Endpoints & Devices is where your real-world data enters NEQTO.ai. An Endpoint is the connection your hardware talks to. A Device is a single piece of equipment sending data. An Attribute is one measurement that device reports, such as temperature, humidity, or battery. Get these three right and everything else (dashboards, alerts, analytics, maps) just works.

The mental model: one Endpoint can carry many Devices, and one Device reports many Attributes. You create the Endpoint. The Devices and Attributes mostly create themselves the first time real data arrives.
Flow diagram: hardware or the built-in simulator sends a JSON payload to a Device Endpoint over MQTT, HTTPS, or WSS. NEQTO.ai registers the Device by the payload's device_id and auto-maps each reading in the data object into an Attribute. The data then feeds dashboards, alerts, analytics, and maps.
How data flows: Endpoint in, Device and Attributes out, then on to dashboards and alerts.

Quick Start

If you already know NEQTO.ai, here is the short version.

  • 1
    Open an application and go to Device Endpoints. Click Add Device Endpoint and pick a connectivity type: MQTT, HTTPS, or WSS.
  • 2
    Copy the credentials shown on the final step (Stream ID, host/URL, port, username, password, and the CA certificate). Use Download details to save them all, or copy each value with its own copy button.
  • 3
    Open How to connect a device and send the neqtoai-std JSON payload shown there. No hardware yet? Create a Demo endpoint and use the built-in Simulator instead.
  • 4
    Within seconds the Device appears (identified by its device_id) and its Attributes are auto-detected from the payload. Open the device to see live data, then build a dashboard or an alert.

Device Endpoints

An Endpoint is a secure inbound channel. It owns the connection settings and credentials, and the devices that publish to it are grouped underneath it.

Device Endpoints list shown as a table inside an application. Columns: Name (with a demo tag where applicable), Description, Protocol, Account, Created by, Applications, and a Devices count showing connected device names. A search box sits above the table and each row has an actions menu.
The Device Endpoints list. Each row is one connection, and the Devices column shows what is publishing to it.

Connectivity types

You choose the type when you create the endpoint, and it cannot be changed afterward.

TypeUse it forYou receive
MQTTMost IoT devices and gateways. Persistent, low-overhead connection.Stream ID, broker URL, port, topic, username, password, and a CA certificate.
HTTPSDevices, scripts, or services that push data with an HTTP request.Stream ID, an ingestion URL, port, method (POST), a CA certificate, and (with Basic Authentication) a username and password. Max payload 1 MB per request.
WSSApps and gateways that keep a live WebSocket open and stream frames.Stream ID, a secure WebSocket URL, port, a CA certificate, and (with Basic Authentication) a username and password.

Each type also has an Authentication Type. For MQTT the choices are “MQTT with TLS (Recommended)” (a security token over a TLS connection) or “MQTT with no TLS” (username and password). For HTTPS and WSS the choices are “Basic Authentication” (username and password) or “None”. The older fully unencrypted HTTP and WS variants have been retired, so only the secure HTTPS and WSS types are offered.

Create an endpoint

Click Add Device Endpoint. You first choose how to set it up: Create Device Endpoint (a new one), Create Demo Device Endpoint (for the Simulator), Use an existing Device Endpoint (shown only when you already have one), or Create Aruba Device Endpoint (the HPE Aruba integration). Choosing Create Device Endpoint opens the form below.

Create Device Endpoint form: a Device Endpoint Name field (required), then a card for each connectivity type (MQTT, HTTPS, WebSocket), each with radio buttons for its authentication type.
Step 1: name the endpoint and pick the connectivity and authentication type.
  • 1
    Enter a Device Endpoint Name (required).
  • 2
    Pick the connectivity type (MQTT, HTTPS, or WebSocket) and, where there is more than one option, its authentication type. The connectivity type is fixed once created. To change it, you create a new endpoint.
  • 3
    If you have permission to manage applications, you can assign the endpoint to applications so the right teams can see it.
The credentials summary after creating an endpoint: rows for Stream ID, host or URL, port, topic or method, username, a masked password with a copy button, and a CA certificate with copy, download, and expiry date. The exact rows depend on the connectivity and authentication type. A How to connect a device link and a Download details button sit at the bottom.
Step 2: the credentials. Copy or download them now.
Save the credentials now. The summary lists every credential with its own copy button; the CA certificate also has its own download. Use Download details to save everything as a text file. The password is masked on screen, so keep your downloaded copy safe. You can re-open the summary later from View Details.

