WinCC Unified V19 Station Configurator kiosk autostart fix

Why the Launch UI Client button is grey

The button is grey because the client has no valid connection to a Runtime web server. Kiosk mode is documented to start only when that connection is available. 2 things produce the failure:

1. The Server Configuration entry and the web server certificate disagree. The certificate on the Unified runtime station carries 1 name, either the computer name or an IP address. The Server Configuration entry in the Station Configurator must carry that same 1. An IPv4 address in the certificate with a computer name in the entry will not connect, and the reverse combination fails the same way.
2. The runtime license is not visible to the machine. When the server runs as a virtual machine, the license dongle must be visible inside the guest in Automation License Manager. If the USB device is not passed through to the guest, the runtime is unlicensed and cannot serve a client session.

The first cause is the usual one when the network, name resolution and the project all look healthy.

What each symptom points to

• Launch UI Client grey from the first try: no valid Runtime web server connection. Work down the 2 causes above: certificate match first, license second.
• My WinCC Unified loads and then sits on 1 screen: the page opens but no runtime session follows. The autostart setup guides order the pieces as automatic project startup, then auto-login, then kiosk mode; once the connection and license check out, close any step in that 3-step order that was skipped.
• A message that kiosk settings are not available on the connected server: the kiosk settings were saved on the server but the WinCC server has not been restarted. Restart the server 1 time and reconnect the client.
• The button worked once but the kiosk does not come back after a reboot: the device option "Automatically launch kiosk mode at restart" is not enabled.

A session that freezes part way through startup or setup follows its own failure pattern, and the checks on this page will not separate those causes. If the screen that hangs is on an HMI panel instead of the Unified PC, the same visible result has a different cause there: an HMI panel web server that stops responding while FTP still works.

Checks, in order

1. Read the web server certificate on the Unified runtime station and write down the 1 name it carries: computer name or IP address.
2. Open the Server Configuration in the Station Configurator and compare the entry against it. The 2 strings must be identical, form included.
3. Open Automation License Manager on the runtime machine and confirm the runtime license is listed. In a virtual machine, confirm the USB dongle is passed through to the guest first.
4. If kiosk settings were changed on the server at any point, restart the WinCC server 1 time before you test the client again, and give it about 60 seconds to come back up before you reconnect. That restart is the documented remedy when kiosk settings do not appear on the connected server.
5. Click Launch UI Client. Only after a manual start succeeds should you enable the automatic options.

The whole sequence above takes about 5 minutes when the certificate match turns out to be the problem, because nothing has to be reinstalled or relicensed.

The fix: re-enter the address the certificate carries

Open the Server Configuration entry, replace its value with the exact string from step 1, and save. If kiosk settings were touched along the way, restart the WinCC server. Click Launch UI Client: the client connects, the runtime loads and the screen goes full screen. Then close the autostart chain in the 3-step order the setup guides give it, automatic project startup, auto-login, kiosk mode, and enable "Automatically launch kiosk mode at restart" in the kiