Device management

Suitest aims to simplify testing your apps on as many devices as possible at once. You can configure your own devices with Suitest, use devices shared by another organization, or devices from the Suitest public device lab.

All the devices which are available to you can be found in a convenient overview from within your account.

Suitest Remote app

The Suitest Remote mobile app allows you to control and manage your Suitest devices right from the palm of your hand. Download it for iOS and Android, then use your regular Suitest credentials to login.

Connect to a device

To connect to a device interactively from Test Editor press Connect to device in the top right corner of the screen. Then choose a device that you would like to connect to:

Choosing a device to interactively connect to

The ability to connect to a device depends on two factors:

While any user is connected to the device, Suitest will not launch scheduled tests on it in order not to interrupt the user's work. Besides that you can connect to a device only if no other user is using it.

Device list

On the devices page, the list of all devices is shown. Each device is displayed with assigned platform and current status. Device details modal window can be displayed by clicking on given device line or through a context menu (3 dots on the right side).

Devices page

Device page has 4 tabs: Device lab, Control Units, Streaming and Advanced.

Device lab

List of all testing devices with corresponding platforms and current status. By clicking on device line, device details modal window is displayed. You can connect to a device by clicking on the connect icon on the right side or perform one of the following additional actions through the context menu (3 dots):

Control units

List of all control units (CandyBoxes, SuitestDrives and Raspberry Pi devices) assigned to your account with the number of assigned devices and the control unit current status. By clicking on device line, a list of assigned devices is displayed. You can perform one of the following additional actions through the context menu (3 dots), depending on the control unit type:

SuitestDrive context menu

  • Submit SuitestDrive logs - submitting logs from your SuitestDrive to Suitest customer support (you may be asked to do this in case of an issue)
  • Rename SuitestDrive
  • Remove SuitestDrive

CandyBox / Raspberry Pi context menu

If you are running a SuitestDrive on given HW control unit, you will also see the following options:

  • Restart SuitestDrive
  • Disable SuitestDrive

Important: If you delete a SuitestDrive unit, all devices attached will be removed as well. It is worth mentioning that CandyBoxes cannot be deleted by the user from your specific account inside the control units list, since those are rented from Suitest and added to the account.

Streaming

List of all Suitest Camera app installations and USB cameras / UVC devices connected to your account with their current status. By clicking on device line, a modal window with given device details is displayed. You can perform one of the following additional actions through the context menu (3 dots), depending on the control unit type:

  • Pair with a device - connecting the streaming and testing device
  • Show camera details - opening the camera details modal window
  • Rename the camera
  • Remove the camera
  • Show QR code - only for Suitest Camera app, pairing the installation with your account

Advanced

The Advanced tab is where you can set up additional configurations related to devices such as Xfinity API integration. You can also download SuitestDrive for all the operating systems that are supported or assign a Raspberry Pi to your account.

Search Filters

Search function has an option of filtering your devices and making searching easier.

Device search filters

Search Filters

  • brand:
  • model:
  • name:
  • ID: - device ID can be found here
  • status: - list of device statuses can be found below
  • platform: - list of supported platform can be found here
  • location:
  • team:
  • responsible-user:
  • os-info:
  • other-info:

Control units search filters

  • id: - control unit ID can be found here
  • name: - you own name for the control unit
  • type: - one of the types (drive for SuitestDrive / personal-pi for a Raspberry Pi / candybox)
  • status: - current status of the control unit

Streaming search filters

  • id: - streaming device ID
  • name: - your own name for the streaming device
  • control-unit: - in case of UVC devices, the corresponding CandyBox or Raspberry Pi name

It is also possible to combine multiple filters in single search. All search filters needs to be separated by empty space. E.g.

  • status:ready cust - status "ready" and text "cust"
  • status:ready cust brand:sony rasp - status "ready" and (text "cust" and text "rasp") and brand "Sony"

Device details modal window

When you click on any device on the device page a modal window opens with device details. The window is contains 4 tabs.

At the bottom, there are 4 buttons for device control:

  • Connect - connecting to a device to be able to control it
  • Stream - setting up a stream (if Suitest Camera app or UVC device is assigned)
  • Power - power on/off the device (not available for all platforms)
  • Disable - for more info see disable/enable a device section

Summary

The summary tab includes: Control unit, Custom name, IP and Device ID, Location, Team and Owner / Responsible user.

Device modal - summary tab

Control unit

Displays the control unit that given device is connected to with corresponding status. Using the blue icon next to the name, you can get to the control unit information inside the Control units section of Devices page.

