Pair the pod that works

Both pods, same bench, minutes apart, no writes:

  − pod   buttons stop at ~51 s, every session; flag 0 -> 1; 2 key offers
  + pod   133 s, 78 paddle edges, flag never flipped, no key offer at all

So the `−` pod is not the controller. It relays more when it works — all
ten buttons, its twin's included — but "when it works" is under a minute
without a Zwift blessing in the last day, and the `+` pod alone is a
complete shifter: its paddle shifts up, `Y` shifts down, both already
mapped. Shifting is what a ride cannot do without.

`take_plus_pod` becomes `take_minus_pod` — the same rule with the pods
exchanged — and the housekeeping, the connect guard and the
no-pod-named default follow it. Opening both is still what stops the `−`
pod reporting its own paddle, so it is still one link, just the other one.

The UI stops telling riders to press the pod that dies: the panel asks
for the `+` pod, the tile prefers it, and the `−` pod's row says what it
actually offers — all ten buttons, for about fifty seconds.

This settles A-2 from the other end too. The keep-alive that "removes the
daily unlock, but only for the right controller" removes nothing. The
right controller never needed it.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

ui/src/components/ClickPanel.svelte

@@ -35,11 +35,12 @@
    *  pod stays missing — and the fix belongs next to the symptom. */
   const scanning = $derived(app.devices.scanning);
   const anyConnected = $derived(pods.some((p) => p.state === 'connected'));
-  /** The pod that speaks for the pair. Connected, this is the whole controller. */
-  const minusLive = $derived(controller?.minus.state === 'connected');
-  /** Running on the fallback: the `+` pod alone, with no `−` paddle to shift
-   *  down with beyond its `Y` button. Worth saying out loud. */
-  const plusOnly = $derived(!minusLive && controller?.plus.state === 'connected');
+  /** The controller. Measured 2026-08-27: the `+` pod keeps reporting where the
+   *  `−` pod goes mute about fifty seconds in (§2.3.3). */
+  const plusLive = $derived(controller?.plus.state === 'connected');
+  /** Running on the fallback: the `−` pod, which relays everything but stops
+   *  reporting about fifty seconds in unless Zwift has blessed it today. */
+  const minusOnly = $derived(!plusLive && controller?.minus.state === 'connected');
   const busy = $derived(pods.some((p) => p.state === 'searching'));
   /** A pod reporting the other's paddle: the pair may be filed the wrong way
    *  round, and the rider is the only one who can say. */
@@ -63,8 +64,8 @@
 
   /** What each pod is for, so a rider who has lost one knows what they lost. */
   const PURPOSE: Record<Pod, string> = {
-    minus: 'All ten buttons',
-    plus: 'Fallback · shift up, A B Y Z',
+    plus: 'Shift up · A B Y Z',
+    minus: 'All ten buttons, for ~50 s',
   };
 
   function connect(pod: Pod) {
@@ -84,11 +85,11 @@
         <!-- Nothing can be picked up automatically while the scan is off, so
              the way to fix that sits here rather than only in the header. -->
         <button class="btn" onclick={() => app.run(() => api.startScan())}>Start scan</button>
-      {:else if !minusLive}
-        <!-- The − pod, not both: it is the one that carries the whole
-             controller. The + pod has its own button on its own row. -->
+      {:else if !plusLive}
+        <!-- The + pod, not both: joining the pair is what stops the − pod
+             reporting its own paddle, and the + pod is the one that lasts. -->
         <button class="btn" disabled={busy} onclick={() => app.run(() => api.connectController())}>
-          {busy ? 'Searching…' : 'Find − pod'}
+          {busy ? 'Searching…' : 'Find + pod'}
         </button>
       {/if}
       {#if anyConnected}
@@ -103,21 +104,23 @@
        the badge above has already said it. -->
   {#if !scanning}
     <p class="lede"><strong>The scan is off</strong> — pods will not be picked up.</p>
-  {:else if plusOnly}
+  {:else if minusOnly}
     <p class="lede">
-      Running on the <strong>+ pod alone</strong>: shift down with <span class="kbd">Y</span>.
-      Press a button on the − pod for the D-pad.
+      Running on the <strong>− pod</strong>, which relays all ten buttons but stops reporting
+      after about a minute unless Zwift has blessed it today. Press a button on the
+      <strong>+ pod</strong> for shifting that lasts.
     </p>
-  {:else if !minusLive}
+  {:else if !plusLive}
     <p class="lede">
-      <strong>Press any button on the − pod.</strong> It only advertises while awake; the running
-      scan connects it as soon as it does.
+      <strong>Press any button on the + pod.</strong> It only advertises while awake; the running
+      scan connects it as soon as it does. Its paddle shifts up and
+      <span class="kbd">Y</span> shifts down.
     </p>
   {/if}
 
