I want to bypass the DeviceSetup SDK

Developer Tools
#1

Ive got the DeviceSetup SDK to work using the repository.

But i when i tried to use it locally i got a ton of errors and al i wanted to do was change the User interface.

I felt like if i had access to the information on how to talk to a device over wifi to set credentials and claim codes, i could just implement that much easier then trying to use the given SDK that doesn’t seem maintained.

Can you we just get the dirty details on the protocols for setting credentials and setting claim codes?

#2

I assume you’re interested in doing this on the Photon and P1, as the Device Setup SDK doesn’t work with any other devices.

This document describes how to access the endpoints manually. It’s the same for both the Photon and P1.

https://github.com/rickkas7/particle_notes/tree/master/manual-photon-claiming

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#3

I am using Argon devices.

I might be confused at the direction given regarding editing the UI of the “wizard”.

The look and feel of the setup UI can be customized by overriding values from the customization.xml…

i feel this is limiting. i would rather be able to design my app with react-native and then implement the credential configuration and claiming manually.

Currently im trying to create a react-native solution and being constrained to a “wizard” is really rather annoying.

where is the technical documentation on how to configure the device and also claim it.

#4

The Device Setup SDK for Android can only set up a Photon or P1. It’s named Photon Setup SDK on iOS, which is a more accurate description.

There is no documented way to create a custom mobile app for the Argon. It’s intended to be used as a developer device, not used in a custom product, so there is no custom setup experience available. The Android app is open source, so technically you could extract out all of the parts you need, we don’t really recommend doing that, and there is no documentation for doing it.

Also you cannot set up an Argon over Wi-Fi. It can only be set up over BLE or USB.

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#5

ok that is all really great info.

Can we get that Bluetooth argon setup documentation?

#6

So quick history.

I’m using the argon to develop a product, in the beginning it was with mesh, now I am trying to use the argon device as-is.

I am at the step of development where i want the customer to claim the device.

as the developer how do i do this?

#7

As the Argon is only intended as a developer device configured with the Particle mobile app or the Particle CLI at this time, there is no good way to do custom mobile setup or use customer accounts.

Some Argon configuration options, none of which are ideal, include:

  • Taking the Particle mobile app and removing everything you don’t need from it. Still use the sticker and BLE setup method. You would still need to add in support for customer product claim codes.
  • Build a custom on-device Wi-Fi setup using a simpler BLE or BLE+NFC protocol and a custom mobile app. This sounds more complicated, but probably isn’t.
  • Build a completely on-device configuration system for Wi-Fi assuming you have a display and buttons or touchscreen.
  • Use a USB-based setup for Wi-Fi and claiming, probably from a computer.
  • Pre-configure customer devices (generally impractical for Wi-Fi).
#8

Hi @teedub ,

here’s some info you may want to look at:

Best,
Gustavo.

#9

@rickkas7

I noticed that you keep mentioning that for cellular devices it is recommended to setup two legged authentication (have our own backend system) etc. Why is that? Are there any plans on sunsetting the customer feature?

Also, is it possible to reuse some of the code in Android Device Setup Library such as the Account Creation (customer creation)in a Android app the controls 3rd Gen devices?

#10

The reason you need the Device Setup SDK for Wi-Fi devices is to set the Wi-Fi credentials on the device, which is often easiest with a mobile app. (Using a browser based setup on the Photon and P1 with SoftAP, and a hardware solution like a display and keypad, are the other options.)

In order to communicate with the device you set up, you can use the customer account feature, either using simple auth or two-legged auth customer accounts.

For cellular devices, there are no on-device credentials to set. Cellular product creators either build the monthly fee into the cost of the product, or have their own recurring billing system. Therefore, creating a parallel system also using the Particle authentication system rarely makes sense.

For cellular devices that the user interacts with, most product creators have their own system, either web apps from a browser, or their own front/back end system, possibly using a mobile framework (React, Ionic, Flutter, etc.). It doesn’t make sense to also add Particle authentication on top of this, when it all can be handled by your back-end server more easily.

The Particle app for Android actually includes the Device Setup SDK for setting up Gen 2 devices. It also has the system for setting up Gen 3 non-product devices. You could merge the two parts together and make a custom app to create Gen 3 product devices, but this isn’t supported or documented.

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