Verify & Smoke Test
Step 5 of 5 — confirm the door hardware actually works and the device shows up online in the dashboard.
The device is wired, running, updatable, connected to GitHub, and registered with the Cloud Platform. The last step is a physical smoke test: make sure the relay actually clicks the door open and the dashboard sees the device as Online. This is the check a field engineer runs before walking away from an install.
Run the hardware verification script
From the bytegate-edge directory on the Pi:
cd ~/bytegate-edge
source .venv/bin/activate
python scripts/verify_hardware.pyThe script checks the USB relay is detected and permissioned, then — after you confirm at the prompt — fires the relay for one second. You should hear (or see) the door strike click.
Field tip
On some firmware versions, verify_hardware.py may exit with a Python error (a traceback
mentioning check_usbrelay_installed) before the relay test even runs. This is a known
script bug, not a sign that your hardware is broken. If it happens, fall back to two
independent checks instead: (1) the device shows Online in the Cloud Dashboard, and
(2) lsusb | grep 16c0:05df lists the relay. Please also report it so the script can be
fixed.
Confirm the device is Online in the dashboard
Open the Cloud Dashboard and go to Locations → your location → the device entry. Once the service has sent its first heartbeat, the status badge changes to Online. This confirms the device can reach the Cloud API, not just that it's powered on.
Field tip
If it never flips to Online, the most likely cause is unsynced time — the edge software won't even start until NTP sync completes. Run timedatectl status first (look for System clock synchronized: yes); Common Issues has the fix. This is enforced on purpose: an unsynced clock would make every access-log timestamp untrustworthy.
Field tip
If the relay doesn't click when the script fires it, don't re-run the script — re-check the physical USB connection first (reseat the cable, try a different port), then see Common Issues. Running the test again against a disconnected relay just repeats the same failure.
Your device is live
Once the relay clicks and the dashboard shows Online, the install is complete — the device is scanning codes, unlocking the door, and syncing to the cloud on its own. That's the whole install journey done. From here:
- Run it day to day — check status, restart, and read logs: Service & Diagnostics.
- When something looks off — symptom-by-symptom fixes: Common Issues.
- Update it later — push a new version from the dashboard: Update a Device.
- Watch it run — this device's access logs and health live in the dashboard: Locations.
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