PyroPulse Help and Troubleshooting Guide

PyroPulse is a spatial fireworks app for Apple Vision Pro. This guide covers setup, every feature, and the most common questions and fixes.

If you don’t see your issue here, contact support at info@mickeydesigns.com and include your visionOS version and a brief description of what you were doing when the problem happened.

Getting Started

What you need

• An Apple Vision Pro running a recent version of visionOS.
• (Optional) An Apple Music subscription and at least one song in your library, if you want music-synced shows.

First launch

1. Open PyroPulse. The main control window appears with four tabs: Show, Launch, Music, Settings.
2. At the bottom of the window you’ll see a glass button labeled “Show Immersive Space.” Tap it to enter the fireworks scene.
3. From the Launch tab, tap any firework to fire your first shell.

To leave the show at any time, tap the same button (now labeled “Hide Immersive Space”) at the bottom of the window.

The Four Tabs

Show

Pick your viewpoint — where you’re “standing” relative to the show. You can change this mid-show.

• Front Row — bursts fill the sky just above you.
• Directly Overhead — stand under a shower of sparks.
• Distant Skyline — a balcony view, far away.
• Surround — fireworks launch from every direction.
• Lakeside — mid-distance, drifting low over the water.
• Parade Ground — small eye-level ground bursts.

Launch

Tap any of the ten firework types to fire one immediately:

Classic, Willow, Chrysanthemum, Strobe, Rainbow, Sparkle, Cascade, Ring, Glitter, Finale.

The most recently tapped firework is the one Pinch to Launch will fire — it’s marked with a small hand icon.

Music

Sync the show to a song from your Apple Music library, or run a 90-second freestyle show with no music. Adjust the Volume of launch whistles and explosions, and view the in-app status.

Apple Music Synced Shows

PyroPulse uses Apple’s MusicKit to read your library, play your chosen song, and time fireworks to the beat. The first time you tap into the Music tab you’ll be asked to grant Apple Music access.

Running a synced show

1. Tap the Music tab.
2. Tap “Choose Song” to open the library window.
3. Pick any song — recently added tracks appear at the top, or use the search field to find one by title or artist.
4. Back on the Music tab, tap “Start Show.” Fireworks will follow the song from intro through the grand finale.
5. Use Pause Show / Resume or Stop at any time.

What the status pill means

• Ready — song picked, waiting for you to start.
• Live — show is currently playing.
• Paused — playback is paused; tap Resume to continue.
• Encore — the song finished. Pick another or restart.
• Authorizing — waiting for Apple Music permission.
• Access denied — Apple Music access is not granted (see fix below).
• Freestyle — a music-less show is currently running.

Freestyle Mode (No Music Needed)

If you don’t have Apple Music, don’t want to grant access, or just want a quick show, use Freestyle.

1. Go to the Music tab.
2. Tap “Run Freestyle.”
3. A 90-second beat-driven show plays with no music — same firework variety, same finale pacing.

Tap Stop to end it early.

Volume & Spatial Audio

Every shell whistles up from its launch point, and every boom rings out from exactly where the explosion lights up.

• Adjust loudness from the Settings tab with the Volume slider.
• Set it to 0 for a fully silent show.
• The slider affects both the launch whistle and the explosion boom.

Troubleshooting

“The immersive space won’t open”

• Make sure your Vision Pro has room — it asks for clearance the first time you enter an immersive scene.
• Tap the Show Immersive Space button at the bottom of the main window once and wait a moment.
• If it still won’t appear, fully quit PyroPulse (look at the app, press and hold the Digital Crown, confirm) and reopen.

“I tap firework buttons but nothing happens”

The launch buttons are only active while the immersive space is open. Look for the “Show Immersive Space” ornament at the bottom of the window and tap it first.

“Fireworks look small or far away”

That’s expected for the Distant Skyline and Lakeside viewpoints — they’re designed to feel like watching from across a park or lake. For closer bursts, switch to Front Row or Directly Overhead on the Show tab. You can change viewpoint mid-show.

