GETTING STARTED

Your first transfer, step by step.

Written for someone who has never used Kionel and does not want to read a manual. Nothing here needs an IT department, an installation or a network change. If a step does not match what you see, stop and tell us — that is a fault in these instructions, not in you.

1. What you need

Two devices. The one holding the file (the isolated instrument PC, a laptop) and one with a working camera (a laptop, a tablet, a phone, a document camera).
A current browser on each: Chrome or Edge 137 or later, Firefox 130 or later, or Safari 17 or later. Kionel signs and encrypts with cryptography built into these versions. Windows 7 and 8.1 cannot run them, so Kionel does not run there; Windows 10 and 11 can. The app checks this when it opens and tells you if the browser is too old.
They must see each other. The camera of one has to see the screen of the other. No cable, no network, no Bluetooth.

The devices do not need to be online for the transfer itself. A PC that can never go online uses the offline package: one file, copied once, checked by its SHA-256.

2. Your first transfer

Do this once with a harmless test file before you use it for real work.

On the receiving device: open kionel.com, press Receive. A square code appears on its screen.
On the sending device: press Send, then Choose file and pick your file. Fill in the work order or sample ID if your workflow uses one — it is signed together with the file.
Point the sending device's camera at the receiving screen so the square code is inside the picture. It reads it by itself; there is no button.
The sending device now shows its own code. Turn it so the receiving device's camera can see it.
Both screens now show six digits and five small symbols. Check with your own eyes that they are identical. This is the step that stops anyone sitting in the middle. If they differ, stop and start again.
Press Codes match on both devices.
The sending screen fills with changing codes; keep the receiving camera pointed at it. The progress bar moves. A long transfer can be paused and resumed.
When it finishes, the receiving device offers your file and a delivery receipt. The sending device offers a dispatch record.

If the sending PC has no camera

Most instrument PCs have none. They can still send; the keyboard replaces the camera.

On the phone or tablet: press Receive → Show a code. A 12-character code appears, like 7K3Q-M9XD-4PAB.
On the PC: choose the file, fill in the work order, type the code into Code shown on the receiver and press Send with this code.
Point the phone's camera at the PC screen until it shows the file. The code works once; the next transfer gets a new one.

The two devices do not have to be there at the same time. Film the sending screen with the phone's camera app, and open the video later — on the same or another phone — under Receive → Open a recording, typing the code that was used. The recording is encrypted: without that code it cannot be opened.

Faster for larger files: on the PC press Phone records the screen — faster before sending. On the phone press Record the screen now, film the PC screen at 60 fps if your camera app offers it, stop, and Kionel reads the recording. If it ends too early, record again — what was collected is kept.

Sending to the same device every day? Create a receiver card once on the phone (Receive → Receiver card) and load it on the PC; then no code is needed. The card belongs to that phone's browser: if the phone's browser data is cleared, or the phone is replaced, create a new card and load it on the PC again. If a PC is lost, press Retire this device's card key on the phone and every old card stops working.

3. What to keep afterwards

The file itself goes wherever your files normally go. The two small JSON records are the point of the product: they are the proof that this file, with this hash, went from this device to that one, signed by both.

Store them the way you store any other quality record — next to the result, in the folder or system your procedure names. They are small and they never expire.

For a reviewer or inspector who does not read JSON, press Print report / save as PDF: one page with the file, its SHA-256, the work order and each signature check. Anyone can repeat the check at kionel.com/verify.html — the record is checked in their browser and nothing is uploaded.

Years later, anyone can check them without us: the offline verifier is enough. We publish that verifier under a permissive licence precisely so that this stays true if Kionel disappears.

When something looks wrong

What you see	What it means
"No camera was found on this device"	Normal on an instrument PC. Use a code from the receiver instead (see "If the sending PC has no camera").
"Camera access was refused"	Allow the camera for kionel.com (icon in the address bar), then reload.
"The code has 12 characters…" or "the code does not open this transfer"	The code was mistyped. Check it on the phone and press Send again; the phone keeps listening.
"sealed for a different receiver card"	The PC holds an old card, or the phone's card key was retired. Create a new card on the phone and load it on the PC.
"runs an older version of Kionel"	One device has an old copy of the page. Reload the page on both devices.
"This file needs about N minutes of steady camera time"	Optical transfer suits files up to about 1 MB. Text and CSV are compressed automatically; for PDFs and images, set Screen to "monitor — 4 codes" and QR version 40 with the phone close.
Everything is gone after a clean-up	The browser's data was cleared. Create a new receiver card if you used one.
The codes on the two screens differ	Stop. Close both sides and start again. Do not continue.
Reading is slow or stalls	More light, less glare, hold steadier, move closer. On a phone, pick the rear camera. Very dense codes need a sharper view; choose a lower QR version.

Still stuck

Write to us through the contact form with what you saw on screen. Do not send us your file or your data — we do not need it and we do not want it.

Open the transfer page What Kionel does not do →