How can I monitor my Victron MPPT without checking the phone app all the time?

Answered by RV Parts Giant · Upland, CA · October 8, 2026

Short answer: Fit a wired display or a GX device to the controller's VE.Direct port. The MPPT Control display shows live data and error codes, and can change most settings. A Cerbo GX with a GX Touch shows the whole system and sends it to the VRM portal. Either needs a VE.Direct cable, and the port takes one device.

The SmartSolar controllers have no screen of their own; the phone app is the default view. There are three ways to get away from it, and they suit different boats, vans and trailers.

1. A wired display on the wall: MPPT Control

The MPPT Control (Victron part SCC900500000) is a small panel that connects to the controller's VE.Direct port. It shows charging status, solar yield and battery data, and displays error codes. Victron's manual says most controller settings can be changed from it too, so you rarely need the app once it is set up.

It ships without the VE.Direct cable. Measure from where the display will sit to the controller and buy the next length up. VE.Direct cables run from 0.3 m to 10 m, and the right-angle version suits a controller mounted close to a wall.

2. The whole system on one screen: Cerbo GX and GX Touch

A Cerbo GX reads every connected Victron device, so the solar controller, the battery monitor and the inverter appear together on a GX Touch screen. It also raises an alarm on screen if the controller reports a fault. Put the Cerbo on Wi-Fi or a router and the data goes to the free VRM portal, where you can watch it from anywhere. With VictronConnect, you can also change the controller's settings remotely through VRM.

This makes sense once you have more than one Victron device. For a single controller, the MPPT Control is the simpler answer.

The one-port catch

The small SmartSolar controllers have one VE.Direct port. It takes either the display or the GX device, not both. If you already run a Cerbo, the GX Touch is your display.

If the port has a small wire jumper in it, that jumper is setting the load output mode. Victron says to remove it before connecting a display or GX device, and to set the load mode in the app or on the display instead.

3. Check less often: LEDs and the history

The LEDs on the controller show the charge stage: bulk, absorption or float. If the bulk LED blinks briefly every 3 seconds, the controller has power but not enough solar to start charging. If the LEDs blink every 4 seconds, it is receiving data from a GX device or a VE.Smart network. Victron's Toolkit app decodes the fault blink patterns.
The app's history screen keeps 30 days: daily yield, peak power, peak PV voltage, battery max and min, and how long each day spent in bulk, absorption and float. You can export it as a CSV. A weekly look tells you more than daily glances do. If the controller never reaches float, the array is too small for the load, or the load is too big for the array.