--- title: Connecting to a LoRaWAN Gateway description: Learn how to set up your Blues Indoor LoRaWAN Gateway to work with Notecard for LoRa devices and your IoT application. source_url: https://dev.blues.io/lora/connecting-to-a-lorawan-gateway/ canonical_url: https://dev.blues.io/lora/connecting-to-a-lorawan-gateway/ markdown_url: https://dev.blues.io/lora/connecting-to-a-lorawan-gateway.md --- # Connecting to a LoRaWAN Gateway ## Introduction In this guide, we will walk you through setting up your own [Blues Indoor LoRaWAN Gateway](https://shop.blues.com/products/blues-starter-kit-lorawan?utm_source=dev-blues\&utm_medium=web\&utm_campaign=store-link) and provide resources to configure other gateways supported by The Things Stack. Continue reading to learn more about the device-to-cloud data flow with the Notecard LoRa, or skip directly to the setup instructions for your gateway: - [Connect a Blues Gateway to Ethernet](#connect-a-blues-gateway-to-ethernet) - [Connect a Blues Gateway to WiFi](#connect-a-blues-gateway-to-wifi) - [Verify and Manage a Blues Gateway](#verify-and-manage-a-blues-gateway) - [Connect a non-Blues Gateway](#connect-a-non-blues-gateway) ### Data Flow with Notecard LoRa and Notehub The Notecard LoRa was built to operate in a manner similar to the Cellular and WiFi Notecards. Just like a cellular modem requires a cell tower and a WiFi module requires a WiFi access point, the Notecard LoRa requires a LoRaWAN gateway to route data to the internet. For the Notecard LoRa in particular, **only LoRaWAN gateways provisioned on The Things Stack are supported**. The Blues Indoor LoRaWAN Gateway ships pre-provisioned in the Blues Things Stack tenant and offers turnkey deployment options. Whether using a Blues gateway or your own gateway, Blues helps to reduce the complexity of data flow from your Notecard LoRa device to the cloud. ### Flow of Notecard Data using a Blues-Managed Gateway Blues manages every part of the cloud-based data flow, from network server, to application server, to Notehub, and on to your cloud service. ![blues lorawan data flow](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/blues-lora-data-flow.png?v=8ad3e9a2) ### Flow of Notecard Data using a Public or User-Managed Gateway Using a non-Blues gateway provisioned on The Things Stack requires user management of the network server and enabling of Packet Broker. ![non-blues lorawan data flow](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/non-blues-lora-data-flow.png?v=901348e6) ## Connect a Blues Gateway to Ethernet You can choose to connect your Blues Indoor LoRaWAN Gateway via Ethernet or WiFi (or both). Follow these instructions to connect your gateway via wired Ethernet. 1. Locate the Ethernet port on the back of your Blues gateway. ![blues gateway ethernet port](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/gateway-ethernet-port.jpg?v=78743efe) 2. Plug an active Ethernet cable into the port and wait for the light on top of the Blues gateway to start pulsing blue. ![blues gateway blue pulse](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/gateway-blue-pulse.jpg?v=629e4e0c) 3. **That's it!** Since your Blues gateway is pre-provisioned in the Blues Things Stack tenant, it's ready to relay data from your Notecard LoRa devices. [Follow the instructions below](#verify-and-manage-a-blues-gateway) to verify connectivity, change the default gateway password, and manage your Blues gateway. ## Connect a Blues Gateway to WiFi You can choose to connect your Blues Indoor LoRaWAN Gateway via Ethernet or WiFi (or both). Follow these instructions to connect your gateway via WiFi. > **Note:** > > The Blues Indoor LoRaWAN Gateway requires access to a 2.4 GHz WiFi network, and does not operate on captive portals. 1. With your Blues gateway powered on and within WiFi range of your computer, connect your computer to the gateway's WiFi access point. The SSID of your gateway is named `RAK7268V2_XXXX`, where the last segment is the last two bytes of your Gateway EUI or `GWEUI`. In the following example, the SSID of the gateway will be `RAK7268V2_A6BF`. ![blues gateway ssid](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/gateway-gweui-highlight.jpg?v=73e4860e) 2. Using your browser, navigate to `192.168.230.1` and log in with the username `root` and password `Bu1ldW1thBlues!