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Connect a screen

Get Screenly running on your device, read the code it shows, enter the code in your dashboard, and know what to check if it will not connect.

Connecting a screen is how you tell Screenly that a display is yours. It takes about a minute once the device is running, and it works the same way whatever the hardware is.

How it works

  1. You get Screenly running on the device. This is the only part that depends on what the device is, and the picker below gives you the steps for yours.
  2. The device shows a short code on the display. We call it a pairing code.
  3. You type that code into your dashboard. The display stops showing the code, and the screen appears in your list, ready to be given something to play.

Before you start

Have the device connected to a display and on the network, and have your dashboard open on a computer or phone, because the code shown on the screen has to be typed into the dashboard. If you have no device yet, a second browser tab on this computer is one. If you do not have a workspace yet, sign up first: it takes a minute and the trial needs no card.

Get Screenly running on your device

Pick what the screen runs on, or that you have nothing yet, and you get only the steps for that. Every route ends with a code on the display.

Hint
The display itself, whatever is plugged into it, or nothing yet. Pick what you already have, or what you are about to buy.
Options
  • Desc
    No hardware to point at. A browser tab on this computer becomes a screen.
    Result
    Links
    Note
    Everything you build carries over to real players when they arrive, because it lives in the cloud rather than on the device.
    Route
    Screenly Anywhere
    Steps
    Summary
    A browser tab is a screen. You can do the whole walkthrough without buying anything.
    Time
    About 2 minutes
    Title
    Nothing yet, or just trying it
  • Desc
    Screenly Player, Player Max, or a Sharp display that shipped with Screenly on it.
    Result
    Links
    Route
    ScreenlyOS
    Steps
    • Connect the player to the display over HDMI, and to the network by cable or Wi-Fi. On a Sharp display there is nothing to connect, because the player is inside the panel.
    • Power it on. On Wi-Fi the player asks for the network first, which you can answer with a USB keyboard or with a network.yaml from the Network Config Generator on a USB drive.
    • Wait for the pairing code to appear on the display.
    Summary
    It arrives ready. There is nothing to install and no image to write.
    Time
    About 5 minutes
    Title
    A Screenly player
  • Desc
    A Pi 4 or Pi 5, either one you already have or one bought for this.
    Result
    Links
    Note
    Use a good quality SD card. A partly written or failing card is the most common reason a Pi never starts.
    Route
    ScreenlyOS
    Steps
    • Install Raspberry Pi Imager on your computer and put the Pi's microSD card in a card reader.
    • In Imager, pick your model under Choose Device, then Choose OS > Freemium and Paid-For OS > Digital Signage OS > ScreenlyOS.
    • Write the image, eject the card safely, and put it back in the Pi.
    • Connect the Pi to the display over HDMI, power it on, and give first boot a few minutes.
    Summary
    ScreenlyOS goes on the SD card, and the Pi becomes a player and nothing else.
    Time
    About 20 minutes, most of it writing the card
    Title
    A Raspberry Pi
  • Desc
    An x86 Scala media player you already have mounted.
    Result
    Links
    Note
    Confirm you can rebuild the schedule in Screenly before you begin, because nothing held only on the player survives the install.
    Route
    ScreenlyOS
    Steps
    • Contact support with the models you have. The ScreenlyOS image for Scala players is not a public download; we confirm which models are supported and send you the image and the steps for them.
    • Write the image to the player and boot it. Installing ScreenlyOS replaces what is on the device, including any content stored on it and its Scala configuration.
    • Wait for the pairing code to appear on the display.
    Summary
    ScreenlyOS installs onto Scala players directly, so a fleet that is already mounted keeps its hardware and swaps only the software.
    Time
    Starts with a conversation
    Title
    A Scala player
  • Desc
    A panel with a computer built in, running the content itself with nothing behind it.
    Hint
    Samsung and LG are inverses of each other here, so check which line your model belongs to rather than assuming. Anything else with Android built in takes the Android route.
    Options
    • Desc
      The Smart Signage Platform range, usually written SSSP.
      Result
      Links
      Note
      Consumer Samsung televisions do not allow custom app installation. For those, use a stick or a box over HDMI instead.
      Route
      Screenly Anywhere
      Steps
      • On the display, go to Settings > System > Play Via > Custom App.
      • Go to App Management > Install Custom App, enter https://tizen.srly.io, and press Go.
      • Wait for the pairing code to appear.
      Summary
      Screenly installs onto the panel from its own settings menu, so no player gets mounted behind it.
      Time
      About 10 minutes
      Title
      Samsung commercial display
    • Desc
      A consumer LG set with the Web Browser app.
      Result
      Links
      Note
      LG support covers consumer sets. webOS Signage on LG business displays is not supported yet.
      Route
      Screenly Anywhere
      Steps
      Summary
      The television's own browser runs Screenly, so there is nothing to install.
      Time
      About 5 minutes
      Title
      LG webOS television
    • Desc
      A television or commercial panel running Android or Android TV.
      Result
      Links
      Note
      The app launches itself on boot, but two device settings have to allow it first, and both are off on many devices. The display also runs its own power schedule, independent of Screenly.
      Route
      Screenly Anywhere
      Steps
      • On the display, open the Google Play Store and search for Screenly.
      • Install the app and open it.
      • Wait for the pairing code to appear.
      Summary
      The app comes from the Play Store on the panel itself, so nothing is plugged in behind it.
      Time
      About 10 minutes
      Title
      Android smart TV or Android display
    • Desc
      A panel that cannot install apps of its own.
      Result
