Getting Started

You’ll have your first photo on the wall in under 10 minutes.

Before you start

• No need to plug it in. Wallie ships with charge — enough to get through setup with room to spare. You can top it up later, or leave it plugged in while you set up if that’s easier.
• Have your Wi-Fi password ready. (Or skip the cloud entirely — see Step 3.) Setting up several frames? You’ll only type it once — see Setting up more than one.
• Got more than one Wallie? The app asks about that once, during your first setup. Everything below is the same either way.

Setting up from this computer? Follow the Desktop App guide instead — it walks through the desktop Set Up New Frame wizard step by step. The steps below describe the phone app.

Setting up from a computer instead of a phone? The Wallie desktop app has its own guide: Desktop App.

Step 1 · Turn on Wallie

Press the button on the back of the frame. The status light starts blinking blue — that confirms Wallie is awake and ready to pair.

Wallie’s e-ink display already shows a QR code out of the box (e-ink keeps the image even without power, so it’s there from the factory). Powering on doesn’t change the screen — it just wakes Wallie up so it can connect.

If Wallie has been sitting on the QR screen for a while, it takes a nap to save battery — the QR stays visible, and opening the app (or pressing the button once) wakes it right back up.

Step 2 · Scan the QR code with your phone camera

Open your phone’s camera and point it at the QR code on Wallie’s display — same as scanning a menu at a restaurant.

A link will pop up. Tap it.

• If you don’t have the Wallie app yet, the link installs it for you and picks up where you left off.
• If you already have the Wallie app, it opens straight to setup with this frame.

You don’t need to type anything in. The link knows which Wallie you’re setting up.

The first time, the app asks for Bluetooth access — allow it. That’s how the app finds your frame nearby. If you decline by accident, the app shows an Allow Bluetooth button (or Open Settings if it was turned off earlier) so you can fix it in a tap.

Can’t scan? In the app, tap Enter the code on your frame and type the 4-character code shown on Wallie’s display instead. The app checks the code with the frame before setup continues.

Step 3 · Pick how Wallie connects

The app will ask:

• Set Up with Wi-Fi (most people) — Wallie joins your home Wi-Fi and stays in sync. Send photos from anywhere, invite family to contribute, and get albums, scheduling, and automatic updates. Everything is end-to-end encrypted — only your frame and your signed-in phones can see your photos.
• Set Up Without Cloud — Photos go straight from your phone to the frame, no account needed, and nothing ever leaves your home. Fewer features: you send photos only from nearby, with no shared albums or remote control. Good for hospitals, care facilities, remote cabins, or anywhere you’d rather not put a frame on your network.

Either way, your photos stay private. And the choice isn’t forever — a frame set up Without Cloud can upgrade to Wi-Fi later from its menu; going the other direction needs a factory reset.

Wallie uses 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. If your network shows two options, pick the regular one — not the one with “5G” in the name.

Already set up a frame today? The app doesn’t ask for the password a second time. It shows Use your saved Wi-Fi with the network your last frame joined, and a button — Use followed by that network’s name — to carry on. Different network is there if this frame belongs somewhere else.

Step 4 · Pick your first photo

The app walks you through picking a photo from your phone. Once you choose:

1. You’ll see a preview of how it’ll look on the frame.
2. Tap the button to send it.
3. Your photo appears on the frame in a few moments.

That’s setup. Naming the frame, sharing it with your household, and changing settings all happen later from the app.

Step 5 · Add more photos any time

Once Wallie’s set up, you’ll spend most of your time in two places in the app:

• Frames — every Wallie you own. Tap one to see what’s on it and change its album, schedule, and settings.
• Photos — your library.

To add photos, open an album and tap Add Photos. Wallie shows them on its next update.

Want a new photo right now? Press the button on the back of the frame. Green flash → next photo.

Setting up more than one

The very first time you set up a Wallie, the app asks How many did you get? Just this one is already selected: if that’s you, tap through and you won’t see the question again.

Pick the set you bought instead, and setup carries you through the rest of the frames:

• The Wi-Fi password is typed once. After the first frame joins your network, every frame after it offers Use followed by that network’s name. Different network is there for a frame that belongs somewhere else.
• You can see where you are. Setup counts the frames as you go — Frame 2 of 4 — so you know how many are left.
• Add another frame is the main button when a frame finishes, so moving to the next one is the obvious next step rather than something to go find. I’m done for now stops there and picks up later.
• Group them into a Gallery when they’re all up. A Gallery is a named group of frames that can share an album, refresh together, and be seen together in the app. Setup offers to make one at the end — tap Make a Gallery, or Keep them separate. Naming comes on the next screen, with small diagrams of ways the frames can hang; Skip for now (or the back arrow) moves on without deciding, and you can name and arrange the gallery later. → Galleries

The password itself stays in your phone’s keychain. The app never shows it back to you, and it’s forgotten as soon as you cancel setup or sign out — and in any case after 24 hours, which is meant to cover an afternoon of hanging frames and nothing longer.

Hanging it on the wall

• In no hurry to hang it? You don’t have to. The shelf stand is in the box — most people unbox, set the frame on its stand, and hang it whenever they’re ready. When that day comes, the hanging guide is in the app’s Guides tab.
• Check the battery first. Look up the frame’s battery level in the app. If it’s low, give it a few hours on USB-C before mounting. A full charge takes about 8 hours and lasts months.
• Use the included hardware to hang it like any other framed picture.
• Hanging several as a group? See Hanging a Gallery for the measurements.
• E-ink looks great in any light, including direct sun — no glare, no washout. The only thing to keep in mind is sustained heat (a sunny summer windowsill, right above a heating vent) — that’s a battery concern, not a display concern.
• The power button is on the back of the frame — out of sight, but easy to reach.

Cleaning your Wallie

A soft, dry microfiber cloth is all you need. No cleaners of any kind — no water, no sprays, no glass cleaner. Full details: Caring for your Wallie.

Charging & battery

• USB-C cable included — bring your own charger. Any standard phone charger brick works. Laptop USB ports and USB battery packs work too.
• A full charge takes about 8 hours from empty. It’s fine to leave it plugged in overnight, or to top up partially whenever it’s convenient.
• Use it while charging — Wallie keeps showing photos.
• Plug in any time. No need to drain it first.

For battery safety, heat guidance, and what to do if something seems wrong — see Safety & Care.

Checking the battery level

In the Wallie app: Frames → tap your frame → All settings. A healthy battery isn’t news, so it sits one screen down with the rest of the frame’s particulars rather than on the first one.

A low one comes to you. Once a frame’s battery drops far enough to be worth acting on, the level appears on that frame in the Frames list, where you’ll see it without going to look for it. That’s the cue to plug in — a few hours on USB-C is plenty.

A glance now and then is still worth it, though: the level only updates when the frame checks in, so a frame that’s gone quiet can’t report one.

In the desktop app, click your frame in the sidebar — the battery reading is at the top of the frame's screen.

How long it lasts

A full charge lasts several months up to a year, depending on your frame settings (which mode you’re in, refresh frequency, wake hours). See Using Your Frame for how those choices affect battery.

Done. What now?

→ Using Your Frame — daily controls, scheduling, sharing with your household.