Bug 502427

Summary: Phone and computer can't be paired; they briefly appear available to the other and then disappear
Product: [Applications] kdeconnect Reporter: Nate Graham <nate>
Component: commonAssignee: Albert Vaca Cintora <albertvaka>
Status: RESOLVED FIXED    
Severity: normal CC: andrew.g.r.holmes
Priority: NOR Keywords: regression
Version First Reported In: unspecified   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Other   
OS: Linux   
See Also: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=503288
Latest Commit: Version Fixed/Implemented In: Android app version 1.33.3
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Nate Graham 2025-04-04 20:42:03 UTC 
STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Use latest version of the android app available on Google Play (1.33.2) on a Samsung Galaxy S10e
2. Quit the app and clear the data and cache to be safe
3. Launch the app on the phone


OBSERVED RESULT
My computer briefly appears in the list of available devices, but then immediately disappears


EXPECTED RESULT
Computer remains visible so I can pair with it.


SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Operating System: Fedora Linux 41
KDE Plasma Version: 6.3.80
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.13.0
Qt Version: 6.8.2
Kernel Version: 6.13.9-200.fc41.x86_64 (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Processors: 16 × AMD Ryzen 7 7840U w/ Radeon™ 780M Graphics
Memory: 16 GB of RAM (14.9 GB usable)
Graphics Processor: AMD Radeon 780M


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Firewall is off. Both devices are on the same wireless network.

If it's relevant, the phone is still running Android 12 (it's ineligible for further updates).

Here's the debug logging from kdeconnectd on the host when this happens:

kdeconnect.core: Discarding second UPD packet from the same device "a0a12727_d195_401b_a42e_5998e383fb12" received too quickly
kdeconnect.core: TCP connection done (i'm the existing device)
kdeconnect.core: Starting server ssl (I'm the client TCP socket)
kdeconnect.core: Ignoring self-signed cert error
kdeconnect.core: Socket successfully established an SSL connection
kdeconnect.core: Device discovered "a0a12727_d195_401b_a42e_5998e383fb12" via link with priority 20
kdeconnect.core: It is a new device "SM-G970U1"
kdeconnect.core: "SM-G970U1" - reload plugins
kdeconnect.core: LanLinkProvider deviceLinkDestroyed "a0a12727_d195_401b_a42e_5998e383fb12"
kdeconnect.core: "SM-G970U1" - reload plugins
kdeconnect.core: TCP connection done (i'm the existing device)
kdeconnect.core: Starting server ssl (I'm the client TCP socket)
kdeconnect.core: Discarding second UPD packet from the same device "a0a12727_d195_401b_a42e_5998e383fb12" received too quickly
kdeconnect.core: Ignoring self-signed cert error
kdeconnect.core: Socket successfully established an SSL connection
kdeconnect.core: Device discovered "a0a12727_d195_401b_a42e_5998e383fb12" via link with priority 20
kdeconnect.core: It is a new device "Galaxy S10e"
kdeconnect.core: "Galaxy S10e" - reload plugins
kdeconnect.core: LanLinkProvider deviceLinkDestroyed "a0a12727_d195_401b_a42e_5998e383fb12"
kdeconnect.core: "Galaxy S10e" - reload plugins
kdeconnect.core: Discarding second UPD packet from the same device "a0a12727_d195_401b_a42e_5998e383fb12" received too quickly


The same thing happens in reverse if I try to pair from the KCM: when I open the Android app, the phone briefly appears and then disappears.

This has been going on for months and I'm only just reporting it now.
Comment 1 Albert Vaca Cintora 2025-04-06 08:41:23 UTC 
Hey Nate, thanks for reporting this. 

I know of at least another uses with the same problem, so it's definitely a bug. I can't reproduce it, though, so it doesn't affect all devices. 

It would be useful to see the logs from the Android side when this happens, because the desktop side seems fine. I just released KDE Connect Android version 1.33.3 which includes a new option to get the logs from within the KDE Connect app itself. When you get the 1.33.3 update in a couple days, can you go to "Settings -> Export KDE Connect Logs" and attach the generated file? 

There's also a small chance that 1.33.3 fixes the issue, since it includes some fixes, but most likely this is a different problem.
Comment 2 Nate Graham 2025-04-08 17:08:45 UTC 
Great news: version 1.33.3 of the Android app fixed the problem for me! Thanks a lot for your work on this, Albert.
Comment 3 Nate Graham 2025-04-24 13:18:23 UTC 
Unfortunately while I was able to pair the devices, since then their connection has been really flaky. I've opened Bug 502427 about this.