Adding Devices

Adding devices using the Console

To create a device, first open the application you wish to add the device in. Go to End devices in the left menu and click on + Add end device to reach the end device registration page.

You will be presented with options to easily onboard your device using its QR code (if you have it), and to register your end device from the LoRaWAN Device Repository or manually.

Keep reading to learn how to register devices using these methods.

Onboarding devices using QR codes

If your device has a TR005 LoRaWAN® Device Identification QR Code, it is a no-brainer to onboard it on The Things Stack. Note not all QR codes on the physical device are scannable. If your device doesn’t have a QR code or has a vendor specific QR code, you can skip this section.

Click the Scan end device QR code button and allow The Things Stack to use your camera.

Now just bring your device’s QR code closer to your camera. A window with data found from the QR code will appear, containing your device’s Claim authentication code, JoinEUI, DevEUI and Brand. If the data seems correct, click Apply.

Now proceed to choose the Input Method under the End device type section below and keep following the corresponding instructions for using the LoRaWAN Device Repository or manual registration.

The image below shows an example for when a user chooses to Enter end device specifics manually. One can notice that parameters like Frequency plan, LoRaWAN version, Regional Parameters version and AppKey have to be set manually, and some advanced settings can be adjusted, while the JoinEUI and DevEUI fields will be pre-filled from the scanned QR code.

Using the LoRaWAN Device Repository

The LoRaWAN device repository contains device profiles, LoRaWAN information, codecs, and more, for many LoRaWAN devices. Using the device repository to add devices in The Things Stack automatically uses the correct LoRaWAN version and regional parameters version, which means less information for you to find!

If your device is not in the device repository, see Manual Registration.

To use the device repository, make sure you choose the Select the end device in the LoRaWAN Device Repository input method. Then, select the End device brand, Model, Hardware Version, Software Version, and Profile (Region) for your device.

Choose a Frequency plan appropriate for your region. Your device and gateway must use the same frequency plan to communicate.

Enter a JoinEUI/AppEUI if provided by your manufacturer and click Confirm. If it is not provided by the manufacturer and your device is programmable, you can generate a random one in accordance with the test ranges defined by the IEEE 802 standards or use all zeros, just make sure to program the same value into your device.

Now enter your DevEUI. This should be provided by your manufacturer for commercial devices. If your device is programmable, you may generate an EUI using the Generate button, and program it in your device.

For LoRaWAN version 1.0.x devices, you will see an AppKey field, and for LoRaWAN version 1.1.x devices you will also see a NwkKey field. If these keys are provided by your manufacturer, enter them. Otherwise, use the Generate button to create them, and program them into your device.

Finally, give your device a unique End device ID, and click the Register end device button to create the end device. See ID and EUI constraints for guidelines about choosing a unique ID.

The device is now activated, and will appear as connected in The Things Stack once it sends an uplink.

Manually registering a device

If your device is not available in the device repository, you may manually register it. To do this, choose the Enter end device specifics manually input method. Please refer to your device’s datasheet to ensure entering the following information correctly. If such sheet has not been provided, please contact the manufacturer to assist you with obtaining this data.

Choose a Frequency plan appropriate for your region. Your device and gateway must use the same frequency plan to communicate.

Select the device LoRaWAN version. This should be provided with your device as the LoRaWAN version, LoRaWAN specification, or MAC version.

Choose the Regional Parameters version provided by the manufacturer of your device. This should be specified in the data sheet as Regional Parameters or PHY version.

If you need to use a method of activation other than OTAA, create a multicast group, specify a Class B or Class C device, or change Rx Delay and Frequency plan settings, see the Advanced settings section below. Otherwise, skip the next section and continue with filling in the Provisioning information.

The information that you’ll be providing in the Provisioning information section depends on the activation method you’ve chosen. If you choose OTAA, follow the OTAA Devices subsection, and if you choose ABP, follow the ABP Devices subsection.

Advanced settings

To modify advanced settings, expand the Show advanced activation, LoRaWAN class and cluster settings dropdown.

Here, you may choose your Activation mode. If you choose OTAA, follow the OTAA Devices subsection after this one, and if you choose ABP, follow the ABP Devices subsection.

If your device supports Class B or Class C features, you may enable them using the dropdown Additional LoRaWAN class capabilities.

Under Network defaults, you can choose to Use network’s default MAC settings. This option is enabled by default because for most deployments, The Things Stack defaults for Rx delay and other MAC settings will be suitable. However, if you want to modify Rx2 data rate or Rx2 frequency, uncheck this option and provide your custom values. If using ABP activation mode, this will also allow you to configure Rx1 data rate offset, Rx1 delay, Factory preset frequencies and to reset frame counters.

You can also choose to Skip registration on Join Server for testing purposes. We advise not to check this option unless you’re an expert.

