There needs to be at least one resource loaded into memory and within range for you to be able to scan it. If you load the game while already near your scanning room and take a look at the list, there will be bugger all there, so you need to swim around and load further areas for the scanner to be able to pick 'em up.

You can scan for materials arond the room with the main interface (the range upgrade buff this) or drive around the cameras to look without risking your life (you are gonna lose signal if you go to far, again, range upgrade)

Don't bother with the cameras, just get the chip that highlights what you're scanning for, you make it in the scanner room fabricator

The cameras are just for scouting, and have no direct influence on what you can scan. The scanning options are based on what you’ve got loaded into your memory, what you’ve seen or been near that the game had to render. The camera drones can help look around, making more things render, but only when actively used. If you close the game and open it back up the list of scanning options will be wiped until you scout around and see things again.

Base scanning range iirc is 300m, and each module increased it by 50m. Camera range before the image fades out to static is unconnected to scanner range.

Cameras are basically RC beacons, useful for marking cave entrances or other points of interest so you can follow the camera marker. The scanner works separately and scans a radius of 300m, you click on the resource you want to find and it'll highlight it on the holomap in the room, if you get the range upgrade it gets +50 meters range and they stack so you can get up to 500m scan range. One of the scanner room upgrades will make it highlight whatever you're scanning without you having to stay there, this actually goes in one of your gear slots so you can still have 4 range upgrades (the speed upgrade wasn't worthwhile imo)

There is no interaction beyond just picking one from the list. As for your control buttons, just check your settings my dude. Something is overlapping.

Scanner rooms are the best

nearly the exact same place I always put my base! it's my favorite spot in the whole game

I have a similar set up, although I created a slight cafeteria above my aquarium and have a scanner room to play into my SeaLab fantasy.

Yup, and stacking them increases the population limit

Oh look at Mr. Fancy Pants here with his connected moon pool.

I am so bad at planning that I usually have to link my moon pool with a power transmitter.

It looks too close to the multipurpose room. I’ve had a similar issue and had to move things further apart

Subnautica: you can't put the scanner room there! Also subnautica: good idea, put the scanner room in a place full of agressive leviathans

I built my first scanner room yesterday. It required me to build an extra hallway for some reason.

Welcome to subnautica

Cause it's module building if you put it there and tried to connect it to your multipurpose room the pieces would not line up so maybe it's stopping you from having that issue

Man this game dose that some times I would try and build on flatter land

Put a hatch on the hallway you build to extend it out. That way you will be able to quickly swap out the resources you're scanning for and collect different materials you need from the biome in succession.

I had to bud out an extension hallway to fit a scanner room on an early playthrough and did that to make it feel a little more intentional, but it ended up being so practical that now I always do it anyways

This is pretty much how I got through the game 😅 I'm a big baby - it helped me acclimate to new areas I was scared of. I put 4 range upgrades in each. The cameras are helpful for exploring the area and seeing what's around without risking your life or vehicles. It was also helpful to be able to track where any leviathans were with the HUD upgrade, especially at night.

I placed them at least 1000m away from bases and other scanners to make sure there was no overlap. As others say, they are very helpful for finding resources.

In terms of power I always put them somewhere I could use solar panels or thermal - so I didn't need to manually add anything to reactors.

I just put one at the special place entrance near LP2 with quadruple scanner range upgrades. Not too far from juvenile squeaky pants (almost within sight).

You can do this if you want, but I personally just have a "mobile" scanner room. I'll prepare the materials to build a scanner room, a hatch, and 2 solar panels, then build them whenever I find a location I want to scan in. And when I'm done, I deconstruct everything to get all my resources back. This then allows me to build again at the next location I want to do some scanning.

I do this. Also set up battery chargers and med kits. A basic base you can use to quickly restock and make basic stuff when you get dead

Why not? It's your 4546b, make it livable for yours needs.

The game resets every time you quit too so you have to "unlock" everywhere again if you want to see what you can scan.

Btw you can pretty much carry everything needed to make a Scanner Room on you and loaded into your vehicles.

Aaaaand since you get everything back you can essentially take your Scanner Room with you when you explore.

However you'll have to bring a few extra things (power source + place to put it) if you're going to build it in deeper water since solar power decreases the further down you go.

Basically, you have to select a camera to scan around, and the camera will tell you what stuff is around it. Try switching cameras, or move one to somewhere with more stuff.

The scanner room will only list the items you’ve currently seen/got loaded in your buffer. Log out and back in and the list will reset. Go swimming around, or like they said the camera drone, and anything that you got near and the game had to load in will now show up on the list.

Put a hatch on it

Scanner room can be a pain sometimes. Try building a basic compartment or t-corridor with a hatch and attach to the closed end

I made the same face when I realized scanners can take multiple range increase modules.

But life is better now for the knowledge. Bitter, though, it may have been at the time.

That took me a while too! It explained why I was hours into the game with almost no blueprints.

If it makes you feel better, I didn’t >!repair the Aurora for 25 hours my first play-through (blind) since the PDA said it should be repaired by trained personnel only and I didn’t think my character had repaired a reactor before. Thought I needed to train in it at some point or something… !<

Always look for brain coral when you're about to explore a cave, and take one with you when you go in. If you position yourself above it, you can (slowly) fill your air tank off the bubbles it produces.

Wreck diving is so much fun, you’re about to find loads of useful blueprints and base decorations! My advice is to find the pathfinder tool and use that to help you navigate the big wrecks, as they become underwater mazes pretty fast.