WARNING: This is a troubleshooting tale of epic proportions that may or may not scare embroiderers with nerd words or nerdy concepts. I tried to keep the tech-talk to a minimum.

Nothing is perfect, I do understand that concept, however there is a small yet big issue with the Luminaire 2 – can anyone guess what it is? Probably not, but it really is a big deal. It’s the wireless transmission of designs to the Luminaire that has frustrated me more than once. Why can’t it just work?

It’s all fun and games until you have to use a USB to transfer designs….

On the Brother Luminaire series, you can (and you must) transfer designs wirelessly to your embroidery machine. You can’t plug the embroidery machine directly into your computer, but you can use a USB drive to copy from your computer and take over to your machine….and that’s something I really don’t want to do. I also noticed that there was a card reader beside all of the inputs…a card reader? can you even buy cards anymore? My computer doesn’t have a CD drive, it certainly does not have an (ancient) card reader.

As everyone well knows, I am a proud nerd. I have set up the internet and a great network in the house – so that I can get my embroidery files from any computer and work on them or check them out in software. Everything works great, no issues. Until last week. Suddenly, my main computer could not find my Luminaire 2. What the heck? It worked a few days ago? I checked the computers connection, the machine’s connection and even checked the router for the connections (oh by the way, I am not recommending you mess with any router unless you know what you are doing), but nothing was working. I started troubleshooting – reboot everything, change networks, unplug everything and start over and of course reset any and all connections and set them up again, then research – lots and lots of reading. No connection.

Next step, I tried Embrilliance on my iMac (not a PC) – Embrilliance is by far the fastest and best software for sending designs and so many other things – and It is my go to software for sending wirelessly to my Luminaire 2. Yes, I have PEDesign 11, but it can take forever to find the machine and send the file. No connection. I did all of the troubleshooting mentioned above for my iMac. Nothing.

Oh well, now I have to find a compatible USB so I can get stitching. Great. That took a bit of searching to get one that works on the Luminaire 2. Thankfully, we don’t really used USB’s anymore, so the few that I had in my drawer were older and small storage, so they worked. No connection but a temporary resolution. I did complain a lot and looked for a Tula Pink USB to make me feel better, but I still hate using a USB to transfer designs.

I did more troubleshooting, changing settings on the router (one night I made such a mess on the router that no one in the house had internet – all of our lights in the house are Hue Lights so they need the router to work. Yeah, that was fun. Another reset. No connection.

After a few days of changing and trying, trying something new – trying anything at this point – I ruled out computer issues and wifi issues, and narrowed it down to the Luminaire 2 blocking the connection for some unknown reason. So that meant I needed to try something other than a computer to send to the machine. Oh, I know what that is – the Brother Scan N Cut. If I can’t get the two connected, then there is a problem with the Luminaire 2 that I can’t solve. Can you guess what happened? It connected – I could send designs to my Scan N cut from my Luminaire 2, and I could send designs from my ScanNcut to my Luminaire 2. Ok, what else can you use to connect to the embroidery machine? there are two apps that I have on my iPhone for monitoring the machine when you are out of the room and one for sending pictures to bring into My Design Center. Neither one of those would connect. Next…..what else? Oooooh, the new Artspira design software for the ipad. I made sure i was logged in everywhere and opened the app on my ipad. I picked a cute design and tapped “transmit”.

IT WORKED. But wait, I CAN SEND DESIGNS FROM MY IPAD TO MY LUMINAIRE, BUT NOT A COMPUTER? That does not make sense…and that really sucks. Then I knew that it was not the machine, it has to be the software. The Artspira Software. Really? Yes, really – the Artspira sofware would only allow designs to transfer from the app, and “my connection” for the scan N cut is included and yes, everything worked perfectly.

I deleted the app and signed out of Artspira on my Luminaire 2. That didn’t change anything.

I reloaded Artspira on my iPad and searched for a more permanent deletion. Turns out to get rid of any trace of Artspira, you have to go into your account and tap the “UNSUBSCRIBE” button way at the bottom of your account information.

I rebooted everything, and IT WORKED. I’m connected. Whew that was a lot of troubleshooting to figure out the problem.

I am very happy that my computer can send designs to my Luminaire, but there are a few downsides to this solution. First off, I won’t be able to use Artspira. Second is the big one – one of the expensive upgrades I purchased was the My connection – the bit that connects your machine to the ScanNCut – and I can’t use it anymore. Before Artspira, it was a standalone upgrade that I have had for a few years and really enjoyed – it streamlined any applique cutting and was super easy to send designs back and forth. Now, they have bundled Artspira with My Connection – meaning that you can’t use My connection unless you sign into Artspira. Yeah, that sucks. Back to using a USB, or as I call them, a BS-USB. I still hate them. Sigh.

If something isn’t working, keep troubleshooting to eliminate any and all possible issues. This honestly took me around 4 days to figure out – looking for answers on Brother’s sites, searching the internet and reading manuals. I did not find anything, not one single bit of information. Yes, I spent the majority of my few days off, including Easter, trying to figure this out. I need a day off, LOL.

My brain is exhausted and I am going for a nap after a short victory dance, then I am going to freaking stitch on my Luminaire 2 without using ANY USB’s. See all y’all soon!

Sue

Troubleshooter Extraordinaire and accomplished nerd.