Gather

Your phone can’t find the TV or host

On the same Wi‑Fi, phones connect to the host directly. If your phone can’t find it, the network is almost always the reason – work through the checks in order. If the host is online, there’s also the route through gathergames.de.

  1. Open Gather on the host

    Gather has to be open on the Apple TV, iPad, Mac or iPhone that holds the room. Only then is it visible on the Wi‑Fi and showing the QR code and room code.

  2. Check you’re on the same Wi‑Fi

    Look at which Wi‑Fi network the phone and the host are connected to. For a direct connection they have to be on the same one – a phone on mobile data or on a second network from the same router won’t find the host that way.

  3. Avoid guest networks

    Many guest, hotel and office networks keep devices apart from each other (client isolation). Phone and host then can’t see each other. Switch to a regular home network, turn off isolation on the router or use the route through gathergames.de.

  4. Allow local network access

    On first launch, iOS asks whether Gather may access the local network. If you declined, allow it under Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network – without it, the devices can’t find each other.

  5. Turn off your VPN

    An active VPN can route traffic away from your home network. Switch it off on the phone for a moment and try again.

  6. Use the code instead of searching

    Rather than waiting for the automatic search, type the room code shown on the game table into the app, or tap “Scan QR code” and point the camera at the screen.

  7. Join through the browser

    Scan the QR code with the regular Camera app. The controller then opens in the browser – no Gather app needed. Without a shared Wi‑Fi, this only works through gathergames.de (next step).

  8. Join through gathergames.de

    If the host is online, it registers its room with our relay server, and the QR code shows gathergames.de/join/ with the room code. Then you don’t need a shared Wi‑Fi: scan the code over mobile data too – with the app installed, Gather opens, otherwise you play in the browser. If the QR code shows a Wi‑Fi address instead, the host isn’t online right now.

Tips

  • If the app says “No room with this code”, the room may already have ended or the code has a typo – take another look at the screen.
  • If a link points to a device that wasn’t found on your Wi‑Fi, Gather asks first. Only connect if you trust the host.