TRMNL devices can remember multiple WiFi access points, making it easy to setup at home and then bring to the office; just add the new network and you're ready to go!
This makes it easy to provision multiple devices under a single account and then distribute those devices to other individuals, like employees or customers. Additionally, with the help of our mirroring feature, you can make a playlist of plugins on a single parent device and quickly replicate it on any number of child devices. Let's get started.
Connect Your Parent Device to Your Account
Using out setup guide, get your Parent device connected. For simplicity, you should rename the device in device settings to Parent. Since you're there, this is also a good time to make the Parent device sharable in the device settings as well:
Make note of the Parent's Friendly ID, seen at the top of device settings. You will need to enter this value later in each child device.
Create Your Playlist
Get the device ready for others! Add any plugins you need; don't worry, if you need to login to a 3rd party via the plugin, the data will flow freely to your child device without having to log in again.
It's also important to be specific when setting the schedule for the plugins in the playlist, including days/times and the refresh interval. This is because any refresh rate not set in a plugin's schedule on your playlist will use the device's default rate, and that's just one more thing you'd need to check when setting up the child devices later; let's not make this harder on you!
Add Your First Child Device
Go through the normal setup procedure, using the "Add new Device" option in the top-right to add the child device to your account via its Friendly ID.
Once added, head into device settings (gear icon next to the device in the top-right). You can name the device Child # for simplicity, but we would recommend you include the name of the individual who will receive that device, such as Child Johnson. Using a label maker to mark the back of the unit with this name will also save you extra steps in the future if it ever needs to be reallocated.
Depending on your use case, you may want to make adjustments to the Low Battery Notification, Sleep Mode, and Sleep Screen. Note that the low battery notifications will be delivered to you, so even if the need to recharge the device is infrequent, it will eventually be needed, and thanks to your device naming previously, you know who to forward the message to!
Finally, near the bottom of the device settings, you want to enter the Friendly ID of the Parent device in the Mirror another Device section and click Mirror.
Verify Your Playlist
You can now go to playlists, select the child device in the top-right, and you should see a perfect mirror of the playlist from the parent! If everything looks good, there is one final step for any child device before its ready to pass along.
If you wish to remove some items from the playlist for this particular child device, you can do so now. For instance, if your Parent playlist contains plugins that benefit multiple roles, you can remove the playlist items that do not match (e.g., developer vs sales associate).
Reset WiFi (Reactivate Captive Portal) on Child Device
On the child device, hold the button on the back of the device for 6-9 seconds. When released, the device will flash a bit as it switches back into captive portal mode, displaying the message you first saw during setup.
Once that screen is visible, turn the device OFF using the power switch on the back. It is now ready to go to its new user!
Because the last image on the screen will persist, its important to tell the recipient to turn the device ON using the slider on the back before following the instructions, otherwise they may get frustrated because the TRMNL network isn't broadcasting when the device is off, even if the screen looks exactly the same!
Rinse and Repeat
You can now repeat the process for all additional child devices.
Updating the Parent and Child Device Playlists
In the future, if you make changes to the playlist of the Parent device, you can re-sync each child device so it has the new playlist! To do so, use the device settings of each child device and the Sync Screens button.
Yes, it would be easier if you could push the sync from the Parent device once, but since devices that are mirroring another device can have their playlist altered, as mentioned previously, we designed it as a pull system. Note that you will need to re-edit the playlist after sync if you did so previously.