from everything you've said here, it doesn't sound like you've connected the device itself to the stratus? connect to the wifi emitted from the device first
That's the very first thing I did. I verified that it was connected via wifi, then launched iFly and tried to get it to communicate.
You might contact Appareo/Stratus and ask if they have an upgrade option. Perhaps they'll give you a few dollars off the price of a Stratus3.