# Connect to the network: cable, Wi-Fi, company network, time

The player needs an internet connection to fetch its content and to show its pairing code. Three paths lead onto the network, one of them through your smartphone, and on a company network two questions come up regularly.

> **Type:** device
> **For:** anyone setting up the device or anyone responsible for the network in daily operations
> **Prerequisite:** a connected player with power. For Wi-Fi, you need the name and password of the network and a smartphone.
> **Where in the portal:** setup card on the display at the site · in the portal **Devices** › device › tab **Hardware** › card **Network**

## What you need in front of you

- the connected **player** with power and a picture
- a **network cable** in a socket that actually has internet behind it, or
- the **name and password** of your Wi-Fi and a **smartphone** with a camera
- on a network with a filter: someone who is allowed to set allow rules

## How the player chooses its network

At every startup, the player decides in three stages, in this order:

1. **Network cable with internet behind it.** If a cable is plugged in and the internet is reachable through it, the player carries on normally.
2. **Saved Wi-Fi.** Otherwise, it checks a saved Wi-Fi network and waits up to 90 seconds for the connection to actually come up.
3. **Setup card.** If that does not work either, the player opens its own setup Wi-Fi and shows the setup card on the display.

> **Caution:** “The cable always wins” is not true. A cable plugged into a switch with no internet behind it does not count, and the player keeps checking the Wi-Fi. This is intentional.

> **Caution:** A wrong Wi-Fi password does not delete the saved network. The player opens its setup card anyway. It is exactly the emergency access that lets you correct a wrong password.

As soon as a network is reachable, the player switches to normal operation by itself, and the card disappears.

## Steps: Wi-Fi through the setup card

The card has the heading **Set up the display** and guides you in five steps:

1. **Scan the QR code.** Point your smartphone’s camera at the code.
2. **Connect to the setup Wi-Fi.** The QR code does this for you. The card also lists both values next to it for typing in: **Network** and **Password**. The name of the network starts with `Szenera-Setup-`.
3. **Open the address in the browser.** The setup page often opens on its own on the smartphone. If it does not, type in the address `http://192.168.42.1`. It appears as a separate step on the card.
4. **Choose the Wi-Fi and enter the setup key.** Choose **your Wi-Fi from the list** and enter the **password**, plus the **setup key** from the card. If your network is missing from the list or does not broadcast its name, choose **Other network** and type the name in. With **Search again**, the player searches once more. The setup key is the same value as the password of the setup Wi-Fi from step 2, not a second secret. It ensures that only the person in front of the display sets this display up.
5. **Done.** The player restarts by itself, connects, and then shows its pairing code.

## On a company network

The player accepts no connections from outside. It builds its connections itself, secured and outbound only. It discards everything inbound. A device on the customer’s network therefore cannot be addressed from outside, and remote maintenance runs only over the connection that the player itself holds.

If a filter that restricts outbound destinations sits in front of your network, ask support for the addresses to allow. Do not guess: A wrongly set allow rule looks like a defective device.

## Why the time must be right

The player gets its time from the network. If it runs without synchronization, program entries switch at the wrong moment, and in a video wall one device switches differently from its neighbors. The portal reports this as the incident **Clock out of sync** with the note that schedules then switch at the wrong time. Allow the device to synchronize its time on the network, and the incident disappears by itself.

## Check the result

On the display: The setup card is gone, the green dot **Connected** is at the top, and below it the pairing code or your content.

In the portal, the card **Network** in **Devices** › device › tab **Hardware** lists the connection in detail: **Connection** (**Wi-Fi** or **Wired**, with the name of the interface in small type behind it), **Network**, **Signal**, **Band**, **Frequency**, **Link rate**, **IP address**, **MAC**, **Gateway**, **Cloud reachable**, **Response time**, and **Remote access**. The **Signal** is given in five levels: **no connection**, **very weak**, **adequate**, **good**, and **very good**. If it stays weak, the portal reports the incident **Weak Wi-Fi signal** and advises moving the router or adding a repeater.

If the Wi-Fi drops later during operation, the player steps in stage by stage and gets the connection back. [How does a player keep itself running?](/docs/devices/about-self-healing) describes this.

## If something goes wrong

| Symptom | Meaning | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| The setup card keeps coming back | The name or password of the Wi-Fi is wrong. | Scan the QR code again and re-enter the credentials. |
| The cable is plugged in, but the player stays on the setup card | There is no reachable internet behind the socket. | Check the socket and the path to the internet behind it, then disconnect the player from power and restart it. |
| The player shows the setup card although a Wi-Fi network is saved | The network was not up at startup, for example because the router was not ready yet. | Do nothing. The player keeps trying and, if needed, restarts by itself so that the choice is made again. |
| Schedules switch at the wrong time | The device clock runs without synchronization, and the portal reports **Clock out of sync**. | Allow time synchronization on the network. [Troubleshooting on the device](/docs/devices/troubleshooting) helps further. |

## Related

- [Unpack and connect](/docs/devices/unpack-and-connect)
- [How does a player keep itself running?](/docs/devices/about-self-healing)
- [Troubleshooting on the device](/docs/devices/troubleshooting)