Installing a Universal Dispenser Beacon has two parts: mounting it on the dispenser in the correct position, then completing the Dispenser Beacon workflow in the Kio Setup Manager mobile app to set its dispenser model and assign it to its location. Complete both parts for each dispenser. A mounted Dispenser Beacon that has not been configured in the app does not detect anything.
Before you begin
- Signed in to the Kio Setup Manager mobile app.
- The Universal Dispenser Beacon order is claimed in Device Management. Kio Setup Manager cannot install a device that has not been claimed.
- Smart Location setup is complete — campuses, buildings, floors, and rooms exist, Departments are created, and every room is assigned to its Department. Hand Hygiene depends on both: dispense events are attributed to a department for compliance reporting, so a room with no Department assignment cannot be selected during installation.
- The Dispenser Types used at this site are registered in Hand Hygiene. See Hand Hygiene setup guide.
- For the hand hygiene reminder, a Portal Light and a room sensor (Beam Mini or Portal Beam) in the room. If either is missing, the app offers to install it during the workflow.
- The Dispenser Beacon and its matching flex-rack mount are on hand.
- Isopropyl alcohol or a degreaser wipe for cleaning the mounting area.
- Bluetooth enabled on your mobile device.
- You know which Department and room each dispenser belongs to.
Important: Confirm the dispenser is on the supported list before mounting. The Universal Dispenser Beacon detects a dispense from the motion pattern of one specific dispenser model, and it is not calibrated for models outside that list. Dispensers from the same manufacturer can look alike and still behave differently.
Mounting position
Position is not adjustable. The detection algorithm is trained on data from one specific mounting position per dispenser model, so a Dispenser Beacon mounted higher, lower, or on the wrong side misses dispenses or reports ones that did not happen.
Always mount on the left side of the dispenser, from the perspective of someone standing in front of it. The antenna is tuned to scan people standing in front of the dispenser from that side; mounting on the right misses users approaching from the other side.
The exact vertical position differs by dispenser model. Follow the photographs for your model rather than estimating. Photographs are shown here for the four supported models. The GOJO LTX-7 and LTX-12 and the Ecolab Nexa Compact Touch-Free and Nexa Classic Touch-Free are available only by special request; get the mounting position from Kontakt.io before installing on one of them. For the full list, see About the Universal Dispenser Beacon.
Mounting position by dispenser
Gojo FMX-12 — manual press and release.
Gojo FMX-20 — manual press and release.
Ecolab Nexa Compact Manual (750 mL) — manual press and release, Ecolab airless pump.
Ecolab Nexa Classic Manual (1250 mL) — manual press and release, Ecolab airless pump.
Important: Do not improvise a position. The detection for each model is trained on one exact mounting position, so use the photograph for your model or the position Kontakt.io gives you.
Mount the Dispenser Beacon
- Clean and degrease the mounting area. Wipe the area where the flex-rack will go with isopropyl alcohol or a degreaser. Adhesion is critical — any residue or film causes the mount to fail over time.
- Attach the flex-rack to the dispenser. Peel the adhesive backing and press the flex-rack firmly onto the cleaned area at the position shown for your dispenser model. Apply steady pressure for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Snap the Dispenser Beacon into the flex-rack. The Dispenser Beacon locks into the rack in one orientation only. You will usually see three yellow LED blinks as it enters maintenance mode. This is expected.
- Wait for maintenance mode to end. Leave the dispenser alone for about 30 seconds. Three green blinks mean the Dispenser Beacon has exited maintenance mode and is ready to detect dispenses.
Note: Maintenance mode exists so that handling the dispenser during installation or a refill is not counted as a dispense. The Dispenser Beacon enters it automatically during install, and a single press of its button starts another 30-second window at any time.
Quick reference: LED and button behavior
Keep this to hand while installing — it is the fastest way to read what the Dispenser Beacon is telling you. The LED is off during normal operation, so a Dispenser Beacon showing no light is working.
| Color | Pattern | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Single fast blink | A dispense was detected and counted as a hand hygiene event. |
| Green | Three blinks | Maintenance mode has ended. The Dispenser Beacon is detecting dispenses again. |
| Green | Fast blinking | A refill was recorded, following a triple-click of the button. |
| Yellow | Three blinks | Maintenance mode has started. Dispenses are paused for 30 seconds — expected during installation and refills. |
| Red | Constant blinking | An internal error, or the Dispenser Beacon is unconfigured or misconfigured. |
| Button action | Result |
|---|---|
| Single press | Starts maintenance mode for 30 seconds. Dispenses are ignored during that window. |
| Triple click | Records a refill and resets the activation counter. A 30-second back-off prevents an accidental double refill. |
For what to do about a red LED, and the full explanation of maintenance mode and refill logging, see Reference: Universal Dispenser Beacon LED and button.
Install with Kio Setup Manager
Complete this workflow standing next to the Dispenser Beacon. Until it finishes, the Dispenser Beacon has no location assignment and does not report dispenses.
Open Kio Setup Manager, go to Install, and select Dispenser Beacon.
Scan the Dispenser Beacon. Scan the QR code on the label, choose it from the nearby devices list, or enter its Unique ID manually.
Wait while the app verifies the device. It accepts only Dispenser Beacon models, so a device scanned by mistake is rejected here rather than later.