Sending Data: the Payload Format

This is the part that makes or breaks a connection. NEQTO.ai expects one canonical JSON envelope called neqtoai-std. Every endpoint has a built-in How to connect a device helper that shows this payload tailored to your endpoint’s protocol, with a field reference and troubleshooting tips.

The How to connect a device helper panel. It shows a protocol-specific instruction line, the neqtoai-std example JSON payload, a field reference table for payload_format, timestamp, device_id and data, notes on the data object conventions, a multiple-devices note, a structured-timestamp alternative, and a collapsible troubleshooting table.
The in-product “How to connect a device” helper. The same content is documented below.
Required: set payload_format to exactly the string "neqtoai-std". Without it your readings will not be recognized as the standard format, so the device may not appear or its values may be missing, and no error is returned to the device. This is the single most common reason a connection looks successful but no data lands.

The canonical payload

Send this JSON to your endpoint. Keys inside data are your own sensor names; you do not need to encode units into the names.

{
  "payload_format": "neqtoai-std",
  "timestamp": 1716806400000,
  "device_id": "AA:BB:CC:AA:BB:02",
  "data": {
    "temperature":     { "value": 22.4, "unit": "c" },
    "humidity":        { "value": 62.3, "unit": "%" },
    "battery_percent": { "value": 82,   "unit": "%" },
    "rssi_dbm":        { "value": -55,  "unit": "dBm" }
  }
}

Envelope fields

FieldRequiredTypeNotes
payload_formatYesstringMust be the literal "neqtoai-std".
timestampYesnumber or objectUnix epoch milliseconds, or a structured object (see below).
device_idYesstringA stable per-device id. This becomes the device’s External ID in the UI. Vary it to send multiple devices through one endpoint.
dataYesobjectYour sensor readings. The keys are your own sensor names.

Inside the data object

  • Sensor reading: { "value": <number | string | boolean>, "unit": "<unit>" }.
  • Unit: free-form text, up to 50 characters. Common units: °C, °F, %, hPa, V, A, W, dBm, m/s, lux, ppm. Use "state" for on/off or categorical values.
  • Scalar / categorical: a plain string or number, for example "status": "normal". Stored as-is, without a unit.
  • Naming: field names are your own labels. You do not need to put the unit in the name; NEQTO.ai classifies each reading automatically.
  • Mixed: you can mix the reading and scalar forms in the same payload.

Multiple devices through one endpoint

One endpoint can carry many devices. Send one payload per device, each with its own device_id. Each new device_id appears as a separate device.

Structured timestamp (alternative)

Instead of Unix milliseconds you can send a structured object. The offset uses the ±HHMM convention.

"timestamp": {
  "year": "2026", "month": "05", "day": "26",
  "hour": "14", "minute": "30", "second": "00",
  "offset": "+0900"
}

How to deliver it

ProtocolHow to send
MQTTPublish the JSON message to your MQTT topic.
HTTPSSend the JSON as an HTTP POST to your endpoint URL.
WSSSend the JSON over your WebSocket connection as a text frame.

Troubleshooting

SymptomLikely cause
Connection or TLS handshake failsWrong host or port, or connecting without TLS. Check the endpoint details on the credentials summary.
Authentication is rejectedUsername or password does not match, or the endpoint was deleted or rotated.
Connected, but no device appearsPublishing to the wrong topic or URL (the endpoint ID must match), or the payload could not be parsed.
Device appears, but readings are missingThe data object is empty or malformed, or payload_format is not set to "neqtoai-std".
Gateways: Some third-party gateways stream to NEQTO.ai without you setting up a payload. The HPE Aruba integration (the Create Aruba Device Endpoint option) is one: its devices send data to the endpoint automatically. For everything you build yourself, use neqtoai-std.

