BMPro JayCommand

[Sugarbear]

We purchased a 2022 Jayco 29.5BHDS in March 2022. We last used it in June 2024 for a family reunion with no issues. In September we pulled it out again for a short trip to the Santa Cruz area. Upon getting it ready for the trip wanting to open the slides the BMPro JayCommand was blacked out and will not come back on. Upon doing a little research on the internet I found this to be a wide spread problem with many RV owners whose RV uses this same product leaving their rig unusable. It operates literally everything. Now that our 5th wheels 2 year warranty expired in March, Jayco is washing their hands of us. To make matters worse, replacements are on backorder for this Australian made piece of junk so we can't even purchase one. Knowing this product has a lemon for so many owners Jayco should make this right.

[Stan&Sharon]

No worries there. The tablet issue you have is pretty easy to fix and maintenance on keeping the tablet working well is not difficult either. Although there should be a manual on this... good thing this forum is here and we can explain how we do it.
First of all, you'll want to remove the tablet from the wall... easy to do too (see below) and then plug it into a regular phone charger (Micro USB).
Leave it overnight, then stick it back on the wall and it's okay. Be sure its on the internet and go to the play store and perform the updates. This can be done while it's in your house.
Save this url to your favorite bookmarks so you can reference it again as needed:
https://teambmpro.com/products/smart...powered-bmpro/

At the bottom of that page is everything you might ever need to know for the BMPro and JayCommand guides.

Now to remove it from the wall, grab each of the two bottom corners and pull away from the wall... the top corners will stick to the wall and you lift it off their hangers.

Get yourself some masking tape. Notice there's a wire coming into the tablet from the camper... when you remove it, put the masking tape onto it to avoid the wire from dropping inside the wall of the camper. You don't want that, it's a pain to get it out. (I have personal experience).

You might ask... WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? Well, it's because you had your camper in storage and the tablet's battery ran completely dead. This doesn't normally happen because folks plug their camper in occassionally and most campers also have a solar panel to keep things powered... maybe you even removed your battery during that time... no worries, next time maybe take the tablet out of the camper for those months and keep it charged... or just give it a good charge like you're doing now and put it back on the wall.

Look on page three of this guide:
STORAGE
When the Controller is not being regularly used, it should be charged to between 55% and 75% every 3 months to maintain optimum battery condition. For long-term storage, it is recommended to keep the Controller at a temperature between 32°F and 113°F (0°C and 45°C).
If your Controller has been affected by cold temperatures, it can be removed from the wall and placed in a warmer area until it returns to normal function. The JAYCOMMAND app can be used from your smartphone to allow control of your JAYCOMMAND system.

Page 4 shows with pictures, how to remove the tablet off the wall.

[Sugarbear]

I plugged into shore power and still won't turn on. Shouldn't it have charged back up? I can still operate the functions of the JayCommand with my phone. The screen is just blacked out. The buttons along the bottom will still turn lights on too. Any feedback you can give me will help, Thank you for responding.

[Stan&Sharon]

it's going to take several hours to charge once it's completely dead. Overnight seems to be for most folks.

There is also a reset button... use a paperclip... maybe that might be used, but charging it sounds like the fix you need right now.

The power provided by the camper is VERY LOW... too low to charge it from completely dead. That's why we recommend you remove it from the wall to charge it now.

[Stan&Sharon]

Over the years you'll be owning this, eventually you'll find the battery will no longer take a charge. No worries there, just take it off the wall and pry the case open and replace the battery. Here is the link to get a new battery off Amazon when needed.
I've heard some owners are getting a new battery-less tablet. Maybe those will be the norm in another year or two.

[Sugarbear]

Thank you. Hope you don't mind if I reach out again on this. Will give this a shot. Dealer is telling me we need to replace, on backorder, $500

[Sugarbear]

Does it have to be linked back up to communicate with the system after charging?

[Stan&Sharon]

You should not need to replace it. Just charge it up... worse case, replace the battery for 11 bucks. TADA! All fixed.
Regarding setup afterwards... nothing needed, it should be good-to-go once it's charged.

