First connection

The controller's interface runs on the controller itself and opens in any current browser — phone, tablet or laptop. There is no app to install and no cloud account to create first.

1. Be on the same network

Your phone or computer has to be on the same local network as the controller: the controller on the router by Ethernet, and you on that router's WiFi or LAN. If the cabinet has no network yet, see the setup hotspot below.

2. Open the address

There are three ways to reach it. All of them lead to the same login page.

The QR code on the nameplate. Scan it with the phone's camera. It holds the controller's local address, so the browser opens the interface directly.

The device name. Type it into the address bar:

https://<model>-<serial>.local

Model and serial number are the ones on the nameplate. Type the https:// in front — plain http:// does not forward you to the secure address yet.

Names ending in .local are resolved by multicast DNS (RFC 6762), directly between the devices on the network, without the router's name server. If your phone or computer does not resolve the name, use the IP address instead.

The IP address. Your router's list of connected devices shows the address it gave the controller. Open https:// followed by that address.

3. The certificate warning

On the first visit the browser warns that the connection is not secure or not private. That is expected. The controller encrypts the connection with a certificate it issued itself, and your browser does not know that issuer yet. The connection is encrypted all the same.

Open the browser's advanced details and choose to continue to the address. In Chrome with a German interface the page reads "Dies ist keine sichere Verbindung"; the buttons are "Erweitert" and then "Weiter zu … (unsicher)".

Do this only for your own controller, at an address you typed or scanned yourself. The warning comes back on another browser or device, and when you open the controller under a different address (name instead of IP, or the other way round).

4. Log in

The login page shows Username (Benutzername) and Password (Passwort). The username is already filled in with optibee. The password is printed on the device label.

Below the form the login page shows the model and serial number of the controller you have reached. Check them against the nameplate when several controllers sit in one place.

Press Login (Anmelden).

5. Change the password

Do this right after the first login.

1. Tap the fourth icon in the bar at the bottom, the gear — Settings (Einstellungen).
2. Open Account management (Kontoverwaltung).
3. Tap Change Password (Passwort ändern).
4. Enter Current Password — the one from the label — then New Password and Confirm New Password. The new password needs at least six characters.
5. Press Save.

Keep the new password somewhere safe. The label still shows the old one.

Finding the controller again later

Once you are logged in, Settings → Device access (Gerätezugriff) shows a QR code and the controller's current addresses — Via IP address and Via domain (mDNS). Scan it with another phone, or bookmark the address.

No network: the setup hotspot

A controller without a cabinet network can bring up its own WiFi through a USB WiFi adapter (see USB adapters). The hotspot comes up automatically whenever WiFi is not configured or not connected, with or without an Ethernet cable plugged in.

1. Plug the WiFi adapter into the USB port.
2. On your phone, join the open network OptiBee-XXXX — XXXX are the last four characters of the serial number.
3. Open http://192.168.242.1 and log in as above.

From there the controller can join the site's WiFi under Settings → USB port (USB-Anschluss). When you save a network, the hotspot shuts down so the controller can join it. If that fails, the hotspot comes back by itself after about 90 seconds — join it again and check the WiFi password.

Next

Readings — check that the controller measures.