      Links
      Route
      Your choice
      Steps
      • For a permanent installation, use a Screenly Player, which runs ScreenlyOS and is the setup we can look after end to end.
      • For hardware you already own, a Fire TV Stick or an Android box runs Screenly Anywhere over HDMI.
      • Either way, the device shows a pairing code once it is running.
      Summary
      Then the panel is only a display, which is the part that lasts, and something else drives it over HDMI.
      Time
      Depends on what you plug in
      Title
      Another panel, or one with only HDMI
    Question
    Which panel is it?
    Title
    A commercial display or smart TV
  • Desc
    A streaming stick or set-top box on the display's HDMI port.
    Options
    • Desc
      A Fire TV Stick or a Fire TV box.
      Result
      Links
      Note
      Fire TV devices sleep by default, and that is the usual reason a Fire TV screen goes dark.
      Route
      Screenly Anywhere
      Steps
      • On the device, open the Amazon Appstore and search for Screenly.
      • Install the app and open it.
      • Wait for the pairing code to appear.
      Summary
      The app comes from the Amazon Appstore on the device itself.
      Time
      About 10 minutes
      Title
      Amazon Fire TV
    • Desc
      An Android box or an Android TV streaming device.
      Result
      Links
      Note
      The app launches itself on boot, but two device settings have to allow it first, and both are off on many devices.
      Route
      Screenly Anywhere
      Steps
      • On the device, open the Google Play Store and search for Screenly.
      • Install the app and open it.
      • Wait for the pairing code to appear.
      Summary
      The app comes from the Play Store, and the device keeps its own system.
      Time
      About 10 minutes
      Title
      Android or Android TV
    Question
    Which kind of device?
    Title
    A Fire TV or Android box
  • Desc
    Amazon's purpose-built signage stick, paired from Amazon's console rather than by installing an app.
    Result
    Links
    Route
    Screenly Anywhere
    Steps
    • Connect the stick to the display over HDMI and power it on.
    • Complete the on-screen setup, choosing language and network.
    • In the Amazon Signage console, add the stick and select Screenly as the CMS provider.
    Summary
    Screenly is selected as the CMS provider in Amazon's console rather than installed by hand.
    Time
    About 10 minutes
    Title
    An Amazon Signage Stick
  • Desc
    A PC, a Mac, a mini-PC behind the display, or a Chromebook.
    Options
    • Desc
      Windows, macOS, Linux, or ChromeOS. Nothing installed.
      Result
      Links
      Note
      A general-purpose computer behaves like one until you tell it not to. It sleeps, it shows a screensaver, and it puts notifications over your content.
      Route
      Screenly Anywhere
      Steps
      • On the device you want to use as a screen, open a browser and go to anywhere.screenlyapp.com.
      • Wait for the pairing code to appear.
      Summary
      This is the Windows route as well. There is no separate Windows app, because Windows uses a browser in kiosk mode.
      Time
      About 2 minutes
      Title
      Open it in a browser
    • Desc
      A fleet of repurposed machines, enrolled through the Google Admin Console.
      Result
      Links
      Route
      Screenly Anywhere
      Steps
      • In the Google Admin Console, go to Devices > Chrome > Apps and Extensions > Kiosks, and add Screenly Anywhere by URL.
      • Set it as the auto-launch kiosk app for that policy.
      • Install ChromeOS Flex on the device, enrolled to the same organizational unit.
      • The device restarts into Screenly Anywhere and shows a pairing code.
      Summary
      Set the policy before enrolling the device, so it restarts straight into Screenly.
      Time
      About 20 minutes for the first device
      Title
      As a managed ChromeOS Flex kiosk
    • Desc
      Turn the machine into a player that does nothing else.
      Result
      Links
      Note
      Installing ScreenlyOS replaces what is on the device. Anything held only on that machine is gone once the install starts.
      Route
      ScreenlyOS
      Steps
      • Contact support and tell us the make and model.
      • We confirm whether that model is supported, and send you the image and the steps for it.
      • Write the image and boot the device, and it shows a pairing code.
      Summary
      ScreenlyOS runs on other amd64 hardware, including signage players you already own, once we have tested the specific model.
      Time
      Starts with a conversation
      Title
      Wipe it and run ScreenlyOS
    Question
    How do you want to run it?
    Title
    A computer I already have
Question
What is going to drive the screen?

Enter the code in your dashboard

This half is the same for every device.

  1. Open Screens.
  2. Click New screen. On an empty Screens page the button is Connect screen, in the middle.
  3. Type the code shown on the display into PIN.
  4. Give the screen a Name you would recognize in a list of hundreds, such as the room or the site, rather than "Screen 1". It can be up to 255 characters. Leave it blank and we name the screen for you.
  5. Click Connect.

The screen appears in your list within a minute or two and the display stops showing the code. It has nothing to play yet, which is expected: content reaches a screen through a playlist, and Set up your first screen takes you through that.

About the code

A code is eight lowercase characters, good for 30 days, and it leaves out the characters people misread across a room. Pairing codes lists them, and every reason the dashboard refuses a code.

If it will not connect

A rejected code has either expired or had a character misread, and rebooting the device shows a current one.

No code on the display means the device is not online, or it has not finished its first round of updates. Give a new device fifteen minutes before deciding something is wrong.

Nothing on the display at all is a display or a cable problem before it is a Screenly problem. Setup issues covers the usual causes, including captive portals and a device clock wrong enough to break the connection.

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Put Screenly on your screens

Book a demo and we will walk you and your IT team through it, or start a free trial on a screen you already have.

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