FAQ

The ALPON X4 supports remote and unattended sites with multi-network connectivity (LTE Cat 4, dual-band Wi-Fi, dual Ethernet) and the ALPON Cloud agent. Network failover can use another available uplink; recovery time depends on link availability and configuration. A hardware watchdog can restart an unresponsive host, while the RTC battery preserves the clock when external power is lost.

The ALPON X4 is the IoT-focused edge computer; the ALPON X5 AI is the AI-capable variant. The ALPON X4 is built on the Raspberry Pi CM4 with no AI accelerator, while the ALPON X5 AI is built on the Raspberry Pi CM5 and adds an NPU plus an NVMe M.2 SSD slot.

If your workload does not need on-device AI inference, the ALPON X4 is the right pick. For a full side-by-side breakdown, see Compare ALPON Devices.

The ALPON X4 fits deployments where compute, multi-path connectivity, and remote manageability matter more than raw on-device inference:

• Industrial gateways: bridging Modbus, MQTT, and OPC-UA traffic to the cloud.
• Remote monitoring: solar farms, water treatment plants, and pipeline telemetry.
• Smart cities: traffic sensors, environmental monitoring, parking systems.
• Fleet and asset tracking: cellular and GNSS positioning.
• Digital signage and kiosks: places where wired internet is unreliable.

Every ALPON X4 retail unit ships with:

• 1 × ALPON X4 edge IoT computer
• 1 × USB-C power adapter (27 W)
• 1 × 3-pin screw terminal block connector
• 4 × antennas (2 × LTE, 1 × Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, 1 × GNSS)
• Quick-start guide

The DIN-rail mount kit, IP67 outdoor antenna, and Edge add-on modules are sold separately. Verify the contents of your specific SKU at sixfab.com/product/alpon-x4.

Check current units, configurations, and accessories at sixfab.com. For availability, pricing, or evaluation inquiries, reach out through Sixfab contact.

The host compute is the Raspberry Pi CM4: a quad-core Cortex-A72 (BCM2711) running at 1.5 GHz with up to 8 GB LPDDR4 memory and on-board eMMC up to 32 GB (8 / 16 / 32 GB variants). The CM4 handles the operating system, networking stack, and application containers.

The GPIO Add-on port uses an RJ45 physical socket but is not Ethernet. It exposes six configurable GPIO pins at 3.3 V logic, with interfaces described in the Physical Layout & I/O guide, plus a 5 V / 1 A power output gated by GPIO 21. Do not connect Ethernet or PoE equipment to this port: it can cause permanent hardware damage.

No. The ALPON X4 has two Ethernet ports with different speeds and capabilities:

• ETH: 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet, data only.
• ETH/G: 1 Gbps Gigabit Ethernet for data, with optional PoE+ power input on applicable variants.

Two DIP switches under a silicone cap on the rear face control the hardware watchdog and CM4 boot mode. Both ship OFF by default:

The hardware watchdog runs independently of the OS. When enabled (SW1 OFF, the default), the CM4 must toggle the watchdog trigger line at regular intervals. If no trigger arrives within the timeout window, the watchdog cuts power, waits briefly, and re-applies it to force a cold reboot.

Use one heartbeat owner: either the system watchdog daemon or an application configured to replace it, never both simultaneously. Follow the Physical Layout & I/O guide for timing and GPIO polarity.

The ALPON X4 has four LED indicators. The RGB LED is reserved for user applications and is controlled through the I²C I/O expander, not direct CM4 GPIO. The remaining indicators report system state:

The ALPON X4 is intended for always-on deployments. For supply sizing, see Specifications. If external power must be switched, plan a controlled OS shutdown first; cutting power while the device is writing can corrupt data. Confirm any duty-cycling design with Sixfab.

The ALPON X4 measures 111.16 × 99.9 × 33 mm without antennas and weighs approximately 457 g. The fanless aluminum enclosure is rated IP40, with an operating range of -20 to +60 °C and a storage range of -40 to +85 °C.