   <div class="pods">
     {#each pods as pod (pod.pod)}
-      {@const dormant = pod.pod === 'plus' && minusLive && pod.state !== 'connected'}
+      {@const dormant = pod.pod === 'minus' && plusLive && pod.state !== 'connected'}
       <article class="pod" class:live={pod.state === 'connected'}>
         <!-- The paddle glyph is the pod's identity — big enough to match
              against the one printed on the hardware at arm's length. -->
@@ -128,8 +131,8 @@
           <span class="purpose">
             {#if dormant}
               <!-- Not a fault, and the panel must not let it read as one: this
-                   pod is idle because the − pod is already sending its buttons. -->
-              Relayed by the − pod
+                   pod is idle because joining the pair is what breaks it. -->
+              Held back — the + pod is the controller
             {:else if pod.confirmed}
               Confirmed — sent its own {pod.symbol} paddle
             {:else if pod.state === 'connected'}
@@ -193,7 +196,7 @@
     </div>
   {/if}
 
-  {#if !minusLive}
+  {#if !plusLive}
     <!--
       FR-1.8. "Not connected" on its own reads as a broken app, and the real
       cause — a pod that is simply asleep — is something only the rider can fix.
@@ -204,13 +207,13 @@
     <details class="help">
       <summary>Still not connecting?</summary>
       <ul>
-        <li><strong>Press a button.</strong> A pod that is asleep does not advertise at all.</li>
+        <li><strong>Press a button on the + pod.</strong> An asleep pod does not advertise.</li>
         <li><strong>Keep the scan on.</strong> Auto-connect runs off it.</li>
         <li><strong>Close Zwift.</strong> One app at a time holds a pod.</li>
         <li><strong>Charge it.</strong> A flat pod stops advertising, and the app stops chasing.</li>
         <li>
-          <strong>Or use the + pod</strong> — you lose the D-pad, <span class="kbd">Y</span> still
-          shifts down.
+          <strong>Or use the − pod</strong> — it relays all ten buttons, but goes quiet after
+          about a minute unless Zwift has blessed it in the last day.
         </li>
         <li>
           The keyboard mirrors every Click action; <span class="kbd">?</span> lists them. A ride

ui/src/components/ConnectionScreen.svelte

@@ -166,7 +166,8 @@
 
     const minus = app.controller?.minus;
     const plus = app.controller?.plus;
-    const live = minus?.state === 'connected' ? minus : plus?.state === 'connected' ? plus : null;
+    // The `+` pod first: it is the one that keeps reporting (§2.3.3).
+    const live = plus?.state === 'connected' ? plus : minus?.state === 'connected' ? minus : null;
     const searching = minus?.state === 'searching' || plus?.state === 'searching';
     out.push({
       key: 'click',
@@ -177,13 +178,13 @@
       primary: live ? `Zwift Click · ${live.symbol} pod` : searching ? 'Searching…' : 'Not connected',
       detail: live
         ? [
-            live.pod === 'minus' ? 'All ten buttons' : 'Fallback — no D-pad',
+            live.pod === 'plus' ? 'Shift up · Y shifts down' : 'All ten buttons, for ~50 s',
             live.batteryPercent != null ? `${live.batteryPercent}%` : null,
             live.buttonsSeen > 0 ? `${live.buttonsSeen} presses` : 'no presses yet',
           ]
             .filter(Boolean)
             .join(' · ')
-        : 'Press a button to wake it — the keyboard works meanwhile',
+        : 'Press a button on the + pod — the keyboard works meanwhile',
       tone: live ? 'tone-ok' : 'tone-idle',
       // Connected, the useful action is *rebuild the link*. A Click can wedge
       // while looking perfectly healthy — battery arriving every five seconds,
@@ -229,7 +230,7 @@
 
   /** The Click panel is a repair manual, so it appears when there is something
    *  to repair. Connected, the tile above has already said everything it knows. */
-  const clickNeedsHelp = $derived(app.controller?.minus.state !== 'connected');
+  const clickNeedsHelp = $derived(app.controller?.plus.state !== 'connected');
 
   /**
    * What the row has to say, as badges. Nothing is emitted for a device that is