Boot and pair the device

From unboxing or flashing to a paired screen, and what the first boot does.

Copy page
View as Markdown View this page as plain text Open in Claude Ask questions about this page Open in ChatGPT Ask questions about this page

Whichever route you took, setup ends the same way: the device shows a pairing code, you enter it in your dashboard, and the screen joins your fleet.

Get the device running

  1. Connect the player to the display over HDMI.
  2. Connect it to the network, by cable or Wi-Fi.
  3. Power it on.

If you are on Wi-Fi rather than a cable, the player shows a network setup screen before it shows a pairing code. You can complete it with a USB keyboard, or skip the keyboard by putting a network.yaml from the Network Config Generator on a USB drive.

There is nothing to install and no image to write. It arrives ready.

  1. Download the ScreenlyOS image.
  2. Write it to an SD card with the Raspberry Pi Imager.
  3. Put the card in the Pi, connect it to the display over HDMI, and power it on.
  4. If the device needs network credentials and has no keyboard, put a network.yaml from the Network Config Generator on a USB stick and plug it in. The device picks it up from removable storage and applies it.

First boot does more work than later ones and can take a few minutes. Use a good quality SD card; a partially written or failing card is the most common cause of a device that never starts.

  1. Connect the display to the network.
  2. Power it on.

The computer is built into the panel, so there is nothing to connect and nothing to flash.

Pair it

Once the device shows a code:

  1. In your dashboard, open Screens.
  2. Click Connect screen. On an empty Screens page the same button sits in the middle.
  3. Enter the code shown on the display.
  4. Give the screen a name you will recognize in a list, such as the room or the site.
  5. Click Connect.

The screen appears in your list within a few seconds and the display stops showing the code.

Note

A pairing code is good for 30 days. There is no short window to miss. If a device has been sitting unpaired for longer than that, connect it to the internet and wait for it to show a fresh code.

What first boot set up

Two things happened that are worth knowing about.

The device claimed one license from your plan’s pool. If you are out of licenses, pairing is refused and the dashboard says so.

The device also came up on the current ScreenlyOS release, and will keep itself there. Updates arrive over the air, signed, and roll back on their own if one fails. There is nothing for you to schedule or apply.

Next

After setup covers what to check and what to expect from a live device.

Type to search the documentation