Setting Up and Using Iotplus Wi-Fi Sensors

Iotplus MoWi sensors connect to a standard Wireless 82.11 A, B, or G network, and transmit data to the Iotplus Online portal. They offer the ability for users to connect sensors to a local WiFi network for scenarios where a gateway is not preferred. This article will guide you through setting up your Iotplus MoWi sensor with your WiFi network.

If you do not see the “Sensor Connected” display in the MoWi Setup Utility, view this article.
For information about the LED display, view this article.
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about MoWi sensors.

Summary of Steps

  1. Add the sensor to your Iotplus Online account.
  2. Download the MoWi Setup Utility from the following link: https://Iotplus.com.au/
  3. Install the MoWi Setup Utility.
  4. Launch the MoWi Setup Utility.
  5. Install the driver for the MoWi Programming Cable.
  6. Physically connect the MoWi Programming Cable to your sensor, then to your computer.
  7. Insert the batteries into your sensor.
  8. Program the sensor.
  9. Review the sensor communication in the Iotplus Online Portal.

Download, Install, and Launch the MoWi Setup Utility

Download the MoWi Setup Utility installer at the link above. After the download is complete, right click the file, and select Run as Administrator. If you have adequate permission to perform the installation, the application will be installed at C:Program Files (x86)WiFi Setup WizardWiFi-Setup-utility.exe. You will also see an icon to the Windows Menu called “Iotplus Wi-Fi Sensor Utility”. Select this item to launch the utility.

Download and Install the MoWi Programming Cable driver

https://www.silabs.com/documents/public/software/CP210x_Windows_Drivers.zip
Note: !!Important!! The driver at the above link installs driver version 6.7.6. This driver is confirmed to be working on Windows 8 and 10 with the MoWi Programming cable. There is a newer driver version 10 which has been found to not be consistently supported. Therefore it is recommended that driver version 6.7.6 is installed and used.

If you have already installed version 10 of the driver and you find the sensor is not detected by the utility, you can follow the steps at the following link to completely delete the driver (be sure to delete the driver) https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/install/using-device-manager-to-uninstall-devices-and-driver-packages).

Unzip the driver

In order to successfully install the driver, the .zip file downloaded in the previous step must be unzipped, and the driver installed from the unzipped folder. Most Windows installations allow you to right click the .zip file, and select “Extract all”.

After unzipping the .zip file, locate the correct version of the installer for your PC. Right click the .exe file, and select Run as Administrator.
For a 32 bit computer, use the CP210xVCPInstaller_x86.exe.
For a 64 bit computer, use the CP210xVCPInstaller_x64.exe.

Launch the MoWi Setup Utility

Find the Iotplus Wi-Fi Sensor Utility in your Windows Menu, and open it.

Connect the sensor to the PC

(Before inserting batteries) Connect the MoWi Programming Cable to the computer’s USB port. Windows should recognize the cable is connected. Then connect the cable to the MoWi sensor in the port covered with the sticker. The port resembles a 1/8″ audio port. Be sure the cable is inserted completely.

Connect the Sensor

Insert batteries into the sensor

Note: Your sensor will power and be recognized by the computer even with low batteries. But if the batteries do not have enough voltage to power the radio, the sensor will be unable to connect to the network. Therefore it can seem misleading if the sensor LED is active. It is still possible that your batteries are low, even if the LED is illuminated. Therefore testing with new known-good batteries is imperative.

Insert known-good batteries into the sensor. You should see the LED’s on the senor alternating green/red flashing indefinitely. If the sensor is physically, connected, powered with good batteries, the correct driver is installed, and the utility is installed, you should see the image on the Setup Utility display “Wi-Fi Sensor Connected” for step 3.

Wi-Fi Sensor Connected

Configure the sensor

If you are using a network that broadcasts the Network SSID, click the drop down menu for the Wireless Network SSID field, and select {Search for Networks}.
Search for Networks After the spinning cog stops, click the drop down menu and select your network. Any networks broadcasting a 2.4 GHz 802.11 A, B, or G signal will be detected by the sensor. Wireless N and AC networks are not supported.
If you are using a network that does not broadcast the SSID, type in the SSID manually. Be sure to enter the name with correct syntax.

  • Select the Security Type in the drop down menu, and enter the Key or Passphrase. Only standard WEP/WPA/WPA2 security is supported.
  • If a static IP configuration is required, click the Advanced Settings button. Uncheck Use DHCP, and enter the static IP address. All four components are required, including a valid DNS server. Google’s DNS server, 8.8.8.8 can be used if you do not have local DNS resolution.

IP Configuration

  • Click the Configure Sensor button. Your sensor will be configured with the settings as they were entered. You may see the message indicating communication interrupted, acknowledge the notification and continue. This can generally be disregarded.
  • The sensor will attempt to connect to your local network. If this succeeds, the sensor will attempt to send communication to Iotplus Online through the Internet over outbound UDP port 3000. If this is successful, you will see a message indicating the test succeeded. If it does not succeed, you will want to examine the network configuration and make sure the network can resolve u1.sensorsgateway.com, and send data to the Internet over port 3000.

If the test to the Iotplus Server is unsuccessful

If you see a message indicating that the sensor was able to connect to your router, but connecting to the Iotplus server was unsuccessful, there is likely a network configuration preventing the sensor from reporting data to the Iotplus Online server (often an issue with Internet or port 3000 being blocked by the network). There is a tool to test the connection over your network. You can test this connection by following the steps below.
Using the Test Server feature

  • Launch the MoWi Setup Utility
  • Connect the sensor to the PC’s USB port
  • Power the sensor on (insert batteries) if not already inserted
  • Confirm the sensor is detected in step 3.
  • Click the Advanced Settings button.
  • Leave the default settings for Server Address and Server Port.
  • Enter the ID of the sensor in the SensorID field.
  • Click Test Server.

When the test is executed, you will see the following messages:

  • Attempting u1.sensorsgateway.com:3000 (indicating the test has started)
  • DNS Resolve: x.x.x.x (indicating the DNS resolution was tested)
  • TCP Connect Success/Fail (indicating connection over TCP was tested)
  • Message v1 Sent (indicating a test message using TCP was tested)
  • Timeout/Message Received (indicating the result of the previous test, Timeout = failed – Message Received = succeeded)
  • UDP v2 Message Sent (indicating connection over UDP was tested)
  • Timeout/Message Received (indicating the result of the previous test, , Timeout = failed – Message Received = succeeded)

It is worth noting that this test is run from the network connection of the host PC. If the PC is connected to the same WiFi network to which you are attempting to connect the sensor, you can remain confident that the network is not blocking the required traffic. Although, this does not definitively confirm the issue is not network related.

Conclusion

After following the steps above, you should be able to resolve any configuration issues with your MoWi sensor. If you need additional guidance, please contact info@Iotplus.com.au.