Custom name

Your own name for the device.

IP

The local IP address of the device used to communicate with the device. You can change the value in-case there were adjustments in the local network.

Important: To prevent connection failures due to the device IP address changes you should consider configuring your DHCP server to assign static IP address to the device.

Device ID

The Device ID is used for Suitest API and since it is automatically generated by Suitest, it cannot be changed.

Location

Your own description of the device location - e.g. Office X, Room A, Pole 1, Position 1.

Team

Your own specification of the team that is using given device.

Owner / Responsible user

A person responsible for the device maintenance.

Settings

The settings tab includes: Platforms, Boot sequence (for HbbTV/Freeview Play devices), Team ID (for Apple devices), Com port (for PlayStation 4 devices), Turn off after, Custom buttons, Camera, Screenshot source and Smart Plug fields. There is also an option to permanently remove device.

Device modal - settings tab

Platforms

List of platforms that given device contains. If not complete, you can add a missing one after disabling the device.

Boot sequence

Sequence of buttons to boot a platform.

Turn off after

Turn off after allows devices to be configured to turn off after a specific amount of inactivity (no user connected and no tests running). Default value is 10 minutes.

Custom buttons - Configure

Record or rewrite buttons which were either not recorded during initial device setup or were recorded incorrectly. Check the Recording specific buttons section for more information.

Camera

Camera field allows you to associate a Suitest Camera app or a UVC device with given testing device, so that you can access the camera feed faster (right from the device details modal window or the Virtual Remote Control).

Smart Plug

Smart Plug field allows you to associate a Smart Plug with given testing device, so that you can find the correct power switch easier.

Specifications

The device specifications includes the Type, Brand, Model, Firmware, OS info and Other info.

Device modal - specifications tab

Type

Suitest defined type of the device, based on the platform.

Brand

Usually taken automatically from the device. In some cases is entered by a user when adding a device to Suitest.

Model

Usually taken automatically from the device. In some cases is entered by a user when adding a device to Suitest.

Firmware

Usually taken automatically from the device. In some cases is entered by a user when adding a device to Suitest.

OS info

Meant to contain information about the OS version etc. At the moment, there is no automated insertion of any value, therefore feel free to enter the value yourself.

Other info

You can specify any information about the device that are useful for you.

Sharing

Suitest allows you to share your devices with other organizations (excluding Personal accounts).

To share a device go to the Sharing tab on the device details window and then click on Share device button. Enter one or more IDs of the organizations you wish to share the device with.

If you have a Suitest Camera app / UVC device associated with the testing device, you can choose to share it as well. Besides, you can specify the maximum allowed resolution, frame rate and audio availability. The organization, that you share a device with, will be able to view the stream only when being connected to the device.

Share device pop-up

After the device is shared, the share receiver will see additional information about the device, such as device custom name, local IP address etc., as well as your organization name.

You can revoke device sharing for every organization individually in the same tab. You will also see if the USB camera / UVC device associated with the testing device is shared and what is the maximum allowed resolution and frame rate you have set.

Device modal - sharing tab

Note: When other organizations are using the device shared by you, testing minutes will be charged to the actual user and not to you (see testing minutes).

Device statuses

Suitest tracks the state of a device and assigns it a status. They are separated into three categories based on the possibilities.

Device is available

  • READY (Blue) - The device is ready and connected to Suitest.

  • READY (VRC) (Blue) - The device is not tuned to the Suitest channel but is otherwise fine and can be operated in interactive mode.

  • TURNED OFF (Gray) - The device has been turned off by Suitest because it was idle for more than 10 minutes. It will turn on automatically once you connect to it.

  • POWER ON (Gray) - The device is powering on for an automated test. If connected to, the test will be aborted and rescheduled.

Device is in use

  • TESTING (Green) - The device is currently performing a (scheduled) automated test. If connected to, the test will be aborted and rescheduled.

  • IN USE (Yellow) - The device is being used by a user in interactive mode.

  • PREPARING (Yellow) - The device from public device lab is being cleaned up for another user.

  • API CONTROLLED (Yellow) - The device is being used by Suitest JavaScript API in automated mode.

Device needs manual action to become available

  • OFFLINE (Gray) - The device seems to be offline as its IP is unreachable from the CandyBox.

  • CANNOT TURN ON (Gray) - Device is turned off and Suitest cannot turn it on. Needs to be turned on manually.

  • DISABLED (Red) - A person with the administrator privileges has disabled the device. Until the device is enabled again, it will not be usable in Suitest. You would want to disable the device to keep the Boogeyman out.

