Install Hub
https://support.focalheat.co/install-hub/
On this page
Before you start
The Focal Hub is the heaters’ link to the internet. It lets guests turn on heat with the QR code, lets staff control heaters from the Focal Control app, and runs schedules. If it loses its signal, all of that stops working, so placement matters.
Some Hubs arrive already configured for the restaurant’s WiFi. Others you configure on site, which takes a couple of minutes from your phone. Once it’s plugged in, you’ll check which one you have.
You need:
- The Focal Hub and its power cord
- The site plan, which marks the Hub Location
- A phone, plus the restaurant’s WiFi network name and password (from Focal or the restaurant), in case the Hub isn’t configured yet
The restaurant should already have checked that their WiFi meets the WiFi Requirements where the Hub goes.
Where to mount it
If the site plan marks a Hub Location, mount the Hub there. If that spot won’t work, mount it as close to it as you can, since that’s where the restaurant tested their WiFi.
If there’s no Hub Location, or nothing workable nearby, follow the location guidelines in WiFi Requirements: covered, near a standard outlet, in line of sight and within 50 ft of the heaters.
The Hub talks wirelessly to the heaters and, unless there’s a network cable, to the restaurant’s WiFi. Wherever you mount it:
- The Hub needs a clear line of sight to every heater, with no walls in between.
- Between the Hub and the restaurant’s router, the fewer walls the better. WiFi passes through clear glass. Brick, concrete, stone, metal and tinted or energy-efficient (low-E) glass block it.
Mount it up high and in the open, with a clear view of the heaters.
Tuck it behind a wall, metal or ductwork, or near metal shelving, kitchen equipment or a walk-in cooler.
Steps
Check the WiFi connection before you mount the Hub. The QR code is on top of the Hub, so you can't reach it once it's mounted, and it only works while the Hub has power.
Hold the Hub at the designated spot and plug it into a standard outlet. Avoid outlets on a light switch: if the outlet loses power, the heaters go offline.
Skip this step if the restaurant ran a network cable to the Hub Location. Otherwise, with the Hub plugged in, scan the QR code on top of the Hub with your phone's camera. When your phone asks you to sign in to the network, tap Sign in. The page that opens shows whether the Hub is connected. If it is, move on to mounting. If not, enter the restaurant's WiFi network name and password, and the page should then show the Hub as connected.
Use the network the restaurant tested, usually their staff WiFi. Guest WiFi with a sign-in page won't work. If the page still doesn't show the Hub as connected, check the network name and password and try again, then contact Focal.
Mount the Hub on the wall at the designated spot, keeping it plugged in.
If the restaurant ran a network cable to the Hub Location, plug it into the Hub. Leave a drip loop: let the cable hang down below the Hub's port before it rises back up into it, so water drips off the bottom of the loop instead of running into the Hub. No cable? The Hub uses WiFi instead.
Final checks
- Hub is mounted at the Hub Location, or as close to it as you could get
- Hub is plugged into an outlet that isn't on a light switch
- Network cable, if any, is plugged in with a drip loop
- No network cable: the Hub's sign-in page shows it's connected
If you used a network cable, you can’t see from the Hub whether it’s online yet. You’ll find out when you assign heaters: if heaters won’t assign or don’t respond, check the Hub first.