Before It Ships: What Happens to Every PlantSense

Our first customer orders go out this week. Our site says every PlantSense is hand-assembled and tested in Chicago before it ships, and we wanted to show what that sentence actually means. A sensor that powers on and blinks has only proved that its firmware boots. We want proof that the sensors, the Wi-Fi, the probe and the battery all work before a box leaves the bench.

Here's the checklist every unit goes through, in order.

1. A clean firmware install

Each board is fully erased and flashed with the exact firmware version our update server is currently handing out. Erasing first matters: it clears any Wi-Fi network or calibration left over from our own testing, so your sensor starts out as a blank slate and is already on the latest version when it arrives.

2. A full charge

Every sensor charges over USB-C until the charge light turns from red to green. It ships charged and switched off, so when it arrives you can slide the power switch on and start setup right away.

3. A real end-to-end test

This is the step we care about most. We set every sensor up in the PlantSense app on our own account, exactly the way you will, and wait for its first reading to come in. Then we check that reading field by field:

The firmware version and build match what we just installed.
Temperature and humidity are real room values.
The light reading is above zero.
The battery reads about 4.1 volts, which is what a full charge looks like.
The soil-moisture probe is reading, with the probe standing in a cup of tap water.
The sensor reports no crashes since it started.

It takes about four minutes per unit. It has also already taught us something. Two sensors in the first batch reported their probes as out of range. Both probes turned out to be fine: we had put two probes in the same cup of water, and side by side they gave each other a path for current that threw off both readings. Now each probe gets its own cup, and both sensors passed. It's a small thing, but it's exactly the kind of thing you only find by testing every unit with real readings instead of checking that the light comes on.

4. Assembly by hand

Once a sensor passes, we assemble it:

The battery is secured to the board with zip ties, snug but not tight, with padding wherever a tie crosses the edge of the battery pouch.
Both O-rings get a thin film of grease. They're what keeps water out of the shell, and the grease helps them seal and lets the shell slide on and off smoothly.
The probe holder is pressed in until it sits flush all the way round. Then we turn the sensor upside down to check it stays put.

5. Reset for you

Finally, we remove the sensor from our account and switch it off. When you switch it on for the first time it flashes white, then blinks blue: ready to pair with your phone and join your Wi-Fi.

Each sensor goes in its own box with a USB-C cable. A 2-Pack ships as two boxes in one mailer.

What you'll need

We'd rather you know this before you order than find out during setup:

A 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network. PlantSense connects over 2.4 GHz, the band with the longest reach through walls, which suits a sensor sitting in a pot across the house. Nearly every home router broadcasts 2.4 GHz alongside 5 GHz. If yours shows the two bands as separate network names, pick the 2.4 GHz one during setup.
An iPhone with PlantSense Connect. The app is free on the App Store, and setup uses it to reach the sensor over Bluetooth. An Android app is on the way.

That's it. There's no hub to plug in, no subscription and nothing to unlock later.

When your sensor arrives

Your shipping email includes the setup steps, and the Quick Start Guide has a photo of the two controls under the shell: the power switch and the RESTART button. The guide walks through all of it, from the probes going into the soil to the first reading in the app. If anything doesn't go the way the guide says, reply to your order email and you'll hear back from the person who built your sensor.

Thank you to everyone who ordered early. We can't wait to see what you grow.