Managing endpoints

Each row in the Device Endpoints table has an actions menu. Click the (three-dot) icon in the Actions column on the right of the row to open it. This is where you reach Edit (to rename the endpoint) and, on demo endpoints, the Simulator.

The actions menu opened from the three-dot icon in the Actions column of a Device Endpoints row. The menu lists View Details, Simulator, Delete, and Edit.
The endpoint actions menu. Open it from the three-dot icon to reach View Details, Simulator, Edit, and Delete.
  • Search the list by endpoint name.
  • View Details re-opens the credentials summary and lists every device currently publishing to the endpoint.
  • Simulator opens the built-in Simulator (shown only for demo endpoints, inside an application, and only when you have the Simulator view and execute permissions). See below.
  • Edit changes only the name and description. Connection settings stay fixed.
  • Delete removes the endpoint after a confirmation. Devices that depended on it stop receiving data.

Devices

A Device is one physical thing reporting data. Most appear on their own when data arrives, but you can also add one manually, which is useful for pre-registering hardware before it ships or before it is powered on.

Devices list as a table. The Device Name column shows a green Wi-Fi icon for connected devices and a red icon for disconnected ones. Other columns include Device Endpoints, External ID, Tags, Profiles, Attributes, Vendor, Model, Account, Applications, Notes, Created and Last connected. Above the table are a search box, a Tags filter, a Columns control, and an Enabled/Disabled toggle.
The Devices list. Green means connected, and the Last connected column tells you when data last arrived.

The list view

  • Connectivity shows next to each device name: green Wi-Fi when connected, red when not.
  • Search by name, and filter by tag — either from the toolbar Tags filter or the Tags column header.
  • Switch between Enabled and Disabled devices with the toggle. Disabled devices are ones you have soft-deleted.
  • Sort by most columns, including Last connected to surface quiet devices.
  • Choose your columns with the Columns control. Several (External ID, Vendor, Model, Account, Notes, Profiles) are hidden by default, and your choice is remembered per application.
  • Profiles shows how each device’s data is parsed: EnOcean (with its EEP), BLE, or STD. This column is hidden by default.

Device details

Open a device to see its tabs.

TabWhat’s there
General InformationEditable metadata: device name, vendor, model, firmware, tags, notes, and image. External ID is read-only. EnOcean devices also show an editable EEP field.
AttributesThe auto-detected measurements for this device. See below.
Device DataThe live and recent payload values arriving from the device.
Alert PropertiesShown only inside an application: connectivity monitoring and alert behavior for this device.
Device detail General Information tab showing editable fields for device name, vendor, model, firmware, tags and notes, with a read-only External ID and a device image with upload and delete controls.
General Information. Everything here is editable except the External ID.
Device detail Device Data tab showing the latest reading — temperature, humidity, CO₂ and pressure with their values and a timestamp — alongside a live trend chart of those readings over time.
Device Data. The latest reading and a live trend, straight from the device’s payloads.

Connectivity: how “online” is decided

This is not a live ping. A device counts as connected while data keeps arriving. If nothing is received within its Offline Timeout, it is marked offline. You set the timeout in minutes on the device’s Alert Properties tab (inside an application); the smallest value you can enter is 10 minutes and the largest is 24 hours. A device that reports less often than its timeout will read as offline between reports, so match the timeout to how often the device actually sends.

Organizing devices

  • Tags are key:value labels (for example floor:3 or site:warehouse-A) you can filter the whole list by. See the Tags section for managing them.
  • Vendor and Model are device metadata you can show as columns and sort by; use Tags when you want to filter or group devices.
  • Add to application from a device’s actions menu (on the main Devices list) to control which teams see it.

Disabling, restoring, and deleting

Removing a device is a two-stage, reversible process. From an active device’s actions menu, Disable is a soft-delete: the device moves to the Disabled list. From there you can Enable it to bring it back, or Permanently Delete it to remove it for good. Switch the list toggle to Disabled to see disabled devices and these actions.

