Setup guide
Set up your board
About ten minutes, start to finish. You'll need the board, a power outlet, your phone and your home WiFi password. No app, no account.
On this page
Check your WiFi
The board joins 2.4 GHz networks secured with WPA2 or WPA3-Personal. Most home routers offer 2.4 GHz alongside 5 GHz, often under the same name, so this usually just works.
If your router shows two network names, pick the one that isn't marked 5G. Networks that need a username login (work or school) or a sign-in page (hotels and dorms) aren't supported.
Plug it in
Connect the USB-C cable [and the included power supply]. The panel lights up and starts the board's own setup network.
Hanging it sideways or upside down? That's fine. You'll tell the board which side the cable leaves the frame in step 8, and it turns the display to stay upright.
Join the setup network
Scan the QR code on the board's label with your phone's camera. Your phone joins the board's setup network and the WiFi setup page opens by itself.
If the page doesn't open, go to your phone's WiFi settings, join the network named [setup network name], then open any web page.
Choose your home WiFi
Pick your home network from the list and enter its password. The board joins it and the panel shows where to go next.
If it can't join, the panel and the setup page say why:
- Network not found. The board can't see the network. Check it's a 2.4 GHz network and the board is within range.
- Password not accepted. Retype the password. It's case-sensitive.
- Weak signal. Move the board closer to your router, or add a WiFi extender.
- Unsupported security. The network needs WPA2 or WPA3-Personal. Enterprise logins and sign-in pages won't work.
Typed something wrong? If new WiFi details never connect, the board reopens its setup network on its own after three minutes, so you can try again.
Open the setup page
Once it's online, the panel shows its setup address, arrivaltimes.local, and its IP address. On any phone or computer connected to your home WiFi, type the address into your browser.
If arrivaltimes.local doesn't open on your device, type the IP address shown on the panel instead.
Add your stops
Under Add a Stop, choose your transit system:
- Chicago trains. Search for a station by name.
- Chicago buses. Pick a route, then a direction, then your stop.
- Boston. [For now, Boston stops are added by stop ID. Explain where to find one.]
You can track up to ten stops, trains and buses mixed. Arrivals appear on the panel within seconds.
Set your walk times
For each stop, enter how many minutes it takes you to walk there. Every arrival is then colored: green if you've got time, yellow if you should leave now, red if you can't make it.
Turn on hide arrivals you can't reach and the red ones drop off, so the first number you see is the one you can catch.
Make it yours
Everything here is optional, and every change shows on the panel right away.
- Layout. Stacked Rows, Split Focus, Paginated Focus or Ticker Dominant.
- Brightness. A slider from 10 to 100%, and an on/off switch.
- Quiet hours. A daily window when the panel turns off or dims. Pick your time zone.
- Plain colors. Turns status colors white for a calmer look. Line colors and detour marks stay.
- Power port. Which side of the frame the cable leaves, so the display stays upright.
Changing things later
Open the setup page from any phone or computer on your home network, any time. Changes take effect within seconds, with no restart.
Status shows the last update, WiFi signal, firmware version, serial number and whether an update is available. Updates install themselves.
New router or WiFi password? [Confirm the reset steps: for example Status › Reset WiFi settings, and what to do if the board can no longer reach the network.]