Yes. The ALPON X4 includes a TPM 2.0 chip connected over SPI. Its presence does not mean secure boot, attestation, or credential protection is automatically configured for your application. The standard tpm2-tools package can inspect the TPM:

sudo apt install -y tpm2-tools
tpm2_getcap properties-fixed

The ALPON X4 provides Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and LTE network connectivity, plus Bluetooth and GNSS. Bluetooth and GNSS are not internet failover paths:

• LTE Cat 4 (up to 150 Mbps DL / 50 Mbps UL, theoretical) with on-board eSIM (eUICC SGP.22)
• Wi-Fi dual-band 2.4 / 5 GHz, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth 5.0 / BLE
• Ethernet: 1 × Gigabit Ethernet (ETH/G) and 1 × 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet (ETH)
• GNSS positioning (GPS plus multi-constellation)

The cellular module covers a broad global LTE Cat 4 band set:

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B7 B8 B12 B13 B18 B19 B20 B25 B26 B28 B34 B38 B39 B40 B41 B66

The product supports only 4G / LTE networks, with no fallback to 2G or 3G. For full RF specs see Antenna connectors.

Yes. The ALPON X4 has an on-board, soldered eSIM (eUICC SGP.22) for remote profile provisioning. Use the device's cellular settings in ALPON Cloud and confirm plan coverage for the deployment region. Contact Sixfab before planning a third-party SIM installation; physical SIM support is not confirmed in this guide.

Yes, with two important conditions:

1. Connect the device's earth pin to the panel's ground connection.
2. Use external antennas. The bundled antennas are designed for exposed mounting; inside a metal panel they will be heavily attenuated. Use the optional IP67 combination antenna with a 3-meter cable, mounted on the outside of the panel.

The ALPON Cloud agent can switch to an available Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or LTE uplink according to the device's network configuration. Recovery depends on the backup connection and network conditions, not a fixed time guarantee. See ALPON Cloud for the current network-management workflow.

Yes. Sixfab offers an optional 3-meter IP67-rated outdoor combination antenna that covers LTE Main, LTE Diversity, Wi-Fi, and GNSS/GPS with surface mounting. Use it when the device is installed inside a metal enclosure or indoors away from windows.

Use one power input at a time: the DC terminal block, USB-C PD, or optional PoE+ on ETH/G. DC is rated 9–30 V, but 12–30 V at the device is required for full peripheral functionality. The documented USB-C PD supply is 15 V / 1.8 A (27 W).

Optional PoE+ delivers up to 25 W, less than the 27 W system peak. Reduce peripheral load or use DC/USB-C PD for workloads that can reach that peak. See Specifications and Power safety for detailed limits and wiring.

Typical consumption is 7–14 W and the documented system peak is 27 W. Optional PoE+ delivers up to 25 W, so it cannot cover the simultaneous system peak. Reduce peripheral load or use a supported DC/USB-C PD source for peak workloads.

The USB-C port on the ALPON X4 is sink-only (power in). It does not provide USB data or power output during normal operation. To attach USB peripherals, use one of the two USB 2.0 Type-A ports on the side of the device. The combined output for both Type-A ports is 1 A maximum; exceeding it cuts power to both ports until the device is fully shut down and powered on again.

No. The ALPON X4 is fanless; its aluminum enclosure acts as a passive heatsink. Keep airflow around the cooling surface unobstructed and verify enclosure ventilation under the intended workload. Consult the Power & Mounting guide and Sixfab for verified mounting clearances rather than treating a generic gap as a certified minimum.

The ALPON X4 operates from -20 to +60 °C ambient and tolerates storage from -40 to +85 °C. The aluminum enclosure is rated IP40, which protects against solid objects larger than 1 mm but not against water ingress. For outdoor or splash-prone deployments, install inside a sealed industrial enclosure with the optional IP67 outdoor antenna.

The device ships with ALPON X4 OS, a Sixfab-customized 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS Lite (Bookworm) image for the Raspberry Pi CM4. Use the supported image and the ALPON X4 OS guide for its services and administration. Replacing the image can remove ALPON Cloud integration and hardware support; contact Sixfab before attempting recovery or reflashing.

The default user is alpon with password sixfab.

