B10 Setup, Walkthrough, and Troubleshooting

Topics included in this article:

• Overview
• Compatible Devices
• Setup and Registration
  • Battery Requirements
  • Battery Life
  • Battery Installation
  • Registration
• Bluetooth
  • BLE Range
  • BLE Signal Strength
• Hardware Installation
  • Installation Recommendations
• Console Walkthrough
  • Assigning a Location to the B10
  • Panic Button Setup
    • Recommendations for Panic Button and Use
    • What Happens When the B10 is Pressed While in Panic Mode?
  • All-Purpose Button Setup
  • Clone Settings from Another B10
• Unregistering
• Troubleshooting
  • LED Indicators
  • Troubleshooting Steps
• Helpful Links
• Contact Support or Sales

Overview

The Rhombus B10 provides programmable actions that can be performed with the press of a button. The B10 broadcasts to all nearby BLE-enabled Rhombus devices and enables users to stay in control, including triggering alarms, dispatching emergency services, or securing doors.

Compatible Devices

Before registering a Rhombus sensor, you must have a Rhombus device that supports the Rhombus Sensor Network. Confirm compatibility by visiting the device specs page on rhombus.com.

Below is a list of compatible BLE gateway devices:

• R120
• R2
• R170
• R200
• R230
• R360S
• R410
• R520
• R540
• R545
• R600
• A100
• DR40*
• E50

Note: Although the DR40 supports BLE, it is not designed to serve as a dedicated BLE gateway. Since BLE resources are shared with badge-in functionality, connectivity to BLE devices may be inconsistent.

Setup and Registration

Battery Requirements

The B10 uses 2x Lithium AAA batteries (series). Each battery should measure 1.5v nominal.

Alkaline batteries can be used instead; however, this will reduce the battery life of the device.

Battery Life

Expected Battery Life: Up to 5 years with typical medium-heavy use when using Lithium AAA batteries.

Battery Installation

1. Remove the battery cover located on the back of the B10.

2. Insert the included 1.5v AAA Lithium batteries, ensuring the positive (+) terminal and negative (-) terminal match with the markings on the B10.

3. After installing the batteries correctly, close the battery cover.

Registration

1. The B10 must be awakened from sleep mode to register to the Rhombus Console. There are several ways to wake the device for registration:

• Press the button on the B10.
• Re-insert the battery into the B10.

Note: The B10 LED will pulse green when ready to register and will stay awake for two minutes before going back to sleep.

2. With the green LED pulsing on the B10, open the Rhombus mobile app, tap "Menu" in the bottom right corner, and select "Register Devices."

3. Tap "All Sensors."

4. Select the location where the B10 will be registered.

5. Tap the B10(s) you want to register, and tap "Next."

Note: You can confirm the correct device is registering by ensuring the serial number displayed on the app matches the one on the back of the device.

6. A loading page will display the registration process. When complete, tap the "X" in the upper right corner.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard used for exchanging data between devices over short distances.

BLE Range

Under ideal circumstances, all Rhombus sensors can communicate via Bluetooth up to 300ft with a compatible Rhombus BLE-enabled device.

BLE range can be affected by different factors, including but not limited to:

• Obstacles: Physical obstacles such as walls, furniture, and other obstructions can weaken Bluetooth signals and reduce range.
• Environmental Conditions: Environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, and electromagnetic interference can affect the performance of the device.
• Interference: Bluetooth operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, which is also used by many other wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi, cordless phones, and microwaves. Interference from these devices can degrade Bluetooth signals and reduce range.

BLE Signal Strength

BLE signal strength is referenced as RSSI, Received Signal Strength Indicator. A higher RSSI value, like -10 (closer to 0), generally indicates a stronger signal, while a lower RSSI value, such as -85 (further from 0), indicates a weaker signal.

Signal strength can vary depending on factors such as distance, obstacles, interference, and the transmitting power of the Bluetooth devices involved. When evaluating BLE signal strength, it's important to consider these factors and ensure that the signal strength is sufficient for the intended application.

Web Console	Mobile App
Located in the second column of the devices tab sensor view. (Hover over this icon to display the RSSI value).	Located in the the list view on the sensors page.

Hardware Installation

The B10 comes with an included mounting plate and screws, as well as 3M adhesive stickers on the battery plate.

1. Fix the B10 to the desired surface using the provided mounting adhesives.

To reduce connectivity issues, we recommend installing the B10 in direct line of sight with a BLE-enabled Rhombus camera.

2. Secure the B10 in place using the included mounting bracket and provided mounting screws for a more permanent installation (drywall anchors included if needed).

Installation Recommendations

To reduce the likelihood of B10 failure modes and connectivity issues, especially when set to the “Panic Mode” configuration, follow the below recommendations.

Note: Failure modes are modes that may result in an alert not being generated, such as no BLE connection or no battery life.