  • CANDYBOX OFFLINE (Red) - The CandyBox responsible for controlling this device is offline or turned off.

  • SUITESTDRIVE OFFLINE (Red) - Devices using SuitestDrive cannot be connected to as SuitestDrive is not running.

  • SUITESTDRIVE UPDATE (Red) - Devices using SuitestDrive cannot be connected to as SuitestDrive is being automatically updated.

  • BLASTER ERROR (Red) - Device's infrared blaster is disconnected or malfunctioning. Verify that all cables are connected correctly, if you have a spare infrared blaster then replace the malfunctioning blaster.

Note: Users with device management privileges can disable devices even when somebody is connected to them. Disabling the device effectively kills the connection but keeps the settings in the same state.

Device Badge statuses

The badge is not displayed on Lite solutions of the following platforms:

  • LG webOS
  • Roku
  • Samsung Tizen
  • VIDAA
  • Xfinity (Comcast)

These are the statuses that are seen on the screen of your device when you are located on the Suitest channel.

  • Connecting (Gray) - Connection is being established with the device.

  • Ready (Gray) - The device is ready to be added to Suitest.

  • Ready (Green) - The device is ready to be connected to or for a scheduled test.

  • Connected (Green) - User is connected to the device, ready to be controlled.

  • In progress (Recycling Icon) - A scheduled test is in progress on the device.

Connection button statuses

The device you are currently connected has specific colors to quickly indicate the status of your device.

  • Connecting (Gray) - Connection is being established with the device.

  • Ready (VRC) (Blue) - The device is not tuned to the Suitest channel but is otherwise fine and can be operated in interactive mode.

  • Connected (Device name) (Green) - User is connected to the device, ready to be controlled.

  • Connected (Device name) (Flashing Green) - User is connected to the device and a scheduled test is queued.

Error Statuses

  • Error (100) (Red) - Internet connection between the device and Suitest is down.

  • Error (102) (Red) - Device is malfunctioning. This is caused by browser driver missing, Chrome/Firefox not installed, or wrong device IP. To solve this, please resolve the potential issue(s) listed above and then please disable and enable device in Suitest. If you are still having problems, restart SuitestDrive and/or the host computer. Please let us know if the issues persist.

  • Error (103) (Red) - Internal back-end error. Suitest developers have been notified and are hard at work fixing the issue. Please let us know if the issues persist.

  • Error (105) (Red) - Deleted device. Device was deleted and is no longer usable, add the device via device wizard to use it again.

Controlling devices

Once connected to a device, the Suitest Virtual Remote Control (VRC) becomes enabled. On the left side of the VRC, there is an icon to hide/display it. Buttons on the VRC can be pressed, which then gets carried out as a real action on the device..

Icon to hide / display the VRC

If any button is not available, either it has not been recorded when someone added the device to Suitest (IR controlled devices) or the API used by Suitest to control the given platform does not support it.

Everywhere the VRC is available, you can also use keyboard shortcuts for faster button pressing. The list of shortcuts is available in a menu that appears after you press "." key.

Your very own boogeyman

Sometimes you may get a feeling that something is wrong with your TVs. All of a sudden, it starts doing things on its own as if a boogeyman really wanted to get you. Know then that it is just Suitest - diligently trying to do its job.

Suitest checks periodically if the device sends in reports. If the connection falls out at some point, Suitest will assume that the device has misbehaved and try to beat it back into shape. "Back into shape" in this instance means making sure that the device has opened Suitest channel and launched the Suitest RedButton app.

So if you, for example, switch to another channel or open an app without a Suitest code, you'll kill the connection between the device and Suitest will try to repair it by executing a so-called boot sequence.

Important: You can tell Suitest to stay out of your way by disabling the device. For this, open the device properties page and click on the Disable button.

Disable/enable a device

Devices paired with your organization in Suitest can be disabled. This feature allows you to temporarily disable a device in Suitest to prevent its use (for connecting to it or scheduled tests), for example, if you want to use it with another tool for a certain period.

A device in Suitest can be disabled by clicking on Disable button on the device details modal window.

How to disable a device

A disabled device in Suitest can be determined by the status. If you want to enable such device, you can do so by clicking on Enable button on the device details modal window.

How to enable a device

Remove a device

Devices can be removed, which means that they are completely removed from Suitest (shared user will lose their access as well). If you wish to use the device in the future then the set-up process will have to be done again.

Removing a device from Suitest