Mobile Walkthrough Inspection (/m/dashboard)
A read-only mobile screen for verifying that collection is running normally while you walk the field with your phone. As you move from line to line and equipment to equipment, you can check gateway status, per-connection collection status, and current tag values against field gauges, and review errors that just occurred.
When you log in from a phone browser, the mobile status screen (/m/dashboard) opens automatically. PC browsers get the existing desktop screens unchanged.
On the mobile screen you cannot change anything — writing tag values, starting/stopping collection, changing settings, and deleting are all unavailable. This is deliberate. Even if you lose the phone or something gets pressed accidentally in your pocket, the impact on equipment is zero. If action is required, do it from the desktop screens.
1. Before You Start (Prerequisites)
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Network | The phone must be on the same plant network as the gateway (field Wi-Fi). There is no remote access by way of the Platform — this is not meant for viewing from outside the plant over LTE/5G |
| Account | Same account and same login as the desktop. There is no mobile-only account or separate setup |
| Address | Open https://<gateway-ip>/ in the phone browser → log in → the mobile screen opens automatically |
If you connect without being logged in, you are taken to the login screen; if your session expires while viewing, you are returned to the login screen automatically.
2. Clearing the Certificate Warning (One Time Only)
The gateway's HTTPS uses a self-signed (private) certificate. Phone browsers therefore show a "Your connection is not private" / "Not secure" warning. This is not a fault; it is an operational procedure resolved by one of the two methods below.
Method B (adding an exception) is faster, but the warning may reappear depending on browser policy. For a phone used daily on walkthrough inspections, doing Method A once is cleaner.
Method A — Install the corporate CA certificate on the phone (the warning disappears)
First obtain the corporate CA (root) certificate file (.crt or .pem) that issued the gateway certificate from the person responsible for installation, and have it sent to your phone by email, messenger, AirDrop, or similar.
iOS (Safari)
- Tap the certificate file you received → a "Profile Downloaded" notice appears.
- Settings > General > VPN & Device Management → the downloaded profile → Install.
- Settings > General > About > Certificate Trust Settings → turn on the trust switch for the root certificate you just installed. (If you skip this step, the warning keeps appearing.)
Android (Chrome)
- Go to Settings > Security (Security and privacy) > More security settings (or "Encryption & credentials") > Install a certificate > CA certificate.
- Choose "Install anyway" and select the certificate file you received.
Menu names vary a little by iOS/Android version and manufacturer. Typing "certificate" into the settings search box takes you straight to the relevant menu.
Method B — Add a browser exception (fast, but the warning may return)
- Android Chrome: On the warning screen, tap Advanced → Proceed to <address> (unsafe).
- iOS Safari: On the warning screen, tap Show Details → visit this website → confirm.
3. The Five Screens
Navigate with the bottom tab bar (Status / Connections / Search / Logs / Desktop).
| Screen | Path | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Status | /m/dashboard | Overall gateway status — throughput, pending queue, errors today, CPU/memory/disk, PLC connected/disconnected counts |
| Connections | /m/opc | Connection (PLC) list — problem connections at the top, [All/Problems] toggle |
| Tag Values | /m/opc/<connection-id> | Current tag values for that connection — value and unit in large type, always with elapsed time |
| Search | /m/search | Global search by tag ID/name — results include current value and elapsed time |
| Logs | /m/log | Recent ERROR/WARN entries — for checking "what just happened" |
Problem indicators on the Status screen are tappable and jump straight to the relevant screen — the Errors Today card → Logs screen, the PLC connected/disconnected counts → connection list.
4. The Most Important Thing — the Age of the Value (Elapsed Time)
Seeing a value does not mean collection is alive. If the value on screen is 10 minutes old, collection was dead during that time. The most dangerous misjudgment during a walkthrough inspection is "there's a value, so it's fine."
That is why the mobile screens always show, next to every value, when it was collected (elapsed time) and visibly dim stale values.
| Elapsed time | Display |
|---|---|
| Within 1 minute | Value shown crisply (normal) |
| 1 to 10 minutes | Value shown in gray — suspect it may be old relative to the collection cycle |
| Over 10 minutes | Value dimmed + elapsed time in orange — treat collection as stopped and investigate |
Get into the habit of always reading both, in the order value → elapsed time.
5. Distinguishing the Three States
Field Wi-Fi drops out in aisles and behind columns. If you cannot tell whether "the value looks wrong" is an equipment (collection) problem or a network problem on your phone, you will chase healthy equipment or miss a real fault. The screen displays the three states differently.
| State | On-screen indication | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Value crisp + short elapsed time. No banner | Move on to the next equipment |
| Collection fault (gateway responds but the data is bad) | No banner. ERROR tags move to the top of the list with an error message shown, or elapsed time grows and the value dims. The connection moves up in the connection list | Check connection status / scan status on the Connections screen → take action from the desktop |
| Communication lost (the phone cannot reach the gateway) | Banner at the top of the screen: "Communication lost — the values below are from N seconds ago" + all values on screen dimmed at once. The last values are retained, not cleared | This most likely is not an equipment problem. Move to a spot with good signal and see whether the banner clears |
Key rule of thumb: if the banner is showing, it is a phone↔gateway problem; if there is no banner but only certain tags/connections look wrong, it is a collection problem.