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Fill in the dispenser details. The screen is titled Dispenser Details on iOS and Create Dispenser Entity on Android. The app asks for the following, in this order:
- Dispenser Model. Select the dispenser model this Dispenser Beacon is mounted on. This loads the motion-detection calibration for that specific dispenser, so the model must match. A mismatch prevents detection.
- Dispenser Type. Select the type this dispenser belongs to. Dispenser Types are defined in Hand Hygiene or Company Settings and must exist before installation.
- Dispenser Name. Use a name your own team will recognize on a report — where it is, rather than a serial number.
- Dispenser ID (Dispenser External ID on iOS). The identifier this dispenser is known by outside Kio Cloud.
- Initial fill level. Optional. Report how full the dispenser is right now, or skip it and let Kio Cloud infer the level from usage.
Choose the location. Work down the Smart Location hierarchy: campus, building, floor, then room.
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Choose whether to enable local buzzing. This is the local hand hygiene reminder — the buzzer that sounds when a staff member has been in the room without a recorded wash. On Android the app asks Do you want to enable local buzzing?; on iOS the screen is Pair Portal Light. Both pairings happen here, and the reminder needs both: a Portal Light and a room sensor (Beam Mini or Portal Beam). A Dispenser Beacon paired with one without the other does not sound the reminder.
Answer yes and the app looks for the gateways and room sensors already in the room, then walks two steps in turn:
- The Portal Light. If the room already has one, select it from the room map. If it has none, the app offers to install a Portal Light without leaving the dispenser workflow, then returns and continues with the new one already selected.
- The room sensor. The same again for the Beam Mini or Portal Beam, on the Select Portal Beam map.
Important: If the Portal Light you select is already paired with another dispenser, the app warns you and skips the room sensor step. The dispenser is still placed in the room, but no room sensor is paired to it and the Portal Light is not re-paired, so this dispenser has no local reminder. Each Portal Light can be paired with only one Dispenser Beacon; if the location needs a reminder, pair it with a Portal Light that is not already paired with another dispenser.
Answer no and the Dispenser Beacon still records dispenses normally — the room simply has no local reminder.
Note: Pairing is done in Kio Setup Manager and nowhere else — it is not available in Hand Hygiene or Device Management. It is not a one-time chance, though: you can pair a Dispenser Beacon, or change which Portal Light and room sensor it is paired with, at any time by completing this installation again on the same Dispenser Beacon. The app warns that continuing overwrites the Dispenser Beacon's current assignment. To see the current pairing, open Smart Location, select the Dispenser Beacon on the floor plan map, and view its device details, which list each paired device by its ID under Paired devices. On iOS, the Dispenser Beacon's device details in Kio Setup Manager also show Paired Portal Light and Paired Portal Beam.
Place the Dispenser Beacon. The app prompts you to fit it in its install location in the room, following the mounting position described above.
Mark its position on the floor map, so it appears in the right place on the room map.
Add a note, if anything about this dispenser needs recording for the next person. Notes are visible in Kio Setup Manager and in Kio Cloud.
Wait while the app creates the dispenser in Hand Hygiene, or updates it if this Dispenser Beacon was installed before, and saves its location and configuration.
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Complete the test dispense. Trigger a dispense on the dispenser. The app asks one question — whether the LED blinked — and the answer sets the dispenser's status:
- LED blinked. The Dispenser Beacon is verified and the Dispenser is marked available.
- LED did not blink. The Dispenser is flagged with an error status so it can be found and revisited. Complete the installation again to re-verify it. On Android, the app shows Installation Partially Complete.
The success screen confirms the install is complete, and offers to install the next Dispenser Beacon.
Confirm it is working
Before leaving the dispenser:
- Wait for maintenance mode to end. Leave the dispenser untouched for about 30 seconds and watch for three green blinks.
- Do a trial dispense. Press the lever and dispense a small amount. Within a second or two the LED should blink green once, confirming the Dispenser Beacon registered it.
- Dispense again after a short pause. A second green blink confirms detection is working reliably on this dispenser.
- Check the cloud app. Confirm the Dispenser Beacon appears under its assigned location and that its activation count increases after your test dispenses.
If there is no green blink after a dispense, do not adjust the mounting to compensate. Record the dispenser model and location and report it — the motion calibration for that model may need revisiting.
If the LED blinks red constantly, the Dispenser Beacon has an internal error or is unconfigured or misconfigured. Re-check the configuration in Kio Setup Manager, then reinstall the Dispenser Beacon from the app. A fresh install clears a stale configuration, which is a common cause when a Dispenser Beacon was previously mounted on a different dispenser model.
What happens next
Kio Setup Manager sets the Dispenser Beacon's deployment status to Deployed, which makes it available in Device Health. All three Dispenser Beacon models can be selected under Applies To in a Battery Level Alert Rule, so their battery levels are monitored alongside your other battery-powered devices. Deploying the device does not create that alerting on its own — it needs a Battery Level Alert Rule that includes Dispenser Beacons. See About Device Health Alert Rules.
The dispenser now appears in Hand Hygiene under Dispensers Management and Dispensers Telemetry, and its dispense events begin counting toward hand hygiene opportunities in the room you assigned it to.
Repeat for each dispenser in the deployment.