Monitor your Victron system remotely without a Cerbo GX
Victron devices you only use over Bluetooth, such as a SmartShunt or a SmartSolar MPPT, can’t reach VRM, Victron’s remote portal, on their own: something aboard has to receive their signal and put it online. There are three ways to do that: a Cerbo GX wired to your devices, a Raspberry Pi with Venus OS and Deeck Bridge, or Deeck Bridge on a GX you already have.
If you have no GX today, the Raspberry Pi is the cheaper route: it costs less than a GX and needs no cables to your devices. The table below compares the three; each one is then explained step by step.
Why Bluetooth alone doesn’t reach VRM
VRM is Victron’s free online portal. An installation reaches it through a gateway that is connected to the internet, normally a GX device such as the Cerbo GX, which reads your Victron products through cables: VE.Direct, VE.Can or VE.Bus (Cerbo GX manual).
Bluetooth Instant Readout works differently. Each Smart device broadcasts its readings to phones nearby; the range is short by design and there is no path to the internet. Your phone shows the readings while you stand next to the system, and nothing stays online once you walk away. As of Venus OS 3.81, the software that runs on GX devices reads only a few Victron products over Bluetooth, the BMS NG models and the SolarSense. A SmartShunt, MPPT, Orion XS or IP22 that is not wired to the GX stays invisible to VRM. Version 3.80 added generic support for encrypted Instant Readout, so later releases may read more.
Victron also makes the GlobalLink 520, a cellular box that sends VE.Direct and Instant Readout devices to VRM without a GX, with the first five years of LTE-M connectivity included in the price (GlobalLink 520 manual).
The three ways compared
| Cerbo GX + VRM | Raspberry Pi + Deeck Bridge | Your Cerbo GX + Deeck Bridge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Cerbo GX and a cable to each device | Raspberry Pi 3 or 4, microSD card, 12 V → USB power | Nothing new on Cerbo GX or Ekrano GX; a USB Bluetooth adapter on a Venus GX |
| Indicative cost | Cerbo GX MK2 about €265, plus cables | Less than a GX, once | Nothing on Cerbo GX or Ekrano GX |
| Wiring to your devices | VE.Direct, VE.Can or VE.Bus cables | None: it listens over Bluetooth | Existing cables stay; Bluetooth-only devices join without cables |
| Bluetooth-only devices online | Only once wired | Yes | Yes |
| Remote deck in Deeck | Yes, through VRM | Yes | Yes |
| Push alerts with the app closed | VRM alarms by email and push in the VRM app, for the devices the GX reads | Yes, system battery checked every 30 s | Yes, system battery checked every 30 s |
| Effort | Wiring and configuration | Write Venus OS, add SetupHelper, install the Bridge | SetupHelper if missing, then the Bridge from PackageManager |
| Internet aboard | Needed | Needed | Needed |
Costs are indicative and vary by country and shop. The Deeck Bridge software is free; the remote deck and push alerts it enables are part of Deeck Pro (€39.99, once).
Option 1: a Cerbo GX and VRM
This is Victron’s own route. The Cerbo GX sits at the centre of the system, reads every wired device and sends the data to VRM, where you can watch it in a browser. It makes sense if you want the GX for more than monitoring, and it needs a cable from the GX to each device you want online.
Deeck works with this setup too: link your VRM account and the same deck you see over Bluetooth is available from anywhere, with the solar forecast based on your installation’s location.
Option 2: a Raspberry Pi with Venus OS and Deeck Bridge
Venus OS, the GX software, also runs on a Raspberry Pi. Victron publishes the Raspberry Pi image as a community effort: in Victron’s words it is “not supported like our commercial products”, and questions go to the Victron Community rather than to Victron’s service department (Venus OS wiki).
On that Pi you install Deeck Bridge, free software that listens to your Victron devices over Bluetooth exactly as the app does and publishes them as native Venus OS devices, so they show up in the Remote Console and in your VRM graphs. Nothing on your system changes: no re-pairing, no reconfiguring, no cables.
