Issues with RTLSDR blog devices

[ve3gbn]

I am facing an issue where neither my v3 or v4 rtlsdr blog dongles are showing in SkyRoof. Both dongles show fine in other SDR software like SDR# and Satdump. SkyRoof is able to detect my dongles on my laptop fine from a fresh install but wont on my desktop.

At this point I have:

- Done a complete fresh install of SkyRoof multiple times
- Ran SkyRoof as administrator

- Completely removed my rtlsdr drivers and reinstalled them with Zadig
- Attempted to replace rtlsdr.dll, rtlsdrSupport.dll, and SoapySDR.dll with copies from the internet

- Attempted to replace rtlsdr.dll, rtlsdrSupport.dll, and SoapySDR.dll with copies from my laptop.
- I installed the PothosSDR bundle which includes the SoapySDRUtil binary, using the --info and --find flags my SDR is detected with its local rtlsdr.dll, rtlsdrSupport.dll, and SoapySDR.dll. I copied them over to SkyRoof in various configurations but that still didnt work.

The following log is generated when selecting Tools > Sdr Devices... 

2025-12-10 00:38:31.333 -05:00 [INF] VersionChecker: software is up to date: SkyRoof v.1.23
2025-12-10 00:38:37.143 -05:00 [INF] Setting SoapySDR plugin path: C:\Program Files\Afreet\SkyRoof\lib\SoapySDR\modules0.8
2025-12-10 00:38:37.153 -05:00 [INF] [SOAPY_SDR_ERROR]: sdrplay_api_Open() Error: sdrplay_api_Fail
2025-12-10 00:38:37.153 -05:00 [INF] [SOAPY_SDR_ERROR]: Please check the sdrplay_api service to make sure it is up. If it is up, please restart it.
2025-12-10 00:38:37.197 -05:00 [INF] [SOAPY_SDR_ERROR]: rtlsdr_get_device_usb_strings(0) failed
2025-12-10 00:38:37.368 -05:00 [INF] [SOAPY_SDR_ERROR]: SoapySDR::Device::enumerate(sdrplay) sdrplay_api_Open() failed
2025-12-10 00:38:37.369 -05:00 [INF] SoapySDRDevice_enumerateStrArgs returned:[]
2025-12-10 00:38:37.369 -05:00 [INF] Listing remote SDR devices...
2025-12-10 00:38:37.575 -05:00 [INF] SoapySDRDevice_enumerateStrArgs returned:[]

Before reinstalling the rtlsdr drivers the dongle showed for a brief moment. I had the SDR Devices window open for awhile and it showed up in the left box briefly, it then disappeared and the SDR settings showed in the right box before SkyRoof stopped responding. Have not been able to see this again in my hours of trying to get it to work!

[Cobra Car]

Hi

See my post from a few weeks ago. I had the exact same problem and tried all of the things you did with the same negative outcome. What worked for me was to reinstall in a directory outside Windows protected files area, I can't remember if I copied the rtlsdr driver ther as well . This worked first time

GI7GUY

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[Alex VE3NEA]

Hi Gabe,

It looks like some of the RTL-SDR driver files you have are incorrect. I use SkyRoof with RTL-SDR V3 myself, and other users were able to make it work with RTL-SDR V4 Blog. 

I have had my V3 for several years, so I only vaguely remember that I used Zadig to install the driver. Other than that, the files that get installed by the SkyRoof installer worked fine, I did not have to replace any of them.

The topic of making V4 work was discussed here before, and a solution was posted. Please look through the search results for it.

[ve3gbn]

I've since removed all the other modules in D:\Skyroof\lib\SoapySDR\modules0.8 except for rtlsdr.dll and rtlsdrSupport.dll and the SDR was started being detected! I performed a fresh install, still did'nt work. After deleting files one by one I found that PlutoSDRSupport.dll is causing the issue.

The left image shows with PlutoSDRSupport.dll and the right without.

   

[Alex VE3NEA]

Thank you for sharing this important info. Cold you please start SkyRoof with and without the offending dll, and send me the log file (Help / Data Folder in the menu).

[ve3gbn]

Here are the logs of a fresh install with and without the offending dll.

[Alex VE3NEA]

Thank you for the logs! Indeed, PlutoSDRSupport.dll somehow prevents detection of other USB devices. I will remove this dll from the SkyRoof distribution and make it an optional download for those who need it.

[ve3gbn]

No problem at all! It's very strange as on my laptop said DLL exists but doesn't cause any issues there. I'm not sure why it behaves differently on my desktop...