darkSpyro

So I got my 3DS game a while ago but it has always been a little weird connecting to my DS. It senses the portal and everything but when I put a skylander on there it does not read it at all. However if I hover the skylander a few inches off the portal it starts connecting right away to it. Anyone else have this problem?

I don't have the 3DS version of the game yet, but that doesn't sound normal. I think you should bring it back and get another one. Maybe it's defect.

i had the same problem with mine, but i fixed it... open it up (there is 4 screws at the bottom...)



you see the red circle around that metal thingy, its the sensor of the portal , what i did was to push it gently a bit down from the top of the portal and more to the battery chamber. now my portal work as it should...

I'm a little confused^
Do you you mean it should go more towards the bottom of the portal? Meaning that since I am opening it from the bottom it should be pulled towards me?

yes, you take out the 4 screws then pull it upwards to you... if you have it upside down(portal facing down) like i have it in the picture above...

what you do next is push the sensor (the metal thingy) gently away from the top of the portal. then you connect it to the usb and put on a figurine to see if it gets better... if not better then you gently push a little bit more until you get it working. that is what i did....

i have played with my 3ds portal on my ps3, connected to the usb for a couple of hours now. been playing all my figurines, the progress have been saved to. so all well here...

Well I tried for a while and still no go...
Thank you do much for your help and I will let you know if I find a way to fix it.

Why don't you contact Activision customer support? They will send you a new one =)

yesterday i tripped on the usb wire and the portal fell to the ground... and guess what, it didnt work again....

this time i opened it yet again, i had a suspicion that there was a bad soldering point. because when i touched the metal thingy with my fingers it worked(i guess the portal are not getting grounded properly or something). another test i did was to put my screwdriver on the nearest screw and touch the closest copper wire(soldering point) with the tip of the screwdriver, and it started up again. so the closest copper line that is connected to the board(where the computer chips and stuff are) was not properly soldered. i took my solder iron and redid the soldering. so now it work again...

anyway even if it is a easy fix, things can go wrong. so i also would advice you to get it replaced...

for me it dosnt matter if i kill my 3ds portal, since i dont have the 3ds. i have the ps3 version instead... but at least we now know that if you must hold the figurines above the portal, it is the sensor that are not soldered properly... at least in my case this was the cause.

^hmm good to know.
The reason I don't want to just send it in is because on the activision website it says I would need to send it in, and it takes two or more weeks to get fixed. I am really close to beating the 3DS game so I don't want to send it in and need to wait for 2 more weeks.

if you just put your finger on the metal thingy(in the picture red circle) with no force put on it. do it work every time then?..

mine did but gotta hold the portal steady...

if this work for you, at least you could get the figurines to the game and finish the game (since you dont need the figurines on the portal all the time for the 3ds version)

I finally had enough free time on my hands today to make a last attempt at making the ds portal work.... I finally got it!

Earlier I had only been moving it a tiny bit and I was only pulling towards me. Once I also brought the back end of he metal piece up and the top part towards the battery I started to get results. It's not quite as simple as just moving it towards you but it actually works if you get the right angle. Thank you so much for the help!

I don't think a 3DS version of Skylanders is piratical since it's a portable device and having it plugged with a portal and some figures on it make would be difficult on the bus. I play Pokemon HeartGold on the bus rides to college and back an hour each and I never use that device that came with it.

When I play skylanders for the 3DS I usually put in my two favorite and do as many levels as possible. Then, at home, I do any elemental challenges I missed.

Quote: Littlerain

^hmm good to know.
The reason I don't want to just send it in is because on the activision website it says I would need to send it in, and it takes two or more weeks to get fixed. I am really close to beating the 3DS game so I don't want to send it in and need to wait for 2 more weeks.

You shouldn't have to send it in, just get them to replace it. That's what they've done with all the stuffed up skylanders that people have got. I would assume it's the same for portals. The postage takes forever tho...

Well either way it works perfectly now and I can send it in later if it completely breaks. I am also near the end of the game so I doubt it will break before then.

just dont let it fall to the floor or shake it heavily... you never know how good the solder point is.. keep it in one place and only use the figurines on it, then your safe for now i think...

I have had this same problem right out of the box. I thought this was normal since it was my first portal and didn't know any better but after reading this i tried to fix it all the ways i read on here (other then soldering ) with no luck but i did find a new way to fix it as you can see in the image i took the safety off of a bic lighter and jammed it into the middle of the metal thingy and stuck the curved part under the plastic for the battery cover screw now it works every time no more trying to hovering my skylanders carefully over the portal Lol . hope this helps ppl
http://i.imgur.com/DMsPt.jpg

as long it dont fall of and hold that position it will work for some time, i guess. you can also put a tape roll(ca 2cm height) under the figurine, then it should register the figurine..

Quote: kappapopm

i had the same problem with mine, but i fixed it... open it up (there is 4 screws at the bottom...)



you see the red circle around that metal thingy, its the sensor of the portal , what i did was to push it gently a bit down from the top of the portal and more to the battery chamber. now my portal work as it should...

One million thanks.
When I came home today I had exctly the same problem. Then I remembered this topic and your picture.
This really saved my day

I am having the same problem, when i have some free time i will try this

Quote: kappapopm

i had the same problem with mine, but i fixed it... open it up (there is 4 screws at the bottom...)



you see the red circle around that metal thingy, its the sensor of the portal , what i did was to push it gently a bit down from the top of the portal and more to the battery chamber. now my portal work as it should...

i believe that is actually a very primitive transformer. if the windings are off, the voltage/amperage translation doesn't work and the RFID control board gets garbled data.

i re-solder mine, that thing in the red wasn't making good contact with the solder point... so that is the fix.