Connecting the SkyShepherd Charging Cradle/Gateway to the Internet

Background: What is the gateway, and what does it do?

Wait, what does the gateway do, again?

The gateway relays information from the collar, through the internet, to your phone. What type of information? Updates to your dog's location, for one, but also boundary and battery notifications, like if your dog is testing its boundaries, or if your collar battery is low. It does this all the time so that when you're not near your collar you get updates in your app. You don't need the gateway for your collar to contain your dog -- the gateway is just one part of SkyShepherd's 'yard monitoring' information relay system.

This is the new gateway:       

Isn't that what Bluetooth does? 

Yes, and no. You do get the same information when you're connected to your collar via Bluetooth, but connecting via Bluetooth is mainly for directly controlling your collar (activating a boundary, changing feedback settings, updating firmware, etc.), and for Training Mode. Also, Bluetooth connection range is only around 33 ft. The gateway can hear your collar out to about a half-mile, in excellent conditions, so it's a good tool for yard monitoring when you and your phone are not near your dog.

Do I need to be within a half mile of the gateway for it to work?

No. Your collar must be within a half mile of the gateway for the gateway to receive the messages your collar is sending out. You can be anywhere in the world that your phone has an internet connection. 

Do I need the gateway to contain my dog?

No. The gateway only relays information it gets from your collar, over the internet, to your phone, so that you can can see the updates in your SkyShepherd mobile app. The gateway does this all the time, but you mostly notice this when you're not around your collar, not connect to Bluetooth.

So, do I need Bluetooth to contain my dog?

No. You only need a Bluetooth connection to activate a boundary on your collar, but after that, the GPS collar contains your dog on its own (after you've trained it on the collar, of course).

What if I don't connect my gateway to the internet, or maybe I don't have Wi-Fi where I'm at?

That's totally fine. You can still activate a boundary on your SkyShepherd collar to contain your dog. You just won't see the collar's position update on the map in the SkyShepherd app if you're not connected over Bluetooth, and you won't get any boundary or battery notifications.

Procedure: How to connect the gateway to Wi-Fi

Ok, so how do I connect my gateway to Wi-Fi so I can get updates when I'm not around my dog?

Reminder - your collar is always sending out location updates and notifications in hopes that your gateway can hear them and pass them along over the internet. So, to get those messages from your gateway to your phone, your gateway needs an internet connection. That's where your Wi-Fi network comes in (or any Wi-Fi network that you trust). To connect your SkyShepherd gateway to the internet, you’ll need to use the SkyShepherd mobile app. 

NEW STYLE GATEWAY: 

To connect your gateway to a WiFi network:

1. Go to the bottom corner of your SkyShepherd mobile app, and tap the gear icon.
   
   
2. Tap on the "Cradle/Gateway Setup" option in the menu
   
   
3. Now select the gateway that you want to connect to the internet. If you only have one, you'll only see one listed.
   
   
4. Tap "Setup WiFi"
   
   
5. Select the Network you want the gateway to connect to
   
   
6. Enter the password for that network, and tap "Connect"
   • The process may take a minute or two
   • If you see a spinner that seems to take forever, close the app, open it, and go back through steps 1 through three - you'll probably see the gateway successfully connected to Wi-Fi. If not, just try again.
     
     
7. If you're successful, you will see a green light on the gateway itself, the gateway's network connection status will list the network it is connected to and its status will be "Connected"
   
   

Gateway LED Color Code

When your gateway is not connected to a network at all, the LED will show red:

When your gateway is connected to a network, and communication is flowing, the LED will show green:

If your gateway is connected to a Wi-Fi network, but there is a problem with the communication, such as that your network has lost internet, or there's a break in communication with the SkyShepherd cloud, then the LED will show Orange. The best thing you can do is to check your network's internet connection, and if necessary, go through the steps above to connect to your network again. 

Any time you are connected to your gateway via Bluetooth (this happens after you select it from the gateway select menu in Step 3 above), you'll see a blue LED on the gateway. When you disconnect from the gateway by backing out of the menus all the way to the gateway select screen, the LED should indicate green if connected, and red or orange as appropriate.

OLD STYLE GATEWAY: 

In previous generations of the SkyShepherd GPS Dog Fence, the gateway doubled as a charging cradle. If you have this version, here are the steps applicable to you:

To connect your cradle/gateway to a Wi-Fi network:

1. Go to the top corner of your SkyShepherd mobile app, and a tap the gear icon.
2. Tap on the "Cradle/Gateway Setup" option in the menu
3. Now select the gateway that you want to connect to the internet. If you only have one, you'll only see one listed.
4. Tap "Setup WiFi"
5. Select the Network you want the gateway to connect to
6. Enter the password for that network, and tap "Connect" 
   • The process may take a minute or two
7. If you're successful, you will see a green, "Connected" message momentarily displayed, and the gateway's network connection status will also list the network it is connected to and its status will be "Connected"
8. Back on on the home page of the app, you can see you're connected. Look at the gateway connection icon. It should now have a blue center circle. If you have doubts, turn off your phone's Bluetooth and wait a minute or two to see if your dog's status updates ("Updated just now"). If it updates without a Bluetooth connection, your collar is close enough to the gateway and the gateway is connected to the internet, sending you updates. 
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     • If you have a charging cradle/gateway that displays a red light near the USB plug-in point, look for a blue light on the opposite side of the red one. If blue light is shining, your gateway is connected to your WiFi network.

With your gateway connected, you should be able to receive collar position updates in the mobile app on the map overlay and boundary status notifications to your mobile device.