With your AirVisual Series air quality monitor, outdoor air quality readings and air pollution data collection can be shared globally. The AirVisual Series provides reliable air quality data to communities anywhere and brings us all one step closer to breathing the cleanest air possible around the world.

Follow the steps below to set up your AirVisual Pro or AirVisual Outdoor as a public outdoor air quality monitoring station.

How to install your AirVisual Outdoor

Follow these steps to install your AirVisual Outdoor as a public air quality resource.

1. Connect to your app

1. Use your mobile device to install the AirVisual app from the Apple App Store or Google Play store.
2. Once the app is installed, login with your IQAir account or create a new account within the app.
3. Go to the Devices tab in the app and select Add Device.
4. Scan the QR code on the outside of your AirVisual Outdoor device, or manually select a device to add. Note: If you’re manually adding the device, have the serial number or share code ready to enter into the app.
5. Follow the app instructions to designate your AirVisual Outdoor location.
6. Fill in the details about your monitor and name the monitor.
7. When finished, select Next.
8. Allow the app to geolocate your monitor if you wish to share your location as a public air quality monitor. If you’ve decided not to, skip this step by selecting I don’t want to locate my device.

2. Power and connect the monitor to the network

• If you’ve connected to a 4G monitor or ethernet cable, you should be automatically connected. The LED monitor will light up red when successfully powered.
• If you are connecting wirelessly to Wi-Fi:
  1. Go to the Devices tab in the AirVisual app.
  2. Select Configure Network.
  3. Choose your device and follow the prompts.
• The LED on the monitor will light up in this order: green, red, off, and red again.
• When successfully connected, the LED turns bright blue. The process takes up to 60 seconds.

3. Choose a location

Select a location that meets the following criteria:

• access to an electrical outlet and a dependable Wi-Fi connection
• make sure power or network cables are free from exposure to rain, snow, and ice
• an outdoor location sheltered from direct sunlight, rain, snow, ice, and winds
• a sheltered location, such as eaves, awnings, balconies, or covered patios
• steady, natural airflow around the device
• mount the monitor vertically on a wall or pole, with sensor openings facing downward
• position at least five feet off the ground
• away from localized pollution sources, such as cigarette smoke or outdoor grills

4. Mount the device outdoors

1. Use the included Allen wrench to loosen the hex socket screw and remove the mounting plate from the monitor. You can also remove the air inlet cover to install or replace air pollution sensors or 4G modem hardware.
2. Use the supplied mounting hardware, including anchors and screws or cable ties, to attach the mounting plate to your desired location.
3. Slot the monitor into the mounting hook on the plate. Make sure the air inlet cover is attached.
4. Push the monitor gently into the mounting plate and use the Allen wrench to tighten the hex socket screw until it’s snug.

How to install your AirVisual Pro

Follow these steps to install your AirVisual Pro as a public air quality resource.

1. Choose a location

The optimal location for your AirVisual Pro public air quality monitoring station includes:

• access to an electrical outlet and a dependable Wi-Fi connection
• an outdoor location sheltered from direct sunlight, rain, snow, ice, and winds
• a sheltered location, such as a porch, covered patio, under an awning, or in a garage
• steady, natural airflow around the device
• position no higher than 30 feet
• away from localized pollution sources, such as cigarette smoke or outdoor grills

IQAir may be able to help you in securing an outdoor shelter for the AirVisual Pro air quality monitor. Please contact IQAir at (866) 488-1918 for assistance.

Pictured: An AirVisual Pro protected by a homemade shelter.

2. Add your AirVisual sensor to your login profile

You can add your AirVisual sensor to your profile through either the IQAir website or mobile app for iOS and Android.

Follow these steps to add to the AirVisual sensor to a mobile app.

1. Open My Devices tab.
2. Tap Add a new device.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen for adding a device.

Follow these steps to add to the AirVisual Pro through the IQAir website.

1. Create an account on the website and log in.
2. Click your profile image to open a drop-down menu.
3. Under Personal Dashboard, select your name.
4. From the top menu bar, select Devices.
5. Select the button Register A Device.
6. Enter the device serial number.
7. Add your device.

From the My Devices page, select your device.

1. Click Settings, the three dots on the right.
2. Click the Location tab.
3. On the menu select Make Public.
4. Set the Station name on IQAir as you want it to be seen on the public data map. We recommend naming it by referencing a nearby recognizable landmark, park, or street name.
5. You’ll see a link to help you determine your GPS coordinates. When supplying these, please consider your own privacy and safety. We typically recommend reporting a location at least 300 feet away from your actual location.
6. If you don’t see your country on the drop-down list, choose Add new country/state/city from the drop-down list.
7. Submit three required photos to show how you’ve set up your device. Send at least one photo from 1 meter in front of the device and one photo from 1 meter behind. Also include one photo from 10 meters away so that we can verify the environment.
   
   Note: These photos are confidential and will not be shared with anyone outside of IQAir. They’re simply meant to help us verify that your AirVisual sensor has been set up in an environment that will provide the most accurate local air quality data.
8. Click Submit.

4. Data validation

Wait about 1 to 2 weeks for IQAir to analyze the readings before publishing your device's data to the public air quality map.

Note: If we note any issues with the data that your AirVisual Pro is reporting, we’ll get in touch with you via your IQAir account email to sort them out.

Pictured: An outdoor shelter protecting an AirVisual Pro.

Join a network of citizen scientists

You’re now a citizen data scientist, contributing outdoor air quality data to the world. Your friends, family, neighbors, and air quality enthusiasts around the world can view and act on live data from your community’s air.

IQAir crowdsourced air quality monitoring data has exposed air pollution in communities around the world since the AirVisual Series air quality monitor was first launched.

Air pollution is the leading environmental health hazard facing our planet. According to a 2021 study published in Environmental Research, an estimated 8.7 million deaths could be attributed to fossil fuel air pollution in 2018.¹

According to a health and economic cost estimator developed by IQAir and Greenpeace Southeast Asia, over 160,000 deaths in the world’s five most populous cities were attributable to air pollution.

Awareness is growing, but air pollution is often difficult to see or quantify. Tackling the air pollution problem can be complex. Specific measurements are needed to reveal how pollution affects different areas, and different communities must respond to the problem in their own way.

The takeaway

Since the AirVisual Series was first deployed, we’ve witnessed incredible achievements from community networks and activists taking local air quality into their own hands.

• In Lahore, Pakistan, one activist kickstarted an air quality monitoring revolution by publishing the first live readings of air pollution data in Pakistan, leading to a landmark court case that shaped government smog policy.
• In the Philippines, a socially conscious enterprise installed AirVisual Pro monitors in its nationwide network of clean fuel stations. The Philippines then supported a national air quality improvement framework using IQAir data.

From Cape Town, South Africa toCasablanca, Morocco, Bangkok, Thailand to Nome, Alaska, Krasnoyarsk, Russia to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, people around the world are publishing their communities onto the air pollution map, helping people make informed decisions and making local pollution hard to ignore.

If you have any questions, contact us and our team of Air Quality Experts. We’re happy to answer any of your questions and help get your community online.

Note: Per regulations, non-government data is prohibited in China. No data from AirVisual monitors within China national borders is made public.