OTAA devices

Over-the-Air-Activation (OTAA) is the secure, scalable way to activate LoRaWAN devices. All commercially available LoRaWAN devices support OTAA, and it is selected by default. If you are using a custom or DIY device, and cannot use OTAA, see the Activation by Personalisation section.

The example in this guide covers adding a device using OTAA (the most secure and preferred activation method) and LoRaWAN version MAC V1.0.2 (the most common LoRaWAN version, although newer versions are better and more secure) and RP001 Regional Parameters 1.0.2 revision B. Names and keys may vary slightly for other versions, but the process is the same and any differences are noted.

First, enter a JoinEUI/AppEUI if provided by your manufacturer. If it is not provided by the manufacturer and your device is programmable, you can generate a random one in accordance with the test ranges defined by the IEEE 802 standards or use all zeros, just make sure to program the same value into your device. Then click Confirm.

Enter your DevEUI. This should be provided by your manufacturer for commercial devices. If your device is programmable, you may generate an EUI using the Generate button, and program it in your device.

If your manufacturer provides an AppKey, enter it. Otherwise, use the Generate button to create one, and program it into your device.

Give your device a unique End device ID. See ID and EUI constraints for guidelines about choosing a unique ID.

Click Register end device to create the end device.

ABP devices

If your device cannot be activated using the more secure OTAA, you may manually activate it by programming security keys it, i.e. using ABP.

In the Advanced settings dropdown (see the Advanced Settings section), select Activation by Personalization (ABP).

When using ABP, it is important to make sure that the Rx1 settings in your device match those in The Things Stack. Uncheck Use network’s Rx and frequency defaults to specify settings that match those in your device. The Things Stack recommends an Rx1 delay of 5 seconds, but this value would have to also be programmed into your device.

Now proceed with Provisioning information. Enter a JoinEUI/AppEUI if provided by your manufacturer. If it is not provided by the manufacturer and your device is programmable, you can generate a random one in accordance with the test ranges defined by the IEEE 802 standards or use all zeros, just make sure to program the same value into your device. Then click Confirm.

Enter your DevEUI. This should be provided by your manufacturer for commercial devices. If your device is programmable, you may generate an EUI using the Generate button, and program it in your device.

Use the Generate button to create a Device address, and program it in your device.

For LoRaWAN versions 1.0.x, generate an AppSKey and NwkSKey and program them in your device.

For LoRaWAN versions 1.1.x, generate an AppSKey, FNwkSIntKey, SNwkSIntKey, and NwkSEncKey, and program them in your device.

Finally, give your device a unique End device ID. See ID and EUI constraints for guidelines about choosing a unique ID.

Click Register end device to create the end device.

Adding devices using the CLI

First, list the available frequency plans and LoRaWAN versions:

ttn-lw-cli end-devices list-frequency-plans
ttn-lw-cli end-devices create --help

Over-The-Air-Activation (OTAA) device

We define some user parameters that will be used below:

APP_ID="app1"
DEVICE_ID="dev1"
FREQUENCY_PLAN="EU_863_870"
DEV_EUI="0004A30B001C0530"
APP_EUI="800000000000000C"
APP_KEY="752BAEC23EAE7964AF27C325F4C23C9A"

Make sure to modify these according to your setup.

LoRaWAN 1.0.x:

To create an end device using over-the-air-activation (OTAA):

ttn-lw-cli end-devices create $APP_ID $DEVICE_ID \
  --dev-eui $DEV_EUI \
  --app-eui $APP_EUI \
  --frequency-plan-id $FREQUENCY_PLAN \
  --root-keys.app-key.key $APP_KEY \
  --lorawan-version 1.0.3 \
  --lorawan-phy-version 1.0.3-a

This will create an end device dev1 in application app1 with the EU_863_870 frequency plan, that uses LoRaWAN 1.0.3 MAC version and 1.0.3-a PHY versions. Make sure to replace the LoRaWAN MAC and PHY versions according to your setup.

Please note that the AppEUI is returned as join_eui (The Things Stack uses LoRaWAN 1.1 terminology).

If your device does not have a JoinEUI, you can use the default Join EUI of the Join Server. To use this, leave the --join-eui/--app-eui field empty. The CLI will contact the Join Server and get its default.

If your device does not have a DevEUI, set the --request-dev-eui flag. The CLI will contact the server and fetch a DevEUI.

You can also pass --with-root-keys to have root keys generated. In this case, you do not need to specify --root-keys.app-key.key.

The end device should now be able to join the private network.

