Troubleshooting

Most problems are a phone and a computer that cannot see each other. Start at the top and stop when it works.

The phone cannot connect to the office computer

On the office computer, click Phone cannot connect? in the PerioMaxer window, below the QR code. It checks Windows Firewall, the network type and other firewall software on that computer, and says what to do. Then work down this list.

  1. Same network. The phone must be on the same Wi-Fi as the office computer. If your office has more than one (for example “Office” and “Office-Guest”), use the one the computers are on. A guest Wi-Fi, or one set to keep devices apart (often called client isolation or AP isolation), will not reach the computer. If IT splits the network into parts (VLANs), phones and operatory computers must be in the same part.
  2. iPhone: Local Network. Open Settings, Privacy and Security, Local Network, and turn on PerioMaxer. If you tapped Don’t Allow when the app first asked, this is the only way back. Android phones have no such switch; just check the phone is on Wi-Fi and not on mobile data.
  3. No VPN on the phone. A VPN sends the phone’s traffic somewhere else, so it never reaches the computer down the hall. Turn it off while you link and chart.
  4. The computer is awake and PerioMaxer is running. Look for the orange PerioMaxer icon by the clock (it may be under the small arrow). If it is not there, open PerioMaxer from the Start menu. A computer that is asleep cannot answer the phone.
  5. Windows network type. Windows often sets an office network to Public. The QR code still works on a Public network, but a phone finds the computer by itself only on a Private one. To change it: Windows Settings, Network and internet, choose the connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet), and set Network profile type to Private. The PerioMaxer installer offers to do this when it finds a Public network.
  6. Windows Firewall allows PerioMaxer. See Windows Firewall below.
  7. Other security software. Norton, McAfee, Bitdefender, Sophos, ESET, Kaspersky, Avast and AVG have a firewall of their own, which can block PerioMaxer even when Windows allows it. In that product’s firewall settings, allow C:\Program Files\PerioMaxer\PerioMaxer.exe for incoming connections on the local network. If an IT company manages it, send them this page.
  8. Typing the code instead of scanning. A typed code needs the internet and the office sign-in on the phone, because the office account names the computer. Scanning the QR code needs neither.
  9. Different networks on purpose. If your office cannot put phones and computers on one network, open a support request from your portal or email support@periomaxer.com. Charting can go through the internet instead, and we will work through setting that up with you.

Windows Firewall

The PerioMaxer installer adds two Windows Firewall rules that let phones reach the computer. Two things undo them: a security policy, or someone clicking Cancel on the Windows question “Allow PerioMaxer on your networks?”. That Cancel writes a Block rule, and a Block rule beats every Allow rule. PerioMaxer looks fine on the computer, and the phone says it cannot reach it.

Check that PerioMaxer is allowed

  1. Open Windows Security, then Firewall and network protection.
  2. Click Allow an app through firewall, then Change settings.
  3. Find PerioMaxer and tick both Private and Public. If it is not in the list, click Allow another app and choose C:\Program Files\PerioMaxer\PerioMaxer.exe.

Remove a Block rule

  1. Press the Windows key, type wf.msc and press Enter (it needs an administrator).
  2. Click Inbound Rules, then click the Name column to sort.
  3. Look for rules named PerioMaxer with a red circle (the Block action). Right-click each one and choose Delete. Leave the green rules named PerioMaxer Office Link: those are the Allow rules.

Or put the rules back in one step

Reinstalling PerioMaxer from periomaxer.com/downloads adds the Allow rules again and removes Block rules the Windows question left. Your activation and settings stay. For IT: the installer leaves its firewall step beside the app, so this, run in PowerShell opened as administrator, does the same without a reinstall. It changes only PerioMaxer’s own rules.

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Program Files\PerioMaxer\PerioMaxerFirewall.ps1" -Mode Install -ExePath "C:\Program Files\PerioMaxer\PerioMaxer.exe" -RemoveConflictingBlocks

The phone says “Scan to reconnect”

One phone charts on a computer at a time, and the most recent phone to scan that computer’s code holds it. If a colleague scanned after you, your phone shows Scan to reconnect. Scan the code on the computer again to take back over. Nothing is lost and nothing is revoked.

Values are not going into Open Dental or Dentrix

  • Open the perio chart. The patient’s perio chart must be open in your dental software on the computer the phone is linked to. The phone shows which chart is open.
  • Make the window bigger. If the phone says to make the chart window larger, the whole perio chart must show on the screen. Maximize the window, then start again.
  • A message is open. If your dental software has a message box up, PerioMaxer waits. Press OK there to go on.
  • The cover. While a phone charts, PerioMaxer covers the dental software so a stray click cannot move the cursor. If someone clicks another window, typing pauses. Click back into the perio chart and go on, or stop charting on the phone to take the cover down.
  • The order looks wrong. The computer learns your software’s charting order when it is set up. If your office changed that setting, tap Recalibrate in the phone app’s settings while connected.
  • Dentrix takes nothing since it updated. A Dentrix update can change how the chart takes input. Record the macro again from the PerioMaxer window. About five minutes, same as the first time. See Dentrix.

Number pad not found

In Manual mode, a row can be typed by clicking your dental software’s own on-screen number pad. PerioMaxer checks every key before it clicks anything, and stops before the first click if one is missing.

  • Show the whole number pad: move the perio chart window, or any window over it, so no part of the pad is covered.
  • Keep the window the size it was when the pad was mapped. PerioMaxer finds the pad again after a resize or a new display scale, but a pad cut off by the screen edge cannot be found.
  • If it still says the pad is missing, map it again: in Chart order, open the row’s settings under the chart and choose Map the number pad. Hold Ctrl and click the perio chart window, then each key in turn.

License says “Email verification required”

The owner account on your practice has not verified its email yet. Sign in to the portal, click the verification banner, then click the link in your inbox. The computer picks it up on its next check, within about 30 seconds.

Past-due subscription

A failed payment starts a 7-day grace period; charting keeps working. Update your card in the portal under Settings. Once payment goes through, computers reactivate on their next check.

Still stuck

Send a report from the app: on the phone, Settings, Report Bug; on the office computer, Report a bug in Connection help or in Settings, Help and support. Say which computer it is and what the phone shows. You can also open a support request from your portal or email support@periomaxer.com.