Real-Time Data
How Kilo IoT delivers real-time sensor data to dashboards and Overview — and what to check when updates stop.
The Kilo IoT Server delivers device data to your dashboards and overview page in real time. When a sensor reports a new reading, that reading appears on screen without requiring a page refresh or manual action. This page explains the two Live Data surfaces, how real-time delivery works, and what to check when data is not appearing as expected.
Two Live Data surfaces
The platform displays real-time status in two places, each with different behavior:
Overview page: Live Data button
On the overview page, the header shows a "Live Data" label with a clickable icon button. Hovering over the button shows the tooltip "New data is automatically displayed".
This is an interactive button. Clicking it triggers a manual data refresh — the overview queries for the latest device and gateway information and updates the summary cards. This is useful when you've just registered a new device or made a configuration change and want to see the result immediately rather than waiting for the automatic refresh cycle.
Dashboard header: Live Data indicator
On any dashboard, the header shows a "Live Data" label with a small icon. Unlike the overview button, this is a status indicator, not a button — it has no click action, no tooltip, and no hover effect.
The indicator confirms that the dashboard is receiving real-time data updates. Widget values refresh automatically as new readings arrive from devices. The indicator disappears when you enter edit mode (replaced by the dashboard metadata edit icon).
How real-time delivery works
The server uses a persistent connection between your browser and the platform to push data updates as they happen:
Device sends data — A sensor transmits a new reading through its connector (LoRaWAN, tracker, or other protocol).
Server processes the reading — The data passes through normalization and is stored for historical queries.
Push to browser — Simultaneously, the reading is pushed to any active browser session that is viewing a relevant dashboard or widget.
Widget updates — Dashboard widgets displaying the affected metric refresh their displayed value without a page reload.
This architecture means that a temperature sensor reporting every 60 seconds will update your dashboard widget every 60 seconds — the latency is determined by the device's reporting interval, not by the platform's delivery mechanism.
For integrators building external systems that consume real-time data, the platform supports SSE (Server-Sent Events) and WebSocket protocols. Dashboard widgets use these same mechanisms internally. If you're building custom integrations that need live data streams, these protocols provide the foundation.
The "Waiting for live data" state
When a dashboard or widget is connected to the real-time stream but no data has arrived yet, the interface may display "Waiting for live data". This is a normal state that occurs when:
A device has been registered but hasn't sent its first reading yet.
The device's reporting interval hasn't elapsed since the dashboard was opened.
The device is offline or its connector is not active.
Troubleshooting data delays
If data is not appearing in real time:
Check the device status — Open the device detail page and confirm it is online and sending data. Look at the last-seen timestamp.
Check the connector — Ensure the connector associated with the device is active and connected.
Check the gateway (LoRaWAN devices) — If the device uses a LoRaWAN gateway, verify the gateway is online and within range.
Refresh the browser — In rare cases, the persistent connection between the browser and server may need to be re-established. A page refresh resolves this.
Click the Live Data button (overview only) — On the overview page, clicking the Live Data button forces a manual data refresh.
Related pages
Overview Page — Where the clickable Live Data button lives.
Adding Widgets — Configure widgets that display real-time data.
Creating Dashboards — Build the dashboards that receive live updates.
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