Victron Cerbo-GX: How to Control Without A Screen

[@CanadasOceanPlayground]

Although you did this 2 years ago , it is still relevant for new GX owners, just wanted to say thanks for this as I’m now able to remotely monitor my RV batteries that was factory equipped with the Cerbo GX , your explanation was easy to follow and that I’m sure would have been difficult using the manual ! New sub here.

[@Fester_]

My mum & dad were both born in 1934. They are just laughing and looking at me in confusion at why I would, "...waste my time with this stuff ?". They kind of make a fair point. Thanks for the explanation.

[@69tvbc15]

Heaven has waited for them past 20 years what are they still doing

[@Noah-qt3rq]

I really like my Multiplus 2 and just bought a Cerbo, but don't want to buy the screen. This really helped me out, thank you

[@samboth9578]

Awesome, thanks for the clear concise instructions.

[@kmilhrdt]

This actually helped a lot. Thank you so much. Greetings from Germany 🙌🏻

[@martinmuster4291]

Hi, hast du es genauso wie im betreffenden Video gemacht? Ich bekomme es leider nicht hin. Grüße MM

[@kmilhrdt]

@@martinmuster4291 hi, ja genau wie im Video. Hab auch noch einen zweiten im Betrieb, ging auch problemlos.

[@benniedoughty128]

I finally got everything setup, but when I hooked up to shre power it showed unknown source with no readings, so after about 15 minutes of going through settings I found what I was looking for; Victron inverter, settings,unknown to shore. The light bulb came on, checked my display and there it was Shore power with my A/c volts -ad duh, I felt so stupid. Bottom line it works great with my Victron multi plus II inverter,three battle born batteries, Victron solar 100/30, smartshunt, renogy 400 watts solar panels, victron cerbo gx. Thanks for your video it helped.

[@topsecret8612]

perfect, answered all my questions with clear statements

[@NoahfromEarth]

If i understood correctly. you can't view any of the information on your phone if the cerbo is not connected to Wifi? like if i want to be off grid in my campervan i can't connect to it through bluetooth and see from my phone?

[@-PORK-CHOP-]

Great video, can you use the new dark theme with this interface ?, It looks like the options are missing under display that might only be available when a physical screen is connected via HDMI ?

[@chunkerbranigen5825]

Didn’t even talk about bluetooth connection!! I can’t get this far!! Always spins at 80% then times out. even after putting in the correct Bluetooth PIN tried keying in 000000. Still no connection. Went through all the suggestions and trouble shooting but to no avail. Reloaded the app, rebooted Cerbo, restarted phone. Still will not connect to BT. 😢. Maybe I need a new Cerbo ? Any suggestions out there????

[@CurrentConnected]

The pin is 000000 (six zeros, not seven). Technically you don't even need bluetooth though, the WiFi is the primary method of connection here.

[@MarcusPParso]

So with the newer versions of the GX you might need to use the Bluetooth PIN instead of the 000000 . The PIN is on that white sticker I had to do this on mine

[@ericf3428]

I have done everything you said to do. The problem I'm having is the screen is asking for a product password. I have tried every code on that sticker and I can't get passed that screen. I have reset my GX network and that didn't work. I have checked for an update and there is no new update. I don't know what my next step would be. Can someone point me in the direction please.

[@johnguilbert1349]

I bought a cheap android tablet for under 100$ and connect via IP works great!

[@hatenlebron]

Great stuff Nate. Any ideas on bets way to measure and record incoming AC shore power? I’d like to be able to data log the AC input so I could go back and get concrete info on any issues. Thx

[@gavinfisher8049]

G'day .. is it possible to repair/rewire the touch 70 HDMI/USB cable. I totally damaged the cable end now need to rewire it .

[@anthonyg9787]

@3:35 did not work for me on my tablet .. and it has wifi built in ...

[@Mr.J345]

Any chance you could do a video hooking up with LTE dongle ?

[@CurrentConnected]

We will soon. The difficult part of the LTE dongle is the SIM card.

[@olafartjom8654]

@@CurrentConnected soon is how many month?😅

[@davidpatrick1813]

I purchased an android tablet to use with the cerbo GX and have it handy by the power wall. When I connect remote the control comes up but it's size is not full screen or so. It only fills a portion of the page. Is there a way to enlarge it etc. to fill the tab or screen?

