RVAltCtrl uses a few different web addresses, and at first glance they can look a little confusing. There's the portal, the setup page, the local device address, and sometimes even a string of numbers that looks nothing like a normal website. Each one has a specific job, and once you know what it's for, it's actually pretty simple.
Most of those addresses point out to the public internet, but the local device address is different: it's RVAltCtrl talking directly to your browser over your RV's own WiFi network, nothing is sent out over the internet. That's also why it shows http:// instead of https://, and why your browser may flag it as "Not Secure," neither one means anything is actually wrong. This page covers what each address is for, then explains that local connection and its security in more detail below.
Video Walkthrough
Prefer to watch instead? Here's a short video covering all of it.
RVAltCtrl.com
RVAltCtrl.com is the main public website, for general information about the product. It's also where this help documentation lives, click Documentation in the upper right corner.
The Setup Page
Add /setup to the end of the main website address to reach the setup page, https://my.rvaltctrl.com/setup. The QR code printed on your device also takes you directly there.
While RVAltCtrl is in setup mode, this is the page you use, with a supported web browser, to connect it to your RV's WiFi network. See Getting RVAltCtrl on your Network for the full setup walkthrough, with videos.
The RVAltCtrl Portal
The portal at my.rvaltctrl.com is where you check your device's connection status, connect to it locally or remotely, and browse available feature upgrades.
Sometimes you'll see this address with your Device ID added to the end, especially if you arrived here from the setup page. Your browser can also remember your Device ID if you choose to save it, so returning to my.rvaltctrl.com in that same browser has your saved device waiting for you.
See RVAltCtrl Portal for more, with video.
The Local IP Address
Sometimes you'll see an address that's just a string of numbers, something like 192.168.51.214. Yours will look different, but that's RVAltCtrl's local IP address, the address of the small web server built directly into the device. Connecting to it means your browser is talking directly to RVAltCtrl itself, not to a website out on the internet.
Normally, the portal finds this address for you automatically and, if it can tell you're on the same WiFi network as your device, gives you a quick way to connect locally, so most of the time you may never need to type it yourself. It becomes especially useful when the portal itself isn't reachable, for example if you're boondocking somewhere without internet access.
If you ever need to find it directly, RVAltCtrl's middle LED spells it out. See Status LEDs for how to read it.
Security & How This Works
RVAltCtrl is designed to live entirely on your RV's own local network, the same private network your phone, tablet, and laptop already join to reach it. By default, nothing about how you use RVAltCtrl ever leaves that network.
The web pages come from the device itself. When you open http://RVAltCtrl.local or its IP address, you're not reaching a server out on the internet, you're talking directly to a small web server built into RVAltCtrl. That's true whether you're connected to RVAltCtrl's own Access Point WiFi during setup, or to your RV's WiFi afterward, everything here happens directly between your phone and RVAltCtrl over your own local network. Nothing is ever sent over the public internet.
That's also why the address is http:// instead of https://. HTTPS depends on signed certificates, and those can't be issued for local device names or private IP addresses, only for publicly registered domain names. That's why RVAltCtrl, your home router, your printer, and most other devices on a local network all use plain http:// for their own setup pages. Because of that, your browser may show something like "Not Secure" when you connect this way. That can look alarming, but it doesn't mean anything is wrong, it just means you're making a direct connection to RVAltCtrl over your own local WiFi network rather than visiting a public website. See Getting RVAltCtrl on your Network for the full technical explanation.
Remote Access is opt-in, and off by default. Everything above describes RVAltCtrl's normal, local-only mode of operation. If you'd like to reach your RV from outside its own WiFi network, say to check tank levels from across the campground, Remote Access is available as an optional feature. It only works through access tokens you generate yourself while standing at the device, connected to its own WiFi, so nothing about your RV is reachable from outside your network unless you explicitly turn it on.