If you’re like me, you love, love, love your Ergatta.
What should you do when you sit down, all ready to get in your workout, and the touchscreen doesn’t turn on?
Don’t panic. It’s usually a simple fix.
Let’s get right down to business so you can get back to rowing!
Why Is My Ergatta Rower Not Turning On?
It can be one of a few things, but mostly, your Ergatta rower not turning on is caused by power not getting through to your machine. OK, first things first.
What we want to do is isolate the issue, so please try to follow these quick and easy troubleshooting steps:
- Look at the power cable. In the middle is a small plastic box with a green light. Is that green light on? A green light means that there is electrical power. If the light is out, there is no power. Plug in your Ergatta using a different electrical outlet that you know is working.
- If you are using a power strip, and the green light is lit, you are OK. If it’s not, the power strip may have a dead outlet. Change to another power outlet ( it is very possible that one outlet stops working while the others are fine) or remove the power strip completely and plug your Ergatta directly into the wall.
- If the green light is on, try plugging the power cable directly into the DC port on the right-hand side of the monitor (the right side when you are sitting on the rower). Look for the port that says “DC In”. See the photo below.
- Try to turn on the monitor. If it works, there is a problem with the wiring on the mounting arm.
- If it still doesn’t work and you have a green light showing that you have power, there might be a problem with the touchscreen itself.
One last note. I’ve had issues sometimes thinking that the monitor didn’t turn on when in fact it’s that I didn’t fully press down on the button.
I think for some people, this button is a little too difficult to press in, and I have a hack for that. I glued a small, flat plastic disc (you know the kind that is designed to prevent damage to drawers) on the button. This solved my problem immediately.
I’ve also heard of others simply using a pencil eraser to press the “ON” button.
If you’ve got large fingers, try using a pencil eraser or other device to be sure that you are completely depressing that “ON” button.
How Do I Turn Off My Ergatta?
While you can leave your Ergatta on 24/7, I do understand that sometimes, you need to shut it down.
To do this, simply press and hold the button on the back of the tablet for 3 seconds. You will see the screen say “powering off” or “turning off”.
Once the screen goes black, you will know that the Ergatta is turned off.
Does the Ergatta Need to Stay Plugged In or Turned On?
No, it doesn’t.
If you choose to leave your Ergatta plugged in and turned on, it saves electricity by going into sleep mode.
It will download updates and be ready for you to jump on anytime you are ready.
However, I know that some people want to save even more electricity, or they experience heavy thunderstorms and don’t want to risk anything happening to their Ergatta.
You can leave it plugged in but turned off, or you can unplug it completely.
I can tell you from my own experience that I have left my Ergatta unplugged for several days, sometimes even for a week when I’m out of town, and when I return, my Ergatta is just fine.
The Bottom Line
If your power cable has the green light on but won’t power up no matter what you do, contact the friendly pros at Ergatta using the email link here.
You can leave your Ergatta unplugged or simply turned off if you like, but whenever possible, leave your Ergatta on so it can download updates as needed.
I hope you found this article helpful. If you still have problems, don’t hesitate to contact the Ergatta team.
Stay active and healthy, friends, and enjoy rowing on your Ergatta!
Written by Petra Amara – RowingCrazy.com
CEO & Founder of RowingCrazy, National Rower, Coxswain Womens Eight Team, Rowing Coach & Writer
Petra is a Mother of two and owner of Rowingcrazy.com. Petra lives and breathes rowing, she also has a passion for writing which lead her to start RowingCrazy.com to share her rowing experience and expertise with others.