[@WhiteH2O]

same problem on my S24 Samsung.. less than full view. pretty dysfunctional.

[@hatenlebron]

Can I just use my iPad the same way? Great stuff thanks

[@davidpatrick1813]

Can I connect the Cerbo GX to a tablet via a cable and program the multipluss II and be able to monitor it as well. I can connect my PC via CATV and program and can use iphone to have the victron monitor etc. but wondering if I got a tablet and left it by the inverter on a wall that I can monitor, turn on and off etc. AND program the inverter too?

[@WilliamvanNunen]

And with a network cable to my router…..in my camper, will i have the same screen?

[@aroundtheshop]

Connecting to "my" wifi, is it safe to assume it will have the same effect if I just plug in the Ethernet adapter? (provided they are on the same network / Vlan)?

[@Smogporter]

Thanks for the short introduction

[@chrisboer7698]

I have tried it both on my Iphone and Android but both with no luck I get the message rotate your screen but then the message I need to enable Remote Lan Access, and also this site is not protected in a notification on the top.

[@CurrentConnected]

It requires restarting the Cerbo after turning on remote console access.

[@AseanNomad]

Nice video. Thanks for sharing. Do you know how to get the Cerbo GX to recognise Renogy Smart Batteries?

[@CurrentConnected]

I'm not familiar with the batteries, would it be anything more than a SmartShunt?

[@AseanNomad]

@@CurrentConnected My shunt hasn't arrived yet, but I reckon it will

[@ytJnC]

Is there a way to connect via Bluetooth instead of WiFi for the control screen? If I’m in a vehicle with Wireless CarPlay/Android, it’s a pain to break from something being served to the vehicle by the phone’s WiFi, to change to another WiFi connection.

[@CurrentConnected]

No, it supports WiFi only. Bluetooth is only for device discovery and bluetooth protocol does not support a high enough data rate for this application.

[@gavinfisher8049]

​@@CurrentConnected, your video helped me not from smashing my Victron gear to pieces in frustration. Do victron make the Bluetooth function purposely rubbish on the Cerbo gx so you have to buy their touch screens?😅. Had the same issues , tried your way and works sometimes but sometimes it doesn't and have to disconnect all my connections from the cerbo gx, reboots countless times for the venus connection to work . If you don't have wifi when your camping in remote areas your still need to view your system. Pretty poor from so called high end expensive product I recon.

[@WhiteH2O]

@@gavinfisher8049 I was told by an installer of Cerbo's that they had never connected a Cerbo unit without using the screen. so yes.. they are not straightforward in their advertising of the system.. and why is the IP-22 shore power charger not made to connect to their monitoring remote devices??? At times i feel i have bought into an IcKtron system.

[@HobbyFinn2]

Really helped me too. I am an IT pro but I was thinking if I still need the screen. I obviously don’t. 👍

[@PossumsTophat]

I'm still wildly confused. If I need to be connected to the internet at all time then the cerbo GX is completely useless for any mobile setup. I'm not a fart smelling yuppie that only goes to 5 star RV parks with great internet. I rough it in the northwoods and would still like to monitor my system. I'm really starting to become unamused with Victron's products.

[@UKsystems]

Actually it will operate without the Internet but it won’t log the data as much. I’m not sure how long the unit will store internally but the display if you did purchase the screen that part still works it knows how many watts in the state of charge you just don’t get the nice graphs on the Internet or history. It may save it for a short period of time and upload it but I would highly recommend using a raspberry pie program with the software because in this case you can put a large SD card that could even store years worth of data and upload it to the Internet when you connect, just so you can monitor for overtime because it can be worth it especially to work out if your batteries need replacement

[@chunkerbranigen5825]

The Cerbo has its own WiFi (Venus…...) Once you log on to that you can use the remote provided Cerbo is connected to Bluetooth. My prob is once I updated to IOS18 I can no longer can connect to Bluetooth. As a result can no longer use the remote on my phone.

[@UKsystems]

@@chunkerbranigen5825 however it has none of the VRM features unless you are the SD card to store the data and periodically connected to Internet or manually upload the data

[@philsilk1666]

I believe you can monitor your Victron set up from half way round the world on your phone using the Cerbo GX. But if your Cerbo GX has no local WiFi Connection how does that work?

[@WhiteH2O]

it doesn't..

