Metroboard Support
Download
Need more help?
Ensure the power switch is in the 'on' position - switched right if looking at the front of the board.
Sometimes, it can help to turn Metroboard on, off, and on again, waiting a few seconds in-between (e.g., power cycle it once).
Additionally, try using a different USB-C cable and power source to isolate potential issues with the provided cable and brick.
If you still can't get Metroboard to turn on, please contact us.
If your Metroboard is lit fully blue, this indicates that it's in setup mode.
Setup mode will activate if Metroboard has never been setup, has been recently reset, or if it cannot connect to the saved WiFi network during startup. During setup mode, Metroboard will emit a WiFi network named "Metroboard_ABC123" where "ABC123" will vary and be unique to each Metroboard.
During setup mode, the rear buttons are not active.
If your Metroboard is in setup mode (display all blue), it will emit a WiFI network of the form Metroboard_ABC123 (The ABC123 portion varies and is unique to each Metroboard).
If you do not see this WiFi in the list of networks on your phone or laptop, try refreshing the list, disabling/re-enabling WiFi on the device, and restarting Metroboard. If the network still does not appear, try another device.
If you have connected to Metroboard's WiFi in the past on the device, sometimes the device may hide the network in the future.
If none of these solutions help, please contact us.
Metroboard only supports 2.4GHz networks. If your WiFi is configured for 5GHz-only operation, it will not appear.
You must either enable multi-band support (2.4GHz + 5GHz), or enable a dedicated 2.4GHz network for Metroboard.
First, ensure that you have entered the correct password for your WiFi network during setup. If necessary, click the "eyeball" button next to the password field to make the entered password visible for easier review.
If your password is correct and Metroboard still can't connect, the most likely issue is usually WiFi settings on your network. Metroboard only supports 2.4GHz networks. If your WiFi is 5GHz only or multi-band, you may need to adjust settings on your router or create a dedicated 2.4GHz network.
Additionally, Metroboard may have issues connecting to networks with WPA3-SAE security.
This is expected and normal. Metroboard's WiFi is a "fake WiFi" network similar to those used to connect to airplane or hotel WiFi. Your phone is trying to reach the internet through Metroboard's WiFi, but it can't.
Metroboard's setup page will automatically load on most devices after connecting to Metroboard's WiFi. If it doesn't, you may need to manually navigate to it.
To do so, open a browser on the connected device and navigate to http://setup.designrules.co. If that doesn't work, you can also navigate to 10.0.0.1.
If you are using a phone, you may need to disable data or enter airplane mode, as your phone may bypass Metroboard's WiFi and access the internet instead of bringing up the setup page. If you have a VPN active, you must disable it.
You can reset Metroboard by holding the reset (bottom-most, red) button on the back while turning on the board. Hold the button for three seconds until all lights flash red.
If your board is in a constant loop of the startup animation, it may have a firmware issue and require manual flashing.
If so, please contact us.
During startup, all Metroboard lights will be lit. If a large portion of them stay off, your Metroboard may require repair.
If so, please contact us.
If the lights on your board occasionally flash random colors across the map, one of the LED's may be defective.
If so, please contact us.
We are currently investigating an issue where boards freeze and stop updating. This is most common on Ubiquiti networks, mesh networks, and other prosumer and custom WiFi networks.
We have released a firmware update in the meantime that will automatically restart your board if it freezes. This does not fully solve the problem, but will at least prevent your board from staying frozen in the meantime.
Force an OTA update to download the latest firmware to ensure you have this fix installed:
- Turn off Metroboard
- While turning on Metroboard, hold the top-most (red) button
- Keep holding the button until the startup animation starts, then release
- Wait until the entire display turns blue (this means the update is in progress)
- If the update completes successfully, the display will turn green - you're done!
- If the update fails, the display will turn red. Repeat steps 1-5.
If your board turns on normally, but then goes dark after the startup animation, it's likely that realtime data by the transit agency is currently down.
If a transit agency disables realtime data for maintenance or if there is a data outtage, Metroboard's display will be dark, since we do not have realtime data to show.
As soon as the agency data has recovered, your Metroboard will light up again.
Most likely this refers to the JMZ line on the New York Metroboard, or the Brown line on the Chicago Metroboard.
Brown is impossible to reproduce with light (LEDs) - the closest we can get to brown is to use a dim yellow/orange color, which looks brown-ish. Unfortunately, this requires these lines, which use the brown color, to be dimmer than other colors at the same setting.
If you hear a loose or rattling component inside of your Metroboard, please contact us.
We're so sorry about this! Due to a production mishap, all LA Metroboards from Batch 1 had Memorial Park omitted.
We have sent a pack of vinyl transfer stickers to the shipping address of all backers from Batch 1 in the mail. You can apply this sticker to your board, which is nearly indiscernible from the original printed text.
If you never received the transfer stickers in the mail please contact us.
We do not have a precise estimate of the lifespan of the LEDs on Metroboard. Manufacturers only test for a couple hundred hours, but LEDs last much longer.
Having Metroboard powered off or turning the display off when you're not around can help extend the lifespan of the LEDs.
We offer in-warranty replacement if at least three (3) LEDs have failed and you are within your warranty period (1 year from first activation). If you are outside of your warranty or have less than three defective LEDs, we still offer LED replacements at-cost (no profit to us) at any time.
