Guided Setup

The guided setup is the recommended path for a fresh vehicle. It presents the first-time configuration as an ordered checklist, and — crucially — verifies each step against the live vehicle rather than just telling you what to do. Steps unlock in sequence: you can’t sign off a later step until the ones it depends on are satisfied.

Open it from the Guided Setup tab in the left navigation (just below Status & Info). The Status & Info tab is the health and live-status dashboard; the step-by-step wizard runs on its own Guided Setup tab.

How it works

Each step shows:

  • Criteria — the concrete checks that must pass (e.g. “Live RC telemetry is present”, “RC endpoint capture completed”), each marked met or unmet.

  • Actions — buttons that take you to the relevant tab, start a guided exercise, or confirm the step.

  • Evidence — a short readout of the live state the criteria are reading.

When every criterion is met and you confirm the step, it’s marked complete and the next one unlocks.

The steps

The guided flow follows the same order as a real bring-up:

  1. Link — confirm a healthy connection and parameter sync.

  2. Ports — assign serial protocols (RC input, telemetry, GPS, etc.).

  3. Receiver — map channels, verify stick travel, capture endpoints, and verify channel directions (see Receiver).

  4. Outputs / Motors — set the ESC protocol and check motor order and direction.

  5. Power / Battery — configure the battery monitor and voltage/current calibration.

  6. Sensors — accelerometer, compass, and level calibration.

  7. Flight Modes — assign modes to a transmitter switch.

  8. Failsafe — set radio and battery failsafe behavior.

Note

The exact step list adapts to the vehicle and to what your firmware exposes. Plane, Rover, and Sub surface the steps relevant to them.

Warning

Guided setup verifies configuration, not airworthiness. Always do a careful props-off check, confirm motor order and direction, and follow the ArduPilot first-flight guidance before any powered flight.

Channel-direction gate

The Receiver step blocks sign-off until every primary axis (roll, pitch, throttle, yaw) reads the correct direction. Move each stick the way it’s labelled in the Endpoints Channel direction check; any axis that reads backwards gets a one-click reverse. See Receiver.