[@tucoremirez4859]

It really surprises me that such a large and well-reputed company like Victron does not have a better language translation of their software Victronconnect. I do not know who or what translated the language in their software, but it is certainly NOT a person with technical insight. I am referring to Victron's Danish translation. Are there others, with other language translations, who have made the same observation?

[@Kpangolo]

Confusing indeed. Why can't it just be like every other Wi-Fi or Bluetooth device?

[@gavinfisher8049]

I totally agree. To use your phone without a touch screen and in remote areas without wifi you still need to see what's happening with your system but the blue tooth in the Cerbo is very poor. Picks up victron mppts, multiplus, XS50 DCDC. THE CERBO GX really needs an stronger blue tooth option.

[@UKsystems]

@@gavinfisher8049 you should always hardwire things. It’s a fixed system that is very expensive spending a couple of hundred on wires is probably within budget.

[@UKsystems]

It’s a lot better to plug it into the network that’s how it’s designed to ideally operate

[@FutureSystem738]

Thanks, great help, clear and concise! Of course it’s dead easy when you know how 😅, and NOW after watching this, I do.

[@wjhann4836]

One trouble I had: Since my "local WiFi" temporarily had no internet access the cerbo did not connect to it.

[@airgun1974]

how do you add shortcuts for inputs 30amp 50amp ect

[@9111logic]

Thank you so much, everything is now very clear 🙏

[@CurrentConnected]

Glad it helped!

[@lindaferguson593]

We have a 2bdr home using 800-1000kwh monthly. What panels, inverters, batteries, etc., would we need in a good setup? Thanks!

[@Noah-qt3rq]

Hello Linda, just wondering how you could be using that much power? Your best option is to get a grid tied system to offset some of that.

[@UKsystems]

@@Noah-qt3rq not necessarily in many places the grid high limit is there and you have to pay a minimum monthly fee if you start exporting

[@mattnewman8103]

Thank you!

[@UKsystems]

If you want to use it without the screen using a raspberry pie with the operating system on that from energy create may be worth it

[@dangoras9152]

How good are victron inverters... It looks like the touch screen would be better..

[@CurrentConnected]

Victron inverters are awesome. The touch screen is far better, but some customers opt out of the ~$200 expense because they already have a smartphone. Additionally if you already have the screen but aren't in the same location as the screen but within range (somewhere in the same LAN), you can use your phone in addition to the screen.

[@samboth9578]

You can connect a slightly cheaper aftermarket screen as long as it has touch input and an HDMI input to plug into from the Cerbo GX. There are a number of different ones available, there's a bit of info on doing this on the Victron community forums.

[@UKsystems]

@@samboth9578 it’s not great with the warranty though simply because some cheaply may displays actually end up sailing in a way that destroys the device they are plugged into

[@UKsystems]

Fair versus are great the touch we may or may not be worth it. I definitely see if installed in a plant room or somewhere you not really having a lot of access to it or one thing to go into a hot room that is noisy.

[@tomrut3653]

Confusing as hell

[@CurrentConnected]

That's why we made this video as a service to our customers!

[@mikefranks4528]

@@CurrentConnected And we thank you, sir! Most appreciated! Can't wait to set mine up.

[@UKsystems]

Not really, it follows the standard setup procedure

[@johnplyler7054]

I wish this worked!

[@CurrentConnected]

What problem do you seem to be having with it? Maybe we can help?

[@Bonaventure2AK]

What mess. I thought I knew networking but this is beyond complicated. Had to watch and replay the video several times and restart the phone and Cerbo. Will have to write down the specific instructions to duplicate this procedure. Must be a way for Victron to clean this up.

[@CurrentConnected]

Just use a screen, that's the easiest way.

[@UKsystems]

It’s very easy if you know what you’re doing technically speaking to install Victor energy gear they want you to be a satisfied installer. This process is free and involves actually training. This would teach you how to do it but the process of this is the same as setting up any other device.

[@WhiteH2O]

@@CurrentConnected in other words.. you're saying, just double your cost.. 270 here, 270 there.. then maybe it will work.. doubling down on cost and hopefulness is always my strategy. This system should not have been released without a better functioning connection set up, IMHO. I'm not trying to troll, just relating my own experience with this system.

[@L-udo]

How does someone find it hard? You dont even need to do anything other than opening the victron connect app??

[@deningman]

What a mind Fxxx! but thanks.

[@HowellsChanning-y2v]

Moshe Isle

[@cbdane]

Thank you!