Getting connected
Joining takes one scan and three fields. You make up your own name and PIN on the spot — there are no accounts to create in advance and no email involved.
Join for the first time
- Join the event Wi-Fi named on the poster (if your phone isn't on it already).
- Scan the QR code — it's on the join poster, on the box's screen, or on the
/connectpage someone may have sent you.
- You'll land on the join screen. Fill in:
- Your name — what the rest of the crew will see. Adding your role or stage helps: "Alex (Stage 2)".
- Event PIN — the 4-digit code printed next to the QR. If you scanned the QR it's usually filled in for you.
- Your PIN — 4 to 8 digits you invent right now. This is yours; remember it. It's how you sign back in on any device.
- Tap Join. You're in
#generalwith the rest of the crew.
Remember Your PIN. Your name plus Your PIN is the whole of your identity here. There's no email reset — if you forget it, an admin has to reset it for you from the admin panel.
The three codes, untangled
Crewbox has three different secrets, and every crew ever assembled has mixed them up at least once:
| Code | Who uses it | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Event PIN | Everyone, once | Lets a new person join this event. It's on the poster — it's not meant to be very secret. |
| Your PIN | Just you | Signs you back in as you, on any device. Made up by you when you first join. |
| Admin password | The box's operator | Unlocks the admin panel — settings, crew management, exports. The box printed it when it was first set up. It is not the event PIN. |
Signing back in
Joining and signing in are the same screen. Type the same name you used before and Your PIN, and you're back — with your channels and unread state. You don't need the event PIN again.
This also means you can move between devices freely: same name, same PIN, on a phone at the barricade and a laptop at front of house.
If you type a name that's already taken and the PIN doesn't match, crewbox says so — either you've misremembered your PIN, or someone else got to that name first. Pick another name, or ask an admin to reset your PIN.
When it won't connect
The app tells you what it's doing rather than spinning forever:
- "Can't reach the crew server" — your phone can't see the box. Check you're on the event Wi-Fi (the screen names it), then tap Retry now. It also keeps retrying by itself.
- Yellow "Connecting…" banner — you were connected and it dropped. Anything you send is queued on your device and delivered when the connection returns; nothing is lost.
- "Offline" banner — same story, longer gap. Everything you already loaded stays readable, and the app catches up the moment the box is back in reach.
There's more in Troubleshooting.