--- title: "Install and power up SenseAi" description: "Mount a SenseAi on a machine and bring it online: connect the external antenna, pick a flat metal surface close to the spindle or main motor, attach the magnetic base square against it, power the unit from the supplied adapter or a machine USB port supplying at least 500 mA, and confirm the LED at first boot." category: "Install" source_url: "https://www.iotflows.com/docs/hardware/install-senseai/" --- # Install and power up SenseAi Mount a SenseAi on a machine, power it, and confirm it booted. A SenseAi arrives pre-configured. There is nothing to flash, wire, or claim: IoTFlows registers the device before it ships, so your first task is physical. Plan on 15 to 30 minutes for the first device and less for each one after it. This page ends with a powered device. Getting it onto the network is a separate procedure, in [Connect a device to Wi-Fi](/docs/hardware/connect-to-wifi/). **Before you start:** have the machine stopped and safe to touch, and know which machine this sensor belongs to. Sensors are tied to an asset by IoTFlows during onboarding, so if you are unsure which device goes on which machine, [contact support](/docs/get-started/get-support/). ## Check what is in the box Each SenseAi ships with the device, one external antenna, one USB cable, and one power adapter. The full list, with the specifications and network requirements, is on [SenseAi](/docs/hardware/senseai/). If the antenna or the adapter is missing, stop and [contact support](/docs/get-started/get-support/). Neither part is optional. ## Connect the antenna Screw the external antenna onto the connector on the SenseAi housing, hand-tight, before you power the device on. Connect it first because without it the radio has almost no range and the device will not hold a connection. Nothing is damaged by powering up without it. Point the antenna vertically once the device is mounted. Metal between it and the access point costs signal, worth knowing before you pick a spot. ## Choose a mounting location You are looking for a surface that carries the machine's own vibration. Pick a spot that is flat ferrous metal, as close as you can get to the spindle or the main motor. Paint does not matter: the magnetic base holds through it. ![A SenseAi magnet-mounted on the white-painted frame of an injection molding machine, its USB cable running down to power, with a violet callout line labeling the sensor](/images/hardware/hw-install-sa-01.webp) *A good mount on an injection molding machine: the SenseAi sits flat on a casting tied to the parts that move, and the paint under the magnet makes no difference.* A good location meets all four of these: - It picks up vibration from the machine's operation. - It is out of the way of moving parts, chips, and the operator. - It is as close as possible to the spindle or the primary vibration source. - It offers a clear, stable magnetic surface. The surface also has to be mechanically tied to the parts that move. A guard door, an access cover, or a sheet-metal panel is metal, and the magnet holds on it, but joints and fasteners sit between that panel and the spindle. Even a structural casting can be isolated this way if it carries nothing but its own weight. What reaches the sensor in those spots is the panel ringing on its own, not the driveline. That costs you the machine state. Running and down come from one threshold on the vibration trace, so when the trace looks much the same cutting as stopped, no threshold separates the two and the machine reads as one state all shift. Part counts and cycle times come off that same trace, so they go with it. What the base cannot grip is anything non-ferrous. Rubber, plastic, and aluminum give the magnet nothing to hold, however flat they are. If the only reachable spot is non-ferrous, [contact IoTFlows](/docs/get-started/get-support/) for a mounting option; if it is washed with coolant, use [SenseAi Embedded](/docs/hardware/senseai-embedded/), which is sealed and mounts at the motor. Wipe the surface clean, then set the magnetic base flat against it. The base holds hard, so place one edge first and roll the device down rather than dropping it on. Keep the device square to the surface, not tilted on an edge or a fillet. A tilted sensor shows up later as a non-zero mean in the vibration KPIs, which you then have to clear with the zero-offset reset described in [Calibration settings](/docs/hardware/calibration-settings/). > **Info:** > A mount is not judged by eye. Run the machine cutting, then let it sit idle, and check that the two read differently in [Calibrate SenseAi and SenseAi Embedded](/docs/hardware/calibrate-senseai/). A device on the machine housing rather than the textbook spot can still read the machine well. ## Connect power SenseAi takes 5 V over USB-C and draws up to 500 mA. You have two options. **Use the supplied adapter** unless you have a reason not to. Connect the USB cable to the SenseAi, connect the other end to the adapter, and plug the adapter into an outlet. **Use a machine USB port** when the machine has a spare one and you want the sensor to power down with the machine. Connect the USB cable to the SenseAi and the other end to the port. Machine ports are usually USB-A, which the supplied cable does not fit. A USB-A to USB-C adapter lets you keep the IoTFlows cable rather than sourcing one of your own. > **Warning:** > The port must supply at least 500 mA. A port below that browns the device out under load, which reads as a sensor that keeps dropping off the network rather than as a power problem. When you cannot confirm the rating, use the adapter. ## Confirm first boot The power LED lights as soon as the device has power. What happens next depends on how this device reaches the internet. - **On an IoTFlows 4G/LTE router:** the device connects on its own. See [Connect a device through the 4G/LTE router](/docs/hardware/use-the-lte-router/). - **On facility Wi-Fi:** the LED blinks blue, which is Wi-Fi setup mode. Provision it from the mobile app, in [Connect a device to Wi-Fi](/docs/hardware/connect-to-wifi/). ![A SenseAi seen from the front, antenna up, with the status LED below the WiFi and RESET buttons blinking blue](/images/senseai/senseai-wifi-setup-mode.gif) *The LED blinking blue at first boot: the device has power and is waiting to be put on Wi-Fi. If nothing lights at all, reseat the connector before assuming the unit is dead.* Every pattern the LED can show is listed in [LED and screen status codes](/docs/hardware/led-and-status-codes/). ## If nothing lights A dark LED is almost always the connection, not the unit. Work through this in order: 1. Reseat the USB-C connector at the device end until it clicks home. 2. Reseat the other end at the adapter, and confirm the outlet is live. 3. Move to the supplied adapter if you started on a machine USB port. 4. Try the second SenseAi's cable and adapter, if you have another device on site. If the LED stays dark on a known-good adapter and outlet, [contact support](/docs/get-started/get-support/) with the device serial from the housing. ## See also - [Connect a device to Wi-Fi](/docs/hardware/connect-to-wifi/) - [Calibrate SenseAi and SenseAi Embedded](/docs/hardware/calibrate-senseai/) - [LED and screen status codes](/docs/hardware/led-and-status-codes/) - [Quickstart: see your first machine's data](/docs/get-started/quickstart/)