---
title: "Robots that run your tests"
description: Install, maintain, and troubleshoot the Kapptivate robots that run your tests.
sidebarTitle: "Overview"
lastUpdated: "2026-09-25"
---

> **For AI agents:** the complete documentation index is at [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Append `.md` to any page URL for its markdown version.

Kapptivate runs your tests on real hardware. Some robots drive a browser, some drive phones over USB, and some carry live SIM cards. These pages take one from the day you rack it to the morning it stops answering, the phones it drives included.

A robot doesn't always sit in your building. Yours may run in your own racks, at Kapptivate, or as a virtual machine with no box to touch. What follows assumes you host it yourself, on the latest generation of hardware, though maintenance and troubleshooting hold for older robots too.

## Installation

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Install a robot" icon="screwdriver-wrench" href="/hardware/install-robot">

    Rack, power, and cable a new robot, whatever its type

</Card>
  <Card title="Configure the robot network" icon="gear" href="/hardware/configure-network">

    Every robot needs a static IP before the platform shows it **Online**

</Card>
</Columns>

## Smartphones

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Prepare an Android smartphone" icon="mobile" href="/hardware/prepare-android">

    The Samsung settings that keep a phone awake and reachable over USB

</Card>
  <Card title="Prepare an iPhone" icon="apple" href="/hardware/prepare-iphone">

    Trust the robot, then let support finish the pairing

</Card>
</Columns>

## Maintenance

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Swap a SIM" icon="sim-card" href="/hardware/swap-sim">

    The number you type decides: a swap that carries the old card's settings and monitors over, or a fresh SIM

</Card>
  <Card title="Replace the motherboard battery" icon="battery-half" href="/hardware/swap-battery">

    When the clock drifts or the BIOS resets

</Card>
  <Card title="Change the IP of an older robot" icon="terminal" href="/hardware/configure-network-older-robot">

    When a robot with no desktop has to move to a new address on your network

</Card>
</Columns>

## Troubleshooting

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Troubleshoot an Offline robot" icon="network-wired" href="/hardware/network-troubleshooting">

    What to read before you go, then the reboot and the cables

</Card>
  <Card title="Check the robot's network connection" icon="terminal" href="/hardware/check-robot-network">

    From a terminal on the robot, find out what blocks it on your network

</Card>
  <Card title="SIM cards troubleshooting" icon="sim-card" href="/hardware/sim-troubleshooting">

    Spot a bad SIM from its status, or from USSD, SMS, and call errors that keep coming back

</Card>
</Columns>

## What's next?

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Agents" icon="server" href="/equipment/agents">

    Agents is where the platform lists your robots: devices, monitors, reboots, and maintenance

</Card>
  <Card title="Equipment statuses" icon="signal" href="/equipment/statuses">

    Every status in one place: robot, device, SIM registration, signal, and usage

</Card>
</Columns>