Victron devices

The system reads seven Victron products over Bluetooth: SmartShunt (battery monitor), SmartSolar (solar charge controller), Phoenix Inverter, AC Charger (Blue Smart / Phoenix Smart), Lynx Smart BMS, Multi RS, and Orion XS (DC-DC charger). All are read-only — you see their live figures on dashboard cards, but control stays with the Victron equipment itself.

Victron devices don't need a Bluetooth connection: the panel decodes their broadcast "Instant Readout" advertisements. That means they never count against the Bluetooth connection limit, and the VictronConnect app on your phone can stay connected at the same time.

Adding a Victron device: you need the encryption key

Victron encrypts its broadcasts, so every Victron device needs two things when you add it on the Devices page: its MAC address (usually filled in automatically from Discovered nearby) and its 32-character Bindkey.

To find the bindkey:

1. Open the VictronConnect app on your phone and connect to the device.
2. Open its settings, go to Product info.
3. Make sure Instant readout via Bluetooth is enabled.
4. Show and copy the encryption key (also called the instant readout key) — a 32-character code.
5. Paste it into the Bindkey field when adding the device. Colons or spaces in the pasted key are fine; the panel strips them.

A wrong key shows no error — the device simply never reports any values. If a Victron card sits at "--" forever, re-copy the key from VictronConnect; this is by far the most common cause.

What each device shows

• SmartShunt — battery percentage (SOC), voltage, and current. If the shunt's aux input is set up as a second battery in VictronConnect, the starter-battery voltage is reported too.
• SmartSolar — solar power, battery voltage/current, and the charger's state (bulk, absorption, float…).
• Phoenix Inverter — output power (VA), AC voltage and current, battery voltage, and state.
• AC Charger — charge power, battery voltage/current, AC input current, and state.
• Lynx Smart BMS — battery percentage, voltage, current, and power. This model's broadcast carries no status text, so no state is shown — that's normal.
• Multi RS — battery figures plus solar power and AC output power.
• Orion XS — output power, current, charge voltage, and input voltage.

Problems?

• Card shows "--" forever → almost always the bindkey; see above. Also confirm Instant readout via Bluetooth is on in VictronConnect.
• Device not in Discovered nearby → it may already be installed, or out of range; you can always add it manually by MAC.
• Readings frozen → see A device stopped updating.