Prepare Your imp006 Breakout Board

1. Create an Electric Imp Developer Account

If you already have an Electric Imp account, skip to the next stage.

1. In your web browser, visit impCentral™.
2. Enter your email address in the Sign Up section and then click the Sign Up button:
   
3. You will shortly receive an email message which asks you to verify your email address:
   
4. Click Complete Signup in the email. You’ll be taken back to impCentral to choose an account username and password, and to enter some basic information about yourself:
   
5. Enter your chosen username and password. Your password must contain between eight and 20 characters. Your username must also contain 8-20 characters, and must not be your email address.
6. Review the Electric Imp terms of service and privacy policy then check the By creating this account... box.
7. Click Set to apply your choices.
8. Your imp006 Breakout Board comes with a Twilio Super SIM ready for use.
9. Leave impCentral open in your browser — you’ll be returning later to program your Breakout Board.

2. Activate Your Breakout Board

In this part of the guide, we’ll get your imp006 Breakout Board connected to the Cloud.

1. Connect up the imp006 Breakout Board

Note You only need to perform the following steps if you’re going to use the board’s cellular connectivity. Only using WiFi? Then jump to the next section.

Your imp006 Breakout Board should be ready to use, but you should check that the cellular antenna has not detached in transit. Make sure it is tightly fitted to the connector marked CELL:

If your board features a switch marked Onboard MFF2 SIM, as shown above, make sure the switch is set to its right-most position. If your board lacks this component, you will need to insert the Twilio Super SIM included with your board. Carefully press out the smallest SIM size from the Super SIM card and slip it into the Nano SIM slot, matching the orientation shown on your board:

To use the bundled Super SIM, you will need a Twilio Account. Please sign up for a free trial account now if you don’t have one. You will then need to register the SIM with your account. To do so, visit the SIM registration page in the Twilio Console and enter the registration code shown on the Super SIM card:

Note Make sure you enter the number on the SIM card carefully. If you make a mistake, you will be told the code is invalid.

Lastly, you need to set up your SIM: specify the networks it can access, set its data limits, and activate it for use. Please see the Twilio Super SIM setup guide for the details you need to complete this step.

That’s it for set up. Your imp006 Breakout Board also comes with a USB cable for power, but don’t connect it to the Board just yet. You should connect the other end to a USB port on your computer or a spare AC adapter so that it’ll be ready when needed.

Note If you’re curious, the other antenna connector, marked GNSS, takes the large square antenna included with the KIt. This antenna is used for getting a GPS fix with Global Navigation Satellite Systems. It’s not required for this guide.

2. Get the Electric Imp app

You activate your imp006 Breakout Board using the free Electric Imp mobile app. Download it to your phone now from the iTunes App Store or from Google Play. When the app is installed, launch it and sign in using your account details:

3. Ready your Breakout Board

Tap CONFIGURE A DEVICE and then select your connection type according to your use-case:

• If you are using cellular and WiFi, or WiFi only:
  • Tap WiFi on the SETUP page. The app will walk you through the process: tap NEXT to move to from one step to the next. You will enter your local network’s WiFi credentials then power up your imp006 Breakout Board. Stop when you reach the BLINKUP screen.
• If you are using cellular only:
  • Tap Cellular on the SETUP page. The app will walk you through the process: tap NEXT to move to from one step to the next. You will power up your imp006 Breakout Board. Stop when you reach the BLINKUP screen.

4. Perform BlinkUp

WARNING Always run BlinkUp with the screen facing away from you and towards the device being configured, especially if you suffer from a medical condition that makes you susceptible to strobing light. The app has a three-second countdown before BlinkUp starts, so you have time to place the phone and look away or close your eyes. The handset will vibrate when BlinkUp is done

At this point, the imp006 Breakout Board should be blinking orange:

If your board isn’t blinking orange — you might see red or green too — then it has been configured already, perhaps for a colleague’s account. Just continue anyway to move the device to your account.

In the app, tap START BLINKUP and then quickly but carefully hold your phone face down just above the Breakout Board’s BlinkUp sensor in the bottom right corner just under the USB connector. It’s marked below:

The app has a three-second countdown before BlinkUp starts, so you have time to place the phone. Please look away or close your eyes during BlinkUp. The handset will vibrate when BlinkUp is done. You can now remove your phone and put it to one side.

5. Watch your Breakout Board connect

The imp006 Breakout Board’s LED will immediately go solid green for three seconds to show you that BlinkUp was successful. Next you’ll see the LED blink a mixture of red and orange as it attempts to connect to the Internet, then to the Electric Imp impCloud™, which will then activate the device.

If you are connecting by cellular, this can take a couple of minutes when you first connect. You will see the board’s blue LED flash to indicate cellular activity. The mobile app will tell you when the board is ready to use, and the Board’s BlinkUp LED will blink green:

If this is the case, you’re ready for the next step, programming your imp006 Breakout Board. If not, please read on and we’ll help you get connected.

Connected or not, after a short time the imp006 Breakout Board’s LED will turn off to save power. This is normal. BlinkUp is disabled at this point; if you still need to activate your board again, just press the Reset button on the board. A flashing LED tells you that your Breakout Board is ready for BlinkUp.

Troubleshooting

If the status LED doesn’t blink green, the imp006 Breakout Board has not been activated. Make a note of the LED color and pattern it is showing. For example, if the board is still blinking orange, it could not read the BlinkUp signal: perhaps you held your phone too far away or didn’t place the screen over the sensor quickly enough. Strong or flashing ambient light can be an issue: avoid direct sunlight and blinking fluorescent tubes. All the possible patterns are listed here.

The imp006 will go through many connection phases quickly, so you won’t see all of them signalled on the LED. When you can clearly see a pattern, it indicates the stage reached by the imp006 from which it can go no further. The ultimate stage is a successful activation: a slow, even green blink.

If you are having issues connecting to cellular, you might prefer to connect your Kit to a local WiFi network instead. This will get your Board added to your account quickly, and you can always connect by cellular later. By default, the Board will always connect to WiFi if it can, so if you do wish to use cellular in future, either turn off the configured WiFi network or reconfigure the Board for cellular only: use the app’s CLEAR A DEVICE’S SETTINGS option to erase the stored WiFi credentials and then perform a cellular BlinkUp as per Step 3, above.

impOS Updates

If the LED blinks green briefly and then goes solid green, it means that it’s downloading a new version of impOS™, the imp006’s on-board operating system. When the update has been installed, the imp006 will reconnect and you should shortly see the slow green blink again. The duration of the update process will depend on your cellular connection, but should only take a few seconds.

Has your imp006 Breakout Board connected? If it has, you can move on to the next step. If you’re not sure, check that it is blinking green, the signal for a successful connection. If that’s not the pattern on the LED, you need to troubleshoot.