What you need
- A Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 with built-in Bluetooth, running Venus OS v3.4x or later; a USB Bluetooth adapter is recommended if you change device settings remotely
- A microSD card (16 GB or more)
- A 12 V → USB power adapter, or any USB socket aboard
- Internet aboard: a router (Ethernet is best), a 4G dongle or a phone hotspot
- A free VRM account
The steps
- 1
Download the Venus OS image for Raspberry Pi from Victron and write it to the microSD card with Raspberry Pi Imager.
- 2
Power the Pi aboard near your devices, connect it to the onboard router (Ethernet is best) or to your Wi‑Fi or hotspot, open the Remote Console in a browser and link the Pi to your VRM account.
- 3
Add SetupHelper, the free community add-on by kwindrem that provides the PackageManager menu: copy its venus-data file to a USB stick, plug it into the Pi and reboot.
- 4
In the Remote Console, go to Settings → PackageManager → Inactive packages → new, enter the package name voltdeck-venus-bridge, GitHub user iamdavidedb and branch main, then Proceed and Install.
- 5
Open Deeck on the same network. It finds the Bridge by itself, hands it your device keys and switches on remote alerts.
The full walkthrough is in the Deeck Bridge guide for Raspberry Pi. As for power, a Raspberry Pi 4 draws about 2–3 W idle.
Option 3: Deeck Bridge on the GX you already have
If a Cerbo GX or an Ekrano GX is already aboard, you need no new hardware; a Venus GX needs a USB Bluetooth adapter, because its own Bluetooth only handles network setup. The Bridge installs from the PackageManager menu; on a GX fresh from the factory you first add SetupHelper from a USB stick. It adds what the GX does not read on its own: Bluetooth-only Victron devices, which then show up in VRM graphs, WattCycle batteries and EZA air conditioners, plus alarms on the system battery pushed to Deeck.
Step by step: Deeck Bridge on a Cerbo GX.
Push alerts, even with the app closed
Seeing the system from afar is half the job; knowing when something goes wrong is the other half. With Deeck Bridge, the box aboard checks the system battery every 30 seconds (state of charge, voltage, temperature) and sends a push notification to up to 8 iPhones, even if you haven’t opened the app for days. A camper in winter storage tells you when it is time to charge; a boat at the mooring tells you when the battery starts to drop. VRM sends push alerts too, through its own app, but only for the devices the GX reads.
The keys stay yours: the app hands them to the Bridge on your own Wi‑Fi. Deeck only delivers the notification; your readings never pass through Deeck’s servers.
If the internet aboard drops, the Bridge keeps reading and alarms resume as soon as the connection is back. Near the system, the app works over Bluetooth as always.
Questions people ask
Can I monitor my SmartShunt remotely without a Cerbo GX?
Yes. A Raspberry Pi running Venus OS and Deeck Bridge receives the SmartShunt’s Bluetooth signal and puts it online, so Deeck shows it from anywhere and alerts you on your phone. No cable to the SmartShunt is needed.
Does VRM work without a GX device?
VRM needs something aboard that is online and sends the data, usually a GX device. Without one, the options are Victron’s GlobalLink 520 or a Raspberry Pi running Venus OS, which is also where Deeck Bridge runs.
Do I need a VRM account for Deeck Bridge?
Yes, a free one. The Bridge puts your readings on VRM and Deeck reads them when you are away. Near the system, Deeck keeps reading Bluetooth directly.
What happens if the internet on board drops?
The Bridge keeps reading and alarms resume as soon as the connection is back. Near the system, the app works over Bluetooth as always.
How much does remote monitoring without a GX cost?
With Deeck Bridge, the cost of a Raspberry Pi, a microSD card and a power adapter, once: less than a GX. The Bridge software is free; the remote deck and alerts are part of Deeck Pro, a one-time €39.99.