`. ![blues gateway login](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/gateway-login.png?v=c1be091c) 3. Once you have logged into your gateway, navigate to the **Network** tab, expand the **WiFi** pane, and click on **Settings**. ![blues gateway interfaces](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/gateway-interfaces.png?v=56ee893c) 4. Toggle the switch to **Enable** the WiFi interface. **Scan** for available SSIDs, pick an SSID, enter your SSID's password, and click **Save**. ![blues gateway WiFi setup](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/gateway-wifi.png?v=5f19ec6a) 5. When configured correctly, the light on top of the Blues gateway should start pulsing blue. ![blues gateway blue pulse](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/gateway-blue-pulse.jpg?v=629e4e0c) 6. **That's it!** Since your Blues gateway is pre-provisioned in the Blues Things Stack tenant, it's ready to relay data from your Notecard LoRa devices. [Follow the instructions below](#verify-and-manage-a-blues-gateway) to verify connectivity, change the default gateway password, and manage your Blues gateway. ## Verify and Manage a Blues Gateway 1. Open a browser and navigate to the default IP address of your Blues gateway, which will be `169.254.X.X`. The last two address segments are the last two bytes of the gateway MAC (which is also the Gateway EUI or `GWEUI`). You'll need to use a [hexadecimal to decimal converter](https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/number/hex-to-decimal.html) to convert each two-character hex pair to decimal. *Please note this is a different IP address than what you may have used if you connected to the gateway's SSID during the WiFi configuration steps above.* For example, if your Gateway EUI is `ac1f09fffe10a6bf`, the last two bytes are `a6` and `bf`. Using the hexadecimal to decimal converter, `a6` becomes `166` and `bf` becomes `191`. Therefore, your Gateway IP address is `169.254.166.191`. ![blues gateway ssid](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/gateway-gweui.jpg?v=4475e7ca) 2. Log in to your gateway with the username `root` and password `Bu1ldW1thBlues!`. 3. After logging into your gateway, you'll be presented with a **Dashboard** of your gateway activity. Once you complete the rest of the LoRaWAN Quickstart, you will see the relevant values update under the **LoRa Statistics** tab. ![blues gateway lora statistics](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/gateway-dashboard.png?v=957a1832) 4. Now is a great time to update the default gateway password. Navigate to the **User settings** menu to update your password. ![blues gateway user settings](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/gateway-user-settings.png?v=1e0ddeac) 5. You may wish to bookmark your gateway dashboard for future reference. And now that your gateway is connected and ready to go, you're ready for the [next steps](#next-steps). > **Warning:** > > If you ever need to perform a full factory reset on your Blues gateway, please reach out on the [Blues Community Forum](https://discuss.blues.com/) to notify a Blues staff member. There are additional reset procedures that Blues staff must perform to get your gateway back online. ## Connect a non-Blues Gateway The Notecard LoRa works with any LoRaWAN gateway on The Things Stack (including [public LoRaWAN gateways](https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/map)). If providing your own LoRaWAN gateway, follow the steps below to configure it on The Things Stack. 1. Each LoRaWAN gateway is configured differently. Start with [The Things Stack documentation](https://www.thethingsindustries.com/docs/gateways/) to find your specific gateway and follow the instructions provided to configure it. Specifically make sure the **correct frequency plan** is set for your region: ![set frequency plan in things stack tenant](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/tts-frequency-plan.png?v=1331cc5f) 2. Once you are done with the initial gateway configuration, you must [configure Packet Broker](https://www.thethingsindustries.com/docs/the-things-stack/packet-broker/configure/) in your The Things Stack tenant to automatically transfer Notecard LoRa traffic to the Application Server that Blues manages to relay data to Notehub. Also, be sure "List my network in Packet Broker publicly" is enabled in the Packet Broker settings. ![update packet broker settings in things stack tenant](https://dev.blues.io/images/guides/lora/gateway/tts-packet-broker.png?v=5baa962a) ## Next Steps If you're following the Blues Quickstart, next we recommend setting up your Notecard LoRa for sending data. 1. ~~Set Up Your Gateway~~ 2. [Use the Notecard to Send Data](https://dev.blues.io/quickstart/notecard-for-lora-quickstart.md) 3. [Build Your First LoRa App](https://dev.blues.io/lora/building-your-first-lora-app.md) At any time, if you find yourself stuck, please reach out on the [community forum](https://discuss.blues.com/).