Attributes

An Attribute is a single measurement a device reports, such as temperature, humidity, battery, or occupancy. This is the part most platforms make you configure by hand. NEQTO.ai does it for you.

Attributes are auto-mapped. When a device’s payload arrives, NEQTO.ai reads the data object and creates an Attribute for each reading it finds, recording the exact path to that value. You do not create or delete Attributes manually; they follow the data. The first time a device sends a brand-new payload shape, NEQTO.ai works out what each field means. Identical shapes after that are matched instantly.
Device Attributes tab listing auto-detected measurements in a table. Columns: Kind (an icon such as a thermometer, droplet, or battery), Attribute Name, Display Name, Unit, and an Actions menu with an Edit option on each row.
Auto-detected Attributes. Icons reflect the kind of measurement; display names and units are yours to refine.

What you can edit

You cannot change what gets detected, but you can make it readable. Open the row’s actions menu and choose Edit:

  • Display Name: a friendly label (required, up to 255 characters), for example rename t1 to “Supply air temp”.
  • Units: the unit shown with the value (up to 50 characters), for example °C, %, or hPa.

The underlying Attribute Name is fixed and shown read-only on the edit form.

Edit attribute form with a read-only Attribute Name field, an editable Display Name field, and an editable Units field, plus Cancel and Save Changes buttons.
Editing an Attribute: display name and units only.
Supported value types: standard JSON, meaning number, string, boolean, plus arrays and nested objects (which are walked field by field). A value NEQTO.ai cannot classify is still stored, and you can give it a unit yourself. (Maps in NEQTO.ai are image overlays with manually placed pins, not geographic latitude/longitude maps — see the Maps page.)

Demo Endpoints and the Simulator

No hardware? Create a Demo endpoint and drive it with the built-in Simulator to prototype dashboards, validate payloads, and test alerts and anomaly detection, all from a demo device endpoint.

Note: the Simulator is only available on a demo device endpoint, it can only be opened from Device Endpoints within an application, and it requires the Simulator view and Simulator execute permissions.
Simulator screen for a demo endpoint. A Start/Stop Gateway control sits at the top, then an Add Device panel and a Send Raw Payload panel. Each simulated device is a card with Start, Pause, Resume, Stop and delete controls, an editable interval, a value-ranges control, and a recent-activity log.
The Simulator publishes realistic payloads on a schedule, just like real hardware would.
  • 1
    Create a demo device endpoint from within an application (Device Endpoints, Add Device Endpoint, Create Demo Device Endpoint).
  • 2
    Open the endpoint’s Simulator action. Use Add Device and pick a Device Template, give it a Device Name, and set an Interval (s).
  • 3
    Start Gateway to begin publishing. Devices auto-register and their Attributes auto-map, exactly as real hardware would. You can also use Send Raw Payload to post a specific JSON shape, or adjust each device’s value ranges.

Simulated values follow realistic daily curves. Temperature and humidity rise and fall over the day, and occupancy or people-counts peak during business hours, so dashboards and alerts behave as they would in production.

How many devices and how fast they publish depends on your plan.

Limits and Good to Know

The per-plan figures match the plan cards in Billing; your account’s live limits come from the billing service and an Enterprise plan is custom.

LimitValue
HTTPS payload size1 MB per request
HTTPS request rateRate-limited per source
Connectivity timeout10 min minimum, 24 hr maximum
  • device_id is the key to everything. Keep it stable and unique per device. If it changes, NEQTO.ai treats the hardware as a new device.
  • payload_format must be “neqtoai-std”. This is the number one cause of “connected but no data”.
  • Endpoint type is permanent. Decide MQTT, HTTPS, or WSS up front.
  • Quiet devices look offline. Match each device’s connectivity timeout to how often it actually reports.
  • Let auto-mapping work. Send clean, consistently structured JSON and your Attributes stay tidy with no manual setup.

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