Quickstart
Bring an ALPON X4 online in 5 steps
Register the device, attach the four antennas, connect power, verify the LEDs, and open a remote terminal from ALPON Cloud. Five steps, one device, no local toolchain. Built on Raspberry Pi.
To set up the ALPON X4, register the device in Sixfab Connect using its QR code or serial number, hand-tighten the four labeled antennas (2× LTE, 1× GNSS, 1× Wi-Fi) onto the rear-panel SMA connectors, connect power via the included 27 W USB-C PD adapter or the 9–30 V DC screw terminal, then watch the front-panel LEDs settle to confirm the device is online. First boot completes in about 60 seconds.
Before you start
Have these on hand before powering on. Everything except a Sixfab Connect account ships in the box.
Set up in five steps
Register the device in Sixfab Connect
Registering links the device's serial number to your account so ALPON Cloud can reach it the moment it comes online. Two paths, same result.
- Find the QR code on the device's bottom label.
- Scan it with your phone camera.
- Sixfab Connect opens; log in.
- The device auto-registers to your account.
- Open Sixfab Connect.
- Go to Assets, click Register Asset.
- Enter the serial number from the bottom label.
- Confirm to register.
Registering before powering on is fine. The device finishes the handshake automatically once it reaches the network.
Attach the antennas
The ALPON X4 ships with four external antennas. Each antenna carries a letter that maps to the matching SMA connector on the rear panel. Hand-tighten only — no tools.
Connecting or disconnecting antennas on a powered LTE radio can damage the cellular module. Power off the device first. For deployments with weak signal, an outdoor IP67 combination antenna is available — see Connectivity & Antenna Specifications.
Connect power
The ALPON X4 accepts three power inputs. The included 27 W USB-C PD adapter is the fastest path for first boot. Slide the correct regional plug head onto the adapter body before use.
USB-C PD
Included 27 W adapter
Screw terminal
9–30 V DC for industrial wiring
PoE+ (variant-dependent)
IEEE 802.3at on 1 Gbps port
- Slide the regional plug head onto the USB-C PD adapter until it clicks.
- Connect the adapter cable to the device's USB-C port.
- Plug the adapter into mains power.
- The Power LED turns white within ~3 seconds.
Non-PD USB-C chargers may not negotiate the required voltage and the device may fail to boot. Use the included 27 W PD adapter, or wire a 9–30 V DC supply to the screw terminal.
Verify the device is online
First boot completes in about 60 seconds. Watch the front-panel LEDs to confirm power, network, and cloud reachability. Full provisioning over LTE can take up to 3 minutes.
The Status LED is solid green and the device shows Online in your Sixfab Connect dashboard.
Connect an Ethernet cable to the 1 Gbps port. The ALPON X4 fails over to any available network path automatically and uses Ethernet as the uplink until cellular returns.
Access the device
Open Sixfab Connect and pick the device from your asset list. From here you can run commands, monitor health, and deploy container workloads.
From the dashboard you can:
- Activate the device with the Active / Inactive toggle in the top right of the asset detail page.
- Open a browser-based remote terminal — no local SSH client needed.
- Monitor device health: CPU, memory, temperature, network, container state.
- Deploy arm64 container workloads from Docker Hub or Sixfab Container Registry.
- Schedule OTA updates for firmware and applications.
- Manage eSIM profiles and configure network failover.
For local SSH or HDMI console access, the default user is alpon with password sixfab. Change it on first login with passwd. See ALPON X4 OS for hardening guidance.
First-boot troubleshooting
Most setup issues resolve in under a minute. Open the question that matches what you see; for anything else, head to the full Troubleshooting guide.
The Power LED does not turn on
Confirm the adapter is the included 27 W USB-C PD unit. Standard USB-C phone chargers may not negotiate the required voltage. As a fallback, wire a 9–30 V DC supply to the screw terminal using the included terminal block.
The Status LED stays red or never turns green
The device cannot reach Sixfab Connect. Verify the LTE antennas are hand-tight, move the device to a location with better cellular reception, or plug an Ethernet cable into the 1 Gbps port. First-time provisioning over LTE can take up to 3 minutes.
The QR code does not scan
Use the Manual registration path in Step 1. Type the serial number from the bottom label into Sixfab Connect Assets → Register Asset.
The device shows Offline in Sixfab Connect after a few minutes
Confirm the Cellular LED is not red. If LTE is weak, plug an Ethernet cable into the 1 Gbps port. The ALPON X4 fails over to any available network path automatically. The device only reports Offline when no network path is available.
Ethernet is plugged in but the device still reports no network
The ALPON X4 has two RJ45 Ethernet ports. Use the 1 Gbps port for WAN uplink, not the 100 Mbps port (intended for downstream LAN devices). Confirm the connector clicks into place. Do not plug Ethernet into the GPIO add-on port: it is an RJ45-shaped connector but carries GPIO signals (I²C, UART, SPI, 5 V, GND), not Ethernet.
I cannot find the activation code or serial number
Both are printed on the bottom label of the device, next to the QR code. If the label is missing or unreadable, contact Sixfab support with your order number.
Updated 12 days ago