Setting Up the Bolt WiFi Module

This is a handy getting started guide for connecting your Bolt module to the WiFi and linking it to your Bolt cloud account so that you can start playing with it.

The whole process will take less than 10 minutes. The current record for setting up the Bolt device is 2 minutes 15 seconds. Let's see if you can beat this record.

Ready? Set? GO!

Open the packaging

Once you open the box, you will be greeted with the Bolt WiFi module itself.

Bolt WiFi v2 Module

Get a 5V 1A mobile charger which has a micro-usb port and is usually used to charge your Android mobile. You can also use your laptop to power on the Bolt device.

Micro-USB cable

Now that you have all the components, let's start with downloading the Bolt IoT mobile App and installing it in the mobile phone.

Note: Before you get started, check if the WiFi network to which you will be connecting Bolt works at 2.4 GHz. Bolt does NOT support 5 GHz WiFi Networksat the moment.

Step 1: Downloading Bolt App

Download the ‘Bolt IoT’ App for Android or iOS. You can either search for ‘Bolt IoT’ or scan the QR code below.

Bolt IoT App

NOTE: Below instruction are given for Android App, but same can befollowed for the iOS Appas wellwith a few minor differences.

Step 2: Creating an account

You will need to create an account on the Bolt Cloud to control the Bolt device. Did I mention that creating an account on the Bolt Cloud is FREE?

Open the Bolt App and click on 'REGISTER' to create a new account.

Register

Fill all the required details and agree to the terms and conditions. Finally, click on 'CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT' to create your free account.

Registration form

You will now receive an email on the email ID that you had given to verify your account. This is to verify that you are an actual human and not a robot.

No bots please

Follow the instructions in the email to activate your Bolt Cloud account. Now, pull down on the screen using your fingers to refresh the mobile App screen which looks something like this below,

Screen after creating the account

Congratulations, you have activated your account. You will then be greeted with a screen that says that you don't have any Bolts Modules linked to your account.

Verified account without any device configured

Step 3: Adding Bolt to your account

Now, click on the 'ADD DEVICE' button to setup your Bolt device with your WiFi network.

Adding device

Power ON the Bolt device by inserting the Micro USB cable into the USB port provided on the Bolt and connecting the other end of the cable to the Android charger or to your laptop.

NOTE: There are no ON/OFF buttons on Bolt. Once you power it ON, it is good to go.

You can also view this small video to know how you can power up your Bolt device.

Once you have powered ON the Bolt device, blue LED on the Bolt will begin to blink slowly and the green LED will be OFF.

When the blue LED blinks slowly, it means that the Bolt is now transmitting its own WiFi hotspot network and is ready to be setup via the Bolt IoT App on your phone.

Click on the '>' symbol on the app to progress further.

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Before proceeding further, kindly switch OFF your mobile data and switch ON the location service in your mobile if not already and click on the "READY" button. This is required only in the Android App due to APIs by Google. We do not collect or store any of your location data.

If the Bolt has been detected by the App, it will show a screen similar to the one below. The blue LED on the Bolt will now blink fast. This means that it is under setup process. To proceed, click on 'CONTINUE'.

The password for the WiFi hotspot transmitted by the Bolt WiFi Module is: bolt1234

While setting up with the Android mobile app, your mobile phone will automatically connect to the hotspot when you click next. On an iOS, you will have to connect to the Hotspot by going to your Setting -> WIFi.

Now, we will need to tell the Bolt which WiFi network it has to connect to.

NOTE: The Bolt WiFi module cannot detect 5 GHz based WiFi networks and will not be able to connect to it.

Select the WiFi network to which Bolt has to be connected. You can click on the WiFi name to choose the WiFi network to connect to.

Note: For the iOS App, you will have to manually enter the SSID or the WiFi Name of the device you want to connect to.

Enter the password of the WiFi network you had chosen in the previous screen.

The App will now send the WiFi credentials to the Bolt WiFi Module.

Now, click on 'DONE' and in the next screen, select your Country and click on 'SAVE' to complete the final step of the setup.

If everything has gone according to plan, the Bolt device will now restart automatically. The blue and green LED on the Bolt device will now be glowing steadily.

If the Bolt was able to connect to the WiFi network and is connected to the cloud, a green dot will appear beside the Bolt's device ID as shown below.

Debugging:

• If the Bolt is unable to connect to the WiFi network, the green LED will be OFF and the Blue LED will be blinking slowly. This generally happens if you have entered the wrong WiFi credentials (SSID or password) at the time of setup. Please try the setup process once again with the correct WiFi credentials.
• Check if your WiFi Router works at 2.4GHz. Bolt does not support 5GHz at the moment.

Step 4: Accessing the Bolt Cloud to Build IoT Projects

Visit BoltIoT cloud website (cloud.boltiot.com) and login into your registered account using the same email ID and password that you have used on the Bolt IoT mobile App.

Bolt Cloud login

You will see your Bolt device with status as 'ONLINE' on your account on the dashboard.

Bolt Cloud dashboard

Congratulations, you have managed to setup the Bolt and link it to your account in less than 10 minutes. What was your time? Let us know in the comments section.

Building your first project with Bolt

Now that you have setup your Bolt WiFi Module its time to build your first project. I recommend you to get started with any of the two projects given below:

1. Getting Started with Bolt: Temperature Monitoring System

2. Getting Started with Bolt: Light Monitoring System