“Fireworks are too low or too close”

Try Distant Skyline for a high, far-away horizon, or Directly Overhead to put the bursts above you. Parade Ground is intentionally small and at eye level — switch away from it if you want a traditional sky show.

“I see ‘Apple Music access needed’ or ‘Access denied'”

PyroPulse needs Apple Music permission to read your library and play songs.

To fix:

1. From the Music tab, tap “Open Settings.” (Or open the Settings app manually.)
2. Find PyroPulse in the app list.
3. Tap Media & Apple Music (or “Apple Music”) and turn it on.
4. Return to PyroPulse — the library should load automatically.

If you don’t want to grant access, use Run Freestyle instead for a music-less show.

“My library is empty or missing songs”

• PyroPulse shows the first 100 most-recently-added songs from your Apple Music library, sorted with newest first.
• If you don’t see a song, type its title or artist in the search field in the library window — search will find any matching track in the loaded list.
• If the list is genuinely empty, you may not have any songs added to your Apple Music library yet. Open the Music app and add a song to your library, then tap the Refresh button in PyroPulse’s library window.

“The song plays but fireworks aren’t firing”

• Check that the immersive space is open (tap “Show Immersive Space” at the bottom of the main window). The Synced Show times fireworks regardless, but they only appear inside the immersive scene.
• If the status pill says Paused, tap Resume.
• Some songs are extremely short — the intro and build sections may use up most of the runtime before the peak begins. Try a longer track (anything 2+ minutes works well).

“Fireworks are out of sync with the music”

PyroPulse uses a 120 BPM beat grid as a sensible default. Tracks that aren’t close to 120 BPM (or have heavy tempo changes) may feel slightly off the beat — the show will still pace correctly through intro, build, peak, and finale, just not snapped to each bar of your specific song.

If the drift is severe, Stop and Start the show again to resync from the beginning.

“There’s no sound”

• Open the Settings tab and confirm the Volume slider is above 0.
• Check that your Vision Pro isn’t muted at the system level.
• Audio is spatial, so it’s possible the firework you launched is positioned to one side — try a Front Row viewpoint where bursts are centered.
• If sound is still missing, fully quit and relaunch PyroPulse.

“Pinch to Launch isn’t working”

• Confirm the toggle on the Launch tab is on.
• Make sure the immersive space is open.
• Look at where you want the burst to land, then pinch — the firework arcs up from below to that point.
• If pinch is on but the floating in-space panel isn’t visible, look slightly down and forward — it sits about a meter in front of you at chest level.

“I see an error banner at the top of the window”

The banner shows messages from playback or audio. Tap the X on the right to dismiss it. Common causes:

• “Couldn’t start playback” — usually transient; tap Start Show again.
• “Apple Music access was not granted” — see the access fix above.
• Audio-related messages mean the spatial audio engine couldn’t initialize; restarting the app generally clears this.

“Performance feels slow during the finale”

PyroPulse automatically throttles particle density when many fireworks are in flight at once, but very dense moments can still be heavy. If you notice stutter:

• Avoid mashing the Finale button repeatedly back-to-back — wait a couple of seconds between manual launches.
• Close other immersive apps before opening PyroPulse.

“The app crashed or froze”

• Fully quit PyroPulse (look at the app, press and hold the Digital Crown, confirm Quit).
• Reopen the app.
• If it crashes again, restart your Vision Pro.
• If the problem persists, please email support with your visionOS version and what you were doing right before the crash.

Privacy

• PyroPulse does not require an account or sign-in.
• PyroPulse does not collect, transmit, or share any personal data.
• Apple Music access is used only on your device, to read your library and play your selected song. Nothing about your music is sent anywhere.
• Your most recently selected song is remembered locally so the picker can highlight it next time you open the app.

Still Need Help?

Email info@mickeydesigns.com with:

• Your visionOS version (Settings → General → About).
• A short description of what happened and what you were doing.
• Whether the issue is reproducible.

We aim to reply within two business days.