• Have a BLE-enabled Rhombus device in direct line of sight with the B10 to increase signal strength.
• Avoid Metal obstacles: This includes mounting the B10 under a metal desktop, behind a metal door, etc.
• Periodically test the B10 (when set to “Test mode”) to ensure the desired response.
• Regularly monitor B10 connectivity and signal strength to avoid sensor downtime.

Console Walkthrough

Assigning a Location to the B10

1. Navigate to the "Devices" page, select the "Buttons" tab along the top, and select a B10 from the list of devices.

2. Scroll to bottom of the page and click the pencil next to the location. 

3. Click the dropdown menu at the top of the pop-up window, and select the desired location. Hit "Save" in the lower right.

Note: If you do not see the location, then you must create one. Learn more in the Managing Locations article. 

Panic Button Setup

1. Navigate to the "Devices" page, select the "Buttons" tab along the top, and select a B10 from the list of devices.

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page, select the "Associated Cameras" dropdown menu, and choose a camera from the list.

Note: Associating a B10 with a camera is an optional step. However, if a B10 is used as a panic button and not associated with a camera, no footage will be submitted with the alert when emergency services are contacted.

3. At the top of the page, click the "Use" dropdown menu, and choose "Panic."

4. When the button is pressed, emergency services will be contacted and sent to the location where the B10 is registered, and the entered phone number will be provided to emergency services. 

5. In addition to contacting emergency services, alternative actions can be added to a button press:

• Activate Lockdown: If a lockdown procedure has been programmed in your console, it will be activated with this action enabled.
• Play Audio File: This will play an audio file from an associated A100.
• Unlock Rhombus Door: This will send an unlock command to a door of your choosing.

6. To verify the button works appropriately, toggle on test mode at the top of your screen.

Recommendations for Panic Button Use

• At least 6 inches between each B10 device. 
• Do not mount buttons under a metal desk (will interfere with BLE signal strength).
• Only assign a single camera with a good view of any incident that may cause the panic button to be pressed.
  • Note: While we can support multiple camera assignments, we suggest that users only assign one.
• Assign an on-site contact for the button. This is an additional emergency contact who can help provide any context for what the emergency may be, such as someone who works in the area the button is located in. This can be set using the "Send Emergency Services" action when button is pressed.
• Conduct a site test of the button by toggling into "Test Mode" on the buttons device page. This allows you to see a written format of what would happen if the button was not in test mode. DO NOT forget to toggle this back off to ensure the button is active. 

What Happens When the B10 is Pressed While in Panic Mode?

Pressing the button will trigger several actions, all of which happen in quick succession. 

• A live stream of the associated cameras will be sent to our alarm monitoring partner, who will:
  • Reach out to the listed contact for more information (no answer is required). 
  • Contact the authorities. Emergency services are dispatched regardless of what is shown on the live streams.
  • Send an SMS to all other listed emergency contacts to notify them that the button has been pressed and authorities have been contacted.
• Unlocking doors/sending alerts can be set up as alternate steps.

All-Purpose Button Setup

1. As an all-purpose button, you have several options:

• Short Press: B10 button is pressed for 0.5 seconds.
• Long Press: B10 button is pressed and held for 1 second. 
• Double Press: B10 button is pressed twice within 1 second.

2. Select which type of button press to use, short, long, and/or double press, and associate an action with the press from the dropdown menus. 

Current available actions:

• Activate Lockdown: If a lockdown procedure has been programmed in your console, it will be activated with this action enabled.
• Call Phone: This action will call the provided phone number.
• Disable Audio Recording: This action will disable audio recording on the selected A100.
• Enable Audio Recording: This action will enable audio recording on the selected A100 (if disabled).
• Generate Notification: This action will send either an email, text, or push notification.
• Play Audio: This will play an audio file from the associated A100.
• Shelly Command: If using the Shelly Integration, this action will trigger a Shelly command.
• Unlock Rhombus Door: If using Access Control, this will unlock a door of your choice.

3. To add an additional action to a button press, select "Add Another Action."

4. You can also remove any action by clicking the X next to the action on the right side.

Clone Settings from Another B10

To clone the settings from another B10, press the button in the upper right corner and select the desired button.

Unregistering

Sensors can only be unregistered from the mobile app. You must be logged into the organization of the sensor(s) you want to unregister.

Note: To unregister a sensor, a BLE-compatible device must be connected to the network and be within range of the sensor. Sensors must be unregistered before the Rhombus gateway device is unregistered.

1. Open the Rhombus mobile app, tap "Menu" in the bottom right corner, then tap "Utilities."

2. Tap "Unregister Sensors."

3. Select the sensor(s) you want to unregister and complete the flow.

Troubleshooting

LED Indicators

Troubleshooting Steps

Helpful Links

• Creating and Assigning Alert Policies
• User-Based Alert Notifications
• Managing Locations
• InformaCast Integration Setup

Contact Support or Sales

Have more questions? Contact Rhombus Support at +1 (877) 746-6797 option 2 or support@rhombus.com.

Interested in learning more? Contact Rhombus Sales at +1 (877) 746-6797 option 1 or sales@rhombus.com.