Connection with the sim

SYMPTOMS

Aviatek Connector can't establish connection with the sim which is signaled by the yellow SimConnect warning icon in the bottom of the app:

EXPLANATION

Aviatek Connector connects with the sim using network connection (eventhough it runs on the same machine) and there a few things that can cause the connection to fail. Reffer to the solutions below for troubleshooting.

SOLUTION 1 - MSFS 2020 Plugin Not Installed

We need to install our plugin in order to communicate with the sim correctly.

1. Open Aviatek Connector
2. Go to Tools / MSFS 2020 Plugin
3. Click INSTALL PLUGIN
4. Restart both Aviatek Connector and MSFS 2020 and try if it helped.

SOLUTION 2 - Firewall Settings

It's possible that your firewall is blocking the connection. There are many firewall programs on the market so we can't provide support for all of them but if you are using the built-in Windows Firewall, please reffer to the instructions below:

1. Press Start Menu key and type "Firewall".
2. Click on the "Firewall & network protection" under "System Settings":
   
   
   
   
3. Click on the "Allow an app through firewall".
4. Next click on the "Change settings":
   
   
   
5. Next click on the "Allow another app":
   
   
6. A window will apppear where you need to click "Browse":
   
   
   
   
7. Navigate to the Aviatek Connector installation folder and select AviatekConnector.exe file.
   Typical path is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Aviatek Connector
8. Now click "Network types":
   
   
   
   
9. Make sure that both options are selected and click OK:
   
   
   
   
10. Click "Add":
    
    
    
    
11. Restart both Aviatek Connector and MSFS 2020 and test the connection again.

SOLUTION 3 - SimConnect Settings

SimConnect is a technology which allows 3rd party plugins to connect to the sim. Sometimes 3rd party plugins can overwrite the default SimConnect settings to make it work with them but doing so incorrectly can disable connection to our plugins like Aviatek Connector.

• Navigate to your MSFS 2020 installation folder which is typically:
  
  For Microsoft Store / Xbox App:
  C:\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache
  
  For Steam:
  C:\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator
  
  Where YOUR_USER_NAME is the name of your user.
• Open and edit the SimConnect.xml
• Make sure that the following settings are on the list:

    <SimConnect.Comm>
        <Descr>Static IP4 port</Descr>
        <Protocol>IPv4</Protocol>
        <Scope>local</Scope>
        <Port>500</Port>
        <MaxClients>64</MaxClients>
        <MaxRecvSize>41088</MaxRecvSize>
    </SimConnect.Comm>
    <SimConnect.Comm>
        <Descr>Static IP6 port</Descr>
        <Protocol>IPv6</Protocol>
        <Scope>local</Scope>
        <Port>501</Port>
        <MaxClients>64</MaxClients>
        <MaxRecvSize>41088</MaxRecvSize>
    </SimConnect.Comm>
    <SimConnect.Comm>
        <Descr>Custom Pipe</Descr>
        <Protocol>Pipe</Protocol>
        <Scope>local</Scope>
        <Port>Custom\SimConnect</Port>
        <MaxClients>64</MaxClients>
        <MaxRecvSize>41088</MaxRecvSize>
    </SimConnect.Comm>
    <SimConnect.Comm>
        <Descr>Dynamic IP4 port</Descr>
        <Protocol>IPv4</Protocol>
        <Scope>local</Scope>
        <Port>0</Port>
        <MaxClients>64</MaxClients>
        <MaxRecvSize>41088</MaxRecvSize>
    </SimConnect.Comm>
    <SimConnect.Comm>
        <Descr>Dynamic IP6 port</Descr>
        <Protocol>IPv6</Protocol>
        <Scope>local</Scope>
        <Port>0</Port>
        <MaxClients>64</MaxClients>
        <MaxRecvSize>41088</MaxRecvSize>
    </SimConnect.Comm>
    <SimConnect.Comm>
        <Descr>Default FSX Pipe</Descr>
        <Protocol>Pipe</Protocol>
        <Scope>local</Scope>
        <Port>0</Port>
        <MaxClients>64</MaxClients>
        <MaxRecvSize>41088</MaxRecvSize>
    </SimConnect.Comm>