Generally, Happy Boards is as simple as plugging in a power and HDMI cord and typing in your WiFi password, but in some special cases, a little more work is required. Here are two tips to help you get your Happy Boards’ device up and running on your network.

1.) How to Configure Your Happy Boards’ Device to Use a Dedicated IP Address

When you first start up your Happy Boards’ device, you will be presented with a pink screen that says “Welcome to Happy Boards!”

This screen essentially means that the device currently does not have access to the internet. These steps are slightly different depending on if you are planning on connecting to the internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, so I will go through them both. Note that you can either use the remote that’s provided with your Happy Boards’ device or you can plug in a mouse and/or keyboard via USB to the device.

Wi-Fi

Press the “Let’s set up the Wi-Fi!” button. You will be presented with the wireless networks that are available. Select the one you wish to connect to. You will then be presented with a dialog prompting you for your network’s Wi-Fi password. Enter the password and then select the “Advanced options” checkbox. Under “IP settings” select “Static” and fill out the fields that appear underneath with your network’s information.

Ethernet

Click anywhere on the screen four times rapidly, and you should be presented with a Settings screen. Select the gear in the upper right-hand corner and you’ll get another Settings screen.

Select “Ethernet” and go down to “Ethernet IP Mode.” Select “Static” and a dialog will show up allowing you to enter your network’s information.

2.) How to Make Your Happy Board’s Ethernet MAC Address Stick

Normally MAC addresses are hard-coded to the device, and with Happy Boards’ wireless adapter that is true; however, the Ethernet adapter is another story. The Ethernet adapter’s MAC address on Happy Boards’ devices is set via software and is changed when the device is booted.

Generally this isn’t an issue, but with some networks, a static MAC address is required.

To make the MAC address stick, click anywhere on the screen four times rapidly using either the remote provided with the device or a USB mouse. You should be presented with a Settings screen.

Select “Kiosk URL” and enter “%LOCALCONTENT%/debug.html.” After you have done that, click “OK” and press the back button. You should now see a screen that says, “Happy Boards Hardware Debug Tool.”

Under “Installed Applications,” select “net.xnano.android.changemymac.” You will then see a screen that says, “Change My Mac.” In the section that says “Interface: eth0” type in the desired MAC address in the field labeled “New MAC.” After you have done that, select the icon that looks like a floppy disk and you will be presented with a dialog that says, “New Profile.” Under “Profile Name” just type anything (i.e “Static”) and select “Done.”

After that, select “Settings” in the upper right-hand corner and enable the setting that says, “Change MAC address on boot” and set the drop-down labeled “Using this profile” to the profile you made before.

Hit the back button to save your changes and then hit the back button once more to return to the debug screen. The last thing to do is select the button labeled “Set Homepage to HB Production.” And that’s it! (You may have to reboot the device for changes to take effect.)