Even when communication drops, the last values are kept in dimmed form and the banner keeps updating the age of the data. Clearing the screen would make it easy to mistake the equipment for dead. The banner does not appear for momentary dropouts — it appears only after two consecutive refresh failures, and it disappears automatically once communication is restored. (It operates on the Connections, Tag Values, Search, and Logs screens.)
6. The Screens in Detail
Status (/m/dashboard)
Throughput (MPS) / pending queue / errors today / transmitted points cards, CPU, memory, swap, and disk gauges, PLC connected/disconnected and read/write success/failure counts, and Platform API and Docker status, refreshed every second. A logout button is at the top right.
Connections (/m/opc)
Each card is one connection — connection name, protocol and IP:port, and connection status / scan status / tag count badges. Disconnected and collection-stopped connections are always sorted to the top, and the [All N / Problems N] buttons at the top let you narrow the list to problem connections only. Tap a card to open the tag value screen for that connection. Refreshes every 10 seconds.
Even when the connection status is normal (CONNECTED), no values arrive if the scan status is not collecting (NOT COLLECT). Cards in this state are classified as problems and move to the top, so check both badges.
Tag Values (/m/opc/<connection-id>)
For each tag, the value and unit are shown in large type with the elapsed time below. Tags in ERROR state move to the top and their error message is shown alongside. Refreshes every 5 seconds.
Connections with a very large number of tags show only the first 300, with a notice at the top of the screen: "Showing top 300 only — view the full list on the desktop." Do not assume the tags you cannot see are "normal"; if you need to check a specific tag, use Search.
Search (/m/search)
Searches all tags on the gateway by partial match on tag ID or name (case-insensitive). The search runs automatically as you type, and the results (up to 50) include the current value and elapsed time. It is faster than scrolling a list when comparing a specific tag against a field gauge.
Logs (/m/log)
Shows 50 entries from the last 24 hours, newest first. Choose the level with the [ERROR / WARN] buttons at the top; ERROR is the default. Refreshes every 15 seconds.
Pressing WARN hides ERROR (it is not "WARN and above"). To view errors, make sure the ERROR button is selected. For detailed log review such as time range selection and message search, use View System Log on the desktop.
7. Taking Action on the Desktop
Starting/stopping collection, writing tags, editing connections and tags, and changing settings are all done from the desktop screens.
- From the phone, tapping [Desktop] in the bottom tab bar opens the desktop screen (
/ui/main?desktop=1) — useful for quickly checking a setting during a walkthrough. The desktop screens are not optimized for phone-sized displays, however, so editing work is best done on a PC. - Since phones are redirected to the mobile screens automatically, opening
/ui/mainwithout?desktop=1returns you to the mobile status screen.
8. Known Limitations
| Limitation | Details |
|---|---|
| No pull-to-refresh | Pulling the screen down does not refresh it. Rely on auto-refresh (cycles above) or use the browser refresh |
| Logs fixed at the latest 50 entries | There is no "load more." For anything beyond that, use the desktop View System Log |
| Top 300 on the tag value screen | Large connections are truncated and a notice is shown. Use the desktop for the full list |
| 200 connections / 50 search results | The list and search also have upper limits |
| Refresh stops when the screen turns off | The Connections, Tag Values, and Logs screens stop refreshing when you turn off the phone screen or switch to another app (saving battery and field Wi-Fi), and resume automatically when you return |
| No notifications/push | This screen is for actively walking around and checking. It will not alert you to faults on its own |
9. Common Pitfalls
| Symptom | Cause / Resolution |
|---|---|
| Certificate warning on every connection | Self-signed certificate — not a fault. Resolve with the procedure in 2. Clearing the Certificate Warning |
| The screen will not open at all on the phone | Check that the phone is attached to the plant network (field Wi-Fi) — access is not possible over LTE/5G |
| A value is shown but never changes | Look at the elapsed time. If it is old, collection is faulty — check the state on the Connections screen |
| All values suddenly dim and a banner appears at the top | Communication lost — usually a phone Wi-Fi issue. Move to a spot with good signal |
| Pressed WARN but ERROR entries are gone | The level buttons show that level only — switch to the ERROR button |
| Not all tags are visible | Truncated at the top 300 — find the specific tag with Search, or use the desktop |
| Keeps bouncing back to the login screen | Session expired — log in again (same account as the desktop) |
10. Learn More
- Viewing real-time values on the desktop: View Real-Time Values
- Connection list / tag list (desktop): Connection List / Tag List
- Detailed system log search: View System Log
- When a connection fails: Troubleshooting