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The Things Stack

The Things Stack (TTS) is a managed LoRaWAN Network Server provided by The Things Industries, available as a public cloud service (TTS Cloud / Community Edition) or as a private enterprise deployment.

Prerequisites
  1. Ensure access to an active The Things Stack instance with an operational LoRaWAN gateway within range.
  2. Use HARDWARIO Manager to extract your device credentials via NFC before creating end-device profiles in TTS.

Device Credentials & NFC Extraction​

Before registering a STICKER unit in The Things Stack, read its factory keys over NFC with HARDWARIO Manager. There is no cable and no programmer. You hold the phone against the device.

First time with the app?

Work through the HARDWARIO Manager Quick Start Guide first: installing the app, switching NFC on, and granting the permissions it asks for. STICKER is read from an Android or iOS phone with NFC.

  1. Save the device so the app has its secret key. STICKER only answers over an encrypted channel, so the app cannot read anything without it. You add each device once (see Saved STICKERs), and from then on the app fills the key in automatically.
  2. Open STICKER → LoRaWAN keys and choose Read LoRaWAN keys.
  3. Tap the device. Touch the back of the phone to the STICKER enclosure and keep still for a second or two. The NFC antenna is usually near the top back of the phone; if nothing happens, move the phone slowly around that area. With firmware v2.0.0 the read takes one tap with the phone held still, on Android and iOS alike. See STICKER over NFC for the full tap procedure and what the LED shows during the exchange.
  4. Record the keys the app shows. Which ones appear depends on the activation mode: DevEUI, JoinEUI (AppEUI) and AppKey for OTAA, or DevEUI, DevAddr and the session keys for ABP, see Device info and LoRaWAN keys.
  5. Check the radio is switched on. In STICKER → Configuration, the LoRaWAN section's radio-mode must be set to LoRaWAN, because devices ship radio-silent, so the unit starts a Join once it is registered. See Configuration, and Templates for giving a whole batch the same settings.

Select Activation Method​

Activation ModeDescriptionRequired Credentials
OTAA (Over-The-Air Activation) (Recommended)Dynamic session key negotiation on Join. Ensures maximum security.DevEUI, JoinEUI (AppEUI), AppKey
ABP (Activation by Personalization)Pre-assigned static session keys. Skips the Join procedure entirely.DevAddr, NwkSKey, AppSKey

Payload Formatter & Downlink Configuration​

When registering your STICKER end device in TTS:

  • Uplink Formatter: Assign the official STICKER payload decoder script (ttn.js) under Payload Formatters → Uplink. This decodes standard sensor data on fPort 2 and system/alarm alerts on fPort 3.
  • Downlink Formatter: Assign ttn.js under Payload Formatters → Downlink to enable JSON payload encoding for remote management on fPort 85 (see Downlink Commands).
  • Answers and announces on fPort 85: Besides command answers, fPort 85 carries the Info and the settings-info that the device sends by itself after every boot or join and then every interval-announce hours (default 24 h). An answer that does not fit one frame is sent as several pages with the same seq; the decoder marks each one with pages: "i/N", and a consumer that needs the whole answer merges the pages by DevEUI, fPort and seq.
Decoder version

Use the ttn.js from the same firmware release as your devices. Firmware v2.0.0 changed the alarm and 1-Wire encodings while the payload version byte stays 0x01, so a decoder cannot tell the two formats apart by the payload alone. A fleet that mixes v1.4.x and v2.0.0 devices needs a decoder that picks the format by the firmware version reported in the device Info.