The hostname is derived from the MAC address as alpon-<MAC>, so you can reach it over mDNS on the local network:

# 1. By hostname (mDNS)
ssh alpon@alpon-<MAC>.local

# 2. Or by IP
ssh alpon@<DEVICE_IP>

When the local network is unavailable, use the browser-based remote terminal in ALPON Cloud. It works over cellular alone. You can also attach a monitor to the HDMI port and a USB keyboard for direct console access.

Use the standard Debian user-management commands:

# 1. Create a new user
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash <your_username>
sudo passwd <your_username>

# 2. Grant administrative (sudo) privileges
sudo usermod -aG sudo <your_username>

After creating your own admin user, change the alpon password to something long and random. Do not delete the alpon account.

ALPON X4 OS is Debian-based, so updates use the standard apt workflow:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo reboot   # only if a kernel or firmware package was upgraded

The documented hardware includes TPM 2.0. Application use of TPM-backed keys or attestation requires configuration; this is not a claim that secure boot or automatic credential rotation is enabled. Change the default password, manage SSH access, and keep the supported OS updated. Consult ALPON X4 OS for supported administration procedures.

Containers are the recommended deployment unit. Two paths are supported:

1. ALPON Cloud: deploy container applications through ALPON Cloud. Follow the application deployment guide for supported options.
2. Direct Docker (single device): SSH in and use docker run or docker compose up -d against your registry.

Build every image for ARM64 (Cortex-A72). x86_64 images will not run.

The CM4 is ARMv8 (64-bit), so containers must be built for linux/arm64. Use docker buildx with the --platform linux/arm64 flag, or build natively on the device.

# Cross-build from a workstation
docker buildx build --platform linux/arm64 \
  -t <your_registry>/myapp:1.0 \
  --push .

Yes. Map the host device files into the container:

docker run --privileged \
  --device /dev/gpiochip0 \
  --device /dev/i2c-1 \
  --device /dev/ttyAMA0 \
  <your_registry>/myapp:1.0

For docker-compose, set privileged: true and list the same paths under devices:.

For local debugging, use docker logs -f <CONTAINER> over SSH. See ALPON Cloud for the available application-log view and remote troubleshooting tools.

ALPON Cloud, accessed through Sixfab Connect, provides device registration, monitoring, remote terminal access, and container application management. See the ALPON Cloud guide for currently supported features.

1. Open connect.sixfab.com and sign in.
2. Scan the QR code on the device label, or select Manual registration and enter the serial number.
3. Bind the device to an organization and asset group.
4. Power the device on and allow provisioning to complete. Duration depends on connectivity and service availability.

The device appears as Online once the Connection Status LED turns solid green.

No. The device can run local applications and be administered over SSH without ALPON Cloud. Cloud-based monitoring, remote terminal access, and application management require the cloud service and a working connection. See ALPON Cloud for available capabilities.

Use the HTTPS ALPON Cloud console. For requirements concerning device-channel authentication, credential rotation, or payload verification, request the current security documentation from Sixfab; this FAQ does not establish those guarantees.

ALPON X4 compliance work is pending; certificates have not been issued. The Safety & Compliance page lists targets, not completed approvals. Regulatory declarations, environmental obligations, cellular-industry certification, and carrier approvals are different requirements; do not infer carrier approval from a target or a module's certification.

The ALPON X4 ships with a 2-year limited warranty against manufacturing defects under normal use. The warranty does not cover damage from out-of-range power input, connecting Ethernet or PoE to the GPIO Add-on port, unauthorized modification of the OS image or hardware, operation outside the rated environmental envelope, or physical and electrostatic damage.

• Supplying voltage outside the 9 to 30 V DC input range on the terminal block
• Plugging Ethernet or PoE into the GPIO Add-on port
• Re-flashing the device with a non-Sixfab OS image
• Operating outside the -20 to +60 °C ambient envelope
• Impact damage, liquid ingress, or ESD damage

See Safety & Compliance for the full list.

Do not dispose of the device in unsorted household waste. Use an authorized electronics collection or recycling service and consult Sixfab before returning a unit. Erase sensitive data from the eMMC before disposal. The internal RTC battery must be handled by authorized service.