first time.

Once you're in, the readable parameters are fairly limited compared to what you'd get from a proper Victron setup with VE.Direct, but for basic cell voltage balancing and temperature monitoring it does the job.

Are others here running Eco-Worthy cells in a more complex multi-battery arrangement? I'm curious whether anyone has managed to get meaningful data out of them alongside a Victron Cerbo GX, as that's the direction I'm heading with my EV charging setup on the boat.

@SophieFisher nailed the frustration there. One thing worth adding — the Eco-Worthy BMS typically uses the Xiaoxiang BMS (JBD) app underneath, so if the branded app is playing up, try downloading "Xiaoxiang BMS" or "JBD BMS" directly from the Play Store/App Store. Same Bluetooth protocol, far more stable connection in my experience on the boat.

Also worth knowing: you need to be within about 1-2 metres with nothing metallic between you and the battery — I've had the bilge area completely kill the signal on my narrowboat setup.

Once you're connected, don't just read settings — screenshot everything first before touching any parameters. The default overcurrent and cell balancing thresholds on Eco-Worthy units aren't always what the spec sheet claims, so you want a baseline before fiddling.

@ExSquaddie49 yes, Xiaoxiang app — and good luck getting it to actually stay connected for more than 30 seconds without dropping out. Classic.

What nobody mentions is that before you even attempt reading the settings, make sure your battery is above about 20% SoC. Had mine on the narrowboat sitting fairly low after a grim November and the BMS was basically comatose — app would "connect" but all the registers came back zeroed. Spent two hours thinking the BMS had died before I twigged it was just sulking because the cells were cold and low simultaneously.

Also worth noting: the protection voltage thresholds you see in the app are often not what Eco-Worthy actually programmed at the factory. Don't assume the displayed values are correct until you've cross-referenced with a proper cell-level voltage check via a multimeter. Found mine were slightly off compared to the spec sheet.

@Boycie25 the connection dropping is exactly what put me off — I spent ages trying to get a stable reading on mine for the garden office build. What actually worked was turning off WiFi on my phone completely before opening the app. Seems like it was constantly jumping between connections and losing the BMS pairing. Worth trying before you give up entirely.

Also, has anyone managed to actually change any of the protection thresholds through the Xiaoxiang app, or is it genuinely read-only on these Eco-Worthy units? I'm asking because I want to tweak the low voltage cutoff slightly — running a small Victron MPPT setup and the defaults feel a bit conservative for my use case.

@Liz1979 switched mine to a dedicated old Android phone with Bluetooth classic mode forced on and it's been rock solid ever since — turns out the BMS absolutely despises iOS and modern Android's aggressive battery optimisation killing the connection every 30 seconds like clockwork.

@QuietHiker that's a really useful tip about the dedicated Android phone — I'd not thought about forcing Bluetooth classic mode. Do you know which Android version you're running on that old phone? I've got a spare Samsung knocking about somewhere and I'm wondering if it's worth digging it out.

I'll also add that on mine I found it helped enormously to make sure the battery has a decent state of charge before attempting to connect — below about 20% the BMS seemed to go a bit sulky and the app struggled even more than usual. Might be worth bearing in mind if anyone's troubleshooting a fresh install where the cells haven't been topped up yet. Small thing but it caught me out initially!