LoRaWAN 1.1.x:

To create an end device using over-the-air-activation (OTAA):

NWK_KEY="01020304050607080102030405060708"
ttn-lw-cli end-devices create $APP_ID $DEVICE_ID \
  --dev-eui $DEV_EUI \
  --app-eui $APP_EUI \
  --frequency-plan-id $FREQUENCY_PLAN \
  --root-keys.app-key.key $APP_KEY \
  --root-keys.nwk-key.key $NWK_KEY \
  --lorawan-version 1.1.0 \
  --lorawan-phy-version 1.1.0-b

This will create an end device dev1 in application app1 with the EU_863_870 frequency plan, that uses LoRaWAN 1.1.0 MAC and 1.1.0-b PHY versions. Make sure you replace these versions according to your setup.

You can also pass --with-root-keys to have root keys generated. In this case, you do not need to specify --root-keys.app-key.key or root-keys.nwk-key.key.

The end device should now be able to join the private network.

Activation By Personalization (ABP) device

For adding ABP devices, we can define the following parameters:

APP_ID="app1"
DEVICE_ID="dev1"
FREQUENCY_PLAN="EU_863_870"
DEV_ADDR="00E4304D"
APP_SESSION_KEY="A0CAD5A30036DBE03096EB67CA975BAA"
NWK_SESSION_KEY="B7F3E161BC9D4388E6C788A0C547F255"

Make sure you modify these according to your setup.

LoRaWAN 1.0.x:

It is also possible to register an ABP activated device using the --abp flag as follows:

ttn-lw-cli end-devices create $APP_ID $DEVICE_ID \
  --frequency-plan-id $FREQUENCY_PLAN \
  --lorawan-version 1.0.3 \
  --lorawan-phy-version 1.0.3-a \
  --abp \
  --session.dev-addr $DEV_ADDR \
  --session.keys.app-s-key.key $APP_SESSION_KEY \
  --session.keys.nwk-s-key.key $NWK_SESSION_KEY

This will create an end device dev1 in application app1 with the EU_863_870 frequency plan, that uses LoRaWAN 1.0.3 MAC and 1.0.3-a PHY versions. Make sure you replace these versions according to your setup.

Please note that the NwkSKey is returned as f_nwk_s_int_key (The Things Stack uses LoRaWAN 1.1 terminology).

You can also pass --with-session to have a session generated.

LoRaWAN 1.1.x:

To register a LoRaWAN 1.1.x end device using ABP:

F_NWK_SESSION_INT_KEY="01020304050607080102030405060708"
S_NWK_SESSION_INT_KEY="01020304050607080102030405060708"
NWK_SESSION_ENC_KEY="01020304050607080102030405060708"
ttn-lw-cli end-devices create $APP_ID $DEVICE_ID \
  --frequency-plan-id $FREQUENCY_PLAN \
  --lorawan-version 1.1.0 \
  --lorawan-phy-version 1.1.0-b \
  --abp \
  --session.dev-addr $DEV_ADDR \
  --session.keys.app-s-key.key $APP_SESSION_KEY \
  --session.keys.nwk-s-key.key $NWK_SESSION_KEY
  --session.keys.f-nwk-s-int-key.key $F_NWK_SESSION_INT_KEY \
  --session.keys.s-nwk-s-int-key.key $S_NWK_SESSION_INT_KEY \
  --session.keys.nwk-s-enc-key.key $NWK_SESSION_ENC_KEY

This will create an end device dev1 in application app1 with the EU_863_870 frequency plan, that uses LoRaWAN 1.1.0 MAC and 1.1.0-b PHY versions. Make sure you replace these versions according to your setup.

You can also pass --with-session to have a session generated.

Once you have added your end device to The Things Stack, you can also set its location to be displayed on a map widget by clicking Change location settings.

The end device location can be manually set by pinning on the map widget, or entering the Latitude, Longitude and Altitude values.

Once you have added your end device to The Things Stack, you can also set its location.

Set your end device’s location with:

LAT="43.84"
LONG="18.32"
ALT="500"
ttn-lw-cli end-devices set $APP_ID $DEVICE_ID \
  --location.latitude $LAT \
  --location.longitude $LONG \
  --location.altitude $ALT \

You can also set the end device location to be updated from various sources with the --location.source flag.

The source of the location data can be the registry, GPS data, results of the LoRa RSSI geolocation, etc. Use ttn-lw-cli end-devices set $APP_ID $DEVICE_ID --help command to see the full list of the available location sources and other relatable info. If you set the alternative location source, the location settings you manually set will be overwritten by the automatic updates from that source.

The CLI will return something like:

{
  "ids": {
    "device_id": "dev1",
    "application_ids": {
      "application_id": "app1"
    },
    "dev_eui": "0004A30B001C0530",
    "join_eui": "800000000000000C"
  },
  "created_at": "2020-05-27T15:50:38.567Z",
  "updated_at": "2020-12-25T11:16:20.592Z",
  "locations": {
    "user": {
      "latitude": 43.84,
      "longitude": 18.32,
      "altitude": 500,
      "source": "SOURCE_REGISTRY"
    }
  }
}