[Stan&Sharon]

If you haven't already, get app: RV Halo
Establish a login ID/password with Winegard... I suggest a short easy password of just numbers if you can get away with that.
Then once your tablet is on the internet, go to the settings in JayCommand on the tablet and login to Winegard. This will then allow you to access many of your controls even when you are away from the camper with your phone running JayCommand... For example, we go out for dinner and on the way home, we turn on the "Awning 1" lights. Then when we get back to the camper, we can see to climb the steps and unlock the door.
Neat huh.

[Sugarbear]

Thank you. Lotta good info.

[andycook281]

I have a 2020 eagle, did the same thing. I was still able to use the app to operate everything. I removed the tablet from the wall, carefully removed from the plastic frame, removed the back from the tablet. Ordered a $11.00 battery, replaced, everything works as it should now. Since then I remove the control from the camper wall and store inside the house now. I think the excessive hot/cold inside the camper when not using wears battery faster. Just my personal opinion.

[Learjet]

you can also use the hard buttons under the tablet, if you have them. Also pair a smart phone or two as a back up.

[andycook281]

Correct, I meant to say I operated everything from my phone.

[cshrader]

If you do ever have to replace the tablet, don't pay the dealer $500 for it. You can order it direct from BMPro for $315! https://teambmpro.com/products/spare...nd-controller/

[cmikal]

There is nothing special about the BMPro unit. It is basically a tablet. Buy any cheap Android tablet from Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy etc and download the software from Google play and pair or sync it with your RV.

The only 2 major differences between the tablet that came with your rv and the solution I described above is that the cheap version probably won't fit into the mounting bracket or have the power plug in the correct spot to mount properly to the wall so you will probably need to just leave it sit on a table or create your own custom mount.

The second difference is that the OEM version appears to have modified the power up routine to automatically boot into the BMPro app in full screen mode. Unless you are an Android guru, your home made version will boot into the Android home screen where you can then tap the BMPro icon to start the app. This is the reason that once the OEM tablet battery is completely drained, you can't get it to turn on when you plug your RV back in after being in storage. The tablet immediately tries to start up without pressing the power button, but the battery is completely dead dead dead and the charging circuit that they provide isn't able to overcome the power drain of charging a dead battery AND starting up the tablet at the same time, so it just sits there and power cycles repeatedly. This is also why unplugging it from the RV and plugging it into an external high capacity power supply will usually work. A high power charging brick can handle the strain of the battery and the startup current at the same time. The RV power circuit can't.

I did this a couple of years ago. I think the tablet was $50 or $60. I rarely use it, but keep it plugged in and turned off so the battery is always charged. I've only ever used it once when I was having problems with the OEM tablet. I also power it on occasionally and test it to make sure it still works and to let it do any software updates that may have happened while it was off.

[jetlag]

Originally Posted by cmikal

There is nothing special about the BMPro unit. It is basically a tablet. Buy any cheap Android tablet from Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy etc and download the software from Google play and pair or sync it with your RV.

The only 2 major differences between the tablet that came with your rv and the solution I described above is that the cheap version probably won't fit into the mounting bracket or have the power plug in the correct spot to mount properly to the wall so you will probably need to just leave it sit on a table or create your own custom mount.

The second difference is that the OEM version appears to have modified the power up routine to automatically boot into the BMPro app in full screen mode. Unless you are an Android guru, your home made version will boot into the Android home screen where you can then tap the BMPro icon to start the app. This is the reason that once the OEM tablet battery is completely drained, you can't get it to turn on when you plug your RV back in after being in storage. The tablet immediately tries to start up without pressing the power button, but the battery is completely dead dead dead and the charging circuit that they provide isn't able to overcome the power drain of charging a dead battery AND starting up the tablet at the same time, so it just sits there and power cycles repeatedly. This is also why unplugging it from the RV and plugging it into an external high capacity power supply will usually work. A high power charging brick can handle the strain of the battery and the startup current at the same time. The RV power circuit can't.

I did this a couple of years ago. I think the tablet was $50 or $60. I rarely use it, but keep it plugged in and turned off so the battery is always charged. I've only ever used it once when I was having problems with the OEM tablet. I also power it on occasionally and test it to make sure it still works and to let it do any software updates that may have happened while it was off.

All good and fine, however, I believe the cloud function will not work as you describe

[cshrader]

Originally Posted by jetlag

All good and fine, however, I believe the cloud function will not work as you describe

That is correct. With a different tablet, you can not monitor/change settings when you are away from the camper.

Everyone thinks the BMPro tablet is a cheap piece of junk, but it turns out it isn't. Check out Adventure Rocks video where he tries to find another tablet to replace the OEM one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK8FWiivxeQ

[cmikal]

Originally Posted by jetlag

All good and fine, however, I believe the cloud function will not work as you describe

It doesn't matter. Not important. I never mentioned the cloud function in my original response.

The reason I have the second, generic tablet is not to operate it away from the trailer. It is there as a backup for if/when the original goes bad or has some sort of problem that renders it unusable while I am trying to leave a campground or set up at a new campground. The generic tablet never leaves the camper.

For cloud functions, I have the phone app. The phone app works anywhere you have a cell signal, so the cloud function is covered. When the phone app doesn't work, it's usually not a crisis because I am only checking on temperature, adjusting the thermostat, or turning lights on. None of those things are important enough to lose sleep over if they don't work since I am usually within an easy drive of the campground if I really really really need to check the temperature.

So, the next logical question is, "Well, if you have the phone app why do you need a second tablet"? I don't need it. But it's cheap insurance and it is an easy and obvious way to troubleshoot where a problem originates if the OEM tablet stops working or if the OEM tablet actually breaks and getting a new OEM tablet will take multiple weeks to obtain. Over the last 3 years, occasionally my OEM tablet has intermittently taken a vacation, or the phone app doesn't work, or something happens with the auto-level controller located at the side of the trailer. The problem usually occurs when I'm tearing down to move to another campground and I don't have time to analyze the problem. I just need something to work. The generic tablet is another tool in the toolbox.

Hopefully this clarifies things.

[Textman]

Originally Posted by cshrader

If you do ever have to replace the tablet, don't pay the dealer $500 for it. You can order it direct from BMPro for $315! https://teambmpro.com/products/spare...nd-controller/

If we purchase from TeamBMPro does the unit need to be programed for our particular RV?

[jetlag]

Originally Posted by cmikal

It doesn't matter. Not important. I never mentioned the cloud function in my original response.

The reason I have the second, generic tablet is not to operate it away from the trailer. It is there as a backup for if/when the original goes bad or has some sort of problem that renders it unusable while I am trying to leave a campground or set up at a new campground. The generic tablet never leaves the camper.

For cloud functions, I have the phone app. The phone app works anywhere you have a cell signal, so the cloud function is covered. When the phone app doesn't work, it's usually not a crisis because I am only checking on temperature, adjusting the thermostat, or turning lights on. None of those things are important enough to lose sleep over if they don't work since I am usually within an easy drive of the campground if I really really really need to check the temperature.

So, the next logical question is, "Well, if you have the phone app why do you need a second tablet"? I don't need it. But it's cheap insurance and it is an easy and obvious way to troubleshoot where a problem originates if the OEM tablet stops working or if the OEM tablet actually breaks and getting a new OEM tablet will take multiple weeks to obtain. Over the last 3 years, occasionally my OEM tablet has intermittently taken a vacation, or the phone app doesn't work, or something happens with the auto-level controller located at the side of the trailer. The problem usually occurs when I'm tearing down to move to another campground and I don't have time to analyze the problem. I just need something to work. The generic tablet is another tool in the toolbox.

Hopefully this clarifies things.

I understand what you re saying but I have never had the phone App not work on Bluetooth which is what we use 100% of the time when setting up/tearing down. It is my wife's favorite toy raising/lowering the camper on the hitch. I could lose my hand if I volunteered to do that and her back the truck. We are on our second tablet so I know what you mean. The cloud function means more to us as we have two toy poodles we sometimes leave when going out to eat or need a break from them. I can monitor and adjust temps inside the camper/insure we haven't lost power which has happened before. And all that can be moot if the WIFI signal is lost so it is never 100% reliable.