Set up from your phone

Once the box is installed, the whole setup can be done from the Élise app, without a computer: it finds the box on the Wi-Fi, follows its preparation, then creates your account, the resident’s profile, their first routines and remote access.

It is the alternative to the assistant in the browser. Both create the same installation; pick the one that suits you.

What you need

• An iPhone, iPad or Android phone on the same Wi-Fi as the box.
• The Élise app: on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, or as a signed APK on the Download page for Android.
• For remote access, a free Tailscale account and the Tailscale app on the phone.

Tip

No box yet? Open the app and tap Demo: you walk through setup and the family space with fictional data, without sending anything.

1. Find the box

1. Open the app and tap Find my Élise. On iPhone and iPad, allow local network access: without it, the app cannot see the box.

2. The phone looks for Élise on the home Wi-Fi. After a few seconds, the box appears under Found now, labelled Élise OS needs setup.

3. Tap the box’s card.

The app searches in this order, without asking you anything:

1. the box’s network announcement (mDNS, _michel._tcp service);
2. the elise.local and michel.local addresses;
3. every address on the current Wi-Fi network, on ports 80, 8080 and 8090.

Before showing a box, it checks that it really is an Élise installation (/api/v1/discovery). A network announcement alone is not enough.

The box doesn’t appear? Tap Enter an address and type:

Installation	Address to type
Raspberry Pi	elise.local, or the box’s IP address
Ubuntu mini PC	machine-name.local:8080
Docker server or NAS	server-address:8080

The box’s IP address is listed on your internet router’s page, among the connected devices.

2. Follow the preparation

On a freshly started Raspberry Pi, the app shows Élise is getting ready and follows each step of the first boot:

1. Raspberry Pi settings;
2. internet connection;
3. setting the clock;
4. checking the release;
5. downloading components, with their count;
6. starting Élise.

Allow a few minutes depending on your connection. Keep the screen open: environment creation appears on its own at the end.

3. Create the environment

The app’s assistant takes six screens. Everything can be changed later in settings.

1. Welcome. Tap Start setup.

2. You. Your first name, last name, username (suggested automatically, for example paul.breton), your relationship to the resident (child, grandchild, partner, friend, professional or other) and your password, at least 12 characters. You will be the installation’s main manager.

3. Resident. Their first name, last name and the name Élise will use with them every day.

4. Learning. Four moments of the day: getting up, lunch, dinner and bedtime. Give a rough range, or choose I don’t know: Élise will learn it. These are starting points, never rules.

5. Remote access. Recommended, but you can skip it and turn it on later in settings (see below).

6. Summary. Check, then tap Create my environment. Élise creates the home, the resident’s profile and routines, then opens the family space.

Note

This creation only exists on a new installation, while no account has been created. It cannot be reached remotely: do it from home. Your data stays on the box.

4. Turn on remote access

Tailscale links your phone to Élise through a private, encrypted tunnel, without opening anything to the internet. It is free for a family.

1. At the Remote access step, tap Link Élise. Élise prepares a connection request.

2. Tap Open Tailscale. Sign in or create a free account, approve the new machine, then come back to the app.

3. Élise gets its private address, https://….ts.net:8443, and the app shows it. Remote access is on confirms everything is ready.

4. Install Tailscale on the phone with the same account. Away from home, the app then uses this address on its own.

If the box doesn’t support remote access yet, or a check is needed, the app says so: carry on without it and resume later in Settings → Remote access. On a Raspberry Pi connected to a TV, the resident’s screen finishes automatically once Tailscale is linked.

5. Add the family

1. In Élise, create each relative’s account and choose their role.
2. The relative installs the Élise app.
   • At home, on the Wi-Fi: the app finds the box; they tap Élise OS and sign in with their username.
   • Away from home: share the machine with them in Tailscale (see Remote access), then have them scan the QR code shown in Settings → Remote access. The michel://connect link opens the app and saves the private address.
3. When they sign in, the app offers to turn on alert notifications.

Troubleshooting

Situation	What to do
No box found on iPhone	Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network and turn Élise on.
No box found	Check the phone is on the home Wi-Fi (not mobile data, not a guest network), turn off any VPN, then Enter an address.
“Élise is no longer responding at this address”	The box is restarting or changed address: tap Find my Élise again.
The preparation screen stops moving	The box is waiting for the internet. Check the cable or Wi-Fi: preparation resumes on its own.
“The Élise link is valid, but Tailscale is not responding yet”	Open Tailscale on the phone and check it is connected with the family account.
“Incorrect credentials”	Check the username (not the email address) and the password.

Your installation guideChoose “On my phone” in the tailored guide: it adds these steps to your tutorial.