Troubleshooting

Here are some tips for connection problems when setting your BlackBox up.

The BlackBox-Setup web portal page is a page that the BlackBox itself is serving. When powered up if the saved connection cannot connect, the BlackBox will then go to the setup portal page.

The default password to enter the portal is “password” (without quotes). The portal is only active if there is no saved connection or if the saved connection was not able to connect. Without any password the portal would be accessible to anyone who connects to the BlackBox-Setup portal during this time. And once the connection is saved and successfully can connect, the BlackBox is no longer in the portal mode and logging in can only happen when the portal is running.

Wait, I don't know where to find this portal at all.

To find the portal go into Wifi Settings on your device and search for available networks. The BlackBox-Setup Portal will show up as one of these networks.

Once you try to connect to this network it will ask you for the password.

Then if the password was correct, you should be redirected to the settings web page.

If you are not redirected to the settings page, enter 192.168.4.1 in a browser and this should take you to the portal setup page. Most of the time the redirection to this page is automatic but sometimes you may be prompted to go to a page to sign in.

Re-entering the portal.

What if you want to get back to the portal in order to type a different value into the fields? This might be because you want to call it something different from when it was named in the setup. Or maybe you want to change the notification message?

To get back to the portal there are two ways. The first is to stop the Wi-Fi router you connected the BlackBox. Then reboot the BlackBox, and after searching for the network it was programmed for and not finding it - the BlackBox will enter the portal mode after 20 to 30 seconds.

The second method is to leave the vicinity of the Wi-Fi ssid you programmed the BlackBox to.

Reboot the BlackBox.

 After turning on searching for 20 or 30 seconds just like the previous method, the BlackBox will start the portal mode. Then reenter whatever value you were going to change and save.

I can't find the BlackBox-Setup portal and not sure why.

If you are searching for the BlackBox-Setup portal in Wi-Fi settings and don't see it, try these steps.

Reboot the BlackBox, if it was moved to a new area, you must reboot the BlackBox and wait for it to scan available networks. If it finds the network, then it will connect, and you should receive a connection notification in Telegram.

If it doesn't connect then the portal should appear after about 30 seconds.

It is possible that you are connected to the Wi-Fi ssid you specified but you are not receiving notifications because the credentials were not correct for Telegram. So, you may be connected to the Wi-Fi network, but Telegram can't tell you.

For this situation reenter the portal as specified already above and enter the credentials again, making sure they are correct.

If you are having an issue connecting, always erase the text that is present in the form field and reenter it. Never assume it is correct, there may be a character missing and this could be causing the issue. 

If using usb for power, always plug usb cable in first and then turn on the BlackBox. And afterwards test the BlackBox by making a slight vibration to see if you receive an alert. If you do not receive an alert, power off the BlackBox switch and then turn back on. You should also test the BlackBox after unplugging the usb cable and using it. If after unplugging and you test but do not receive an alert, power off the switch and then power on again.

Sometimes the plugging and unplugging of the cable can cause a communication issue, testing afterwards ensures it is functioning.

The built in 18650 lithium rechargeable battery will last anywhere from 12 to 20 hours depending on how many times a notification is sent. It can be recharged by plugging in a usb c cable and letting the built-in battery management circuitry charge the battery.

Normal operating current of the BlackBox is approximately 75ma when running and slightly higher when sending notifications.

Internal Vibration Sensor Setting

If you are not getting an alert when you feel you should be receiving one, check the connection notification message. This message includes a confirmation of the setting entered.

If a 1 was entered at setup, then the notification will say “Internal Vibration Sensor Enabled”.

And if a 0 was entered or if there was a 0 entered previously then it will say “Internal Vibration Sensor Disabled”.

If you wish to change this after already being successfully connected, then reenter the portal mode as already described.

Reminder: The external sensor is active if plugged in and not active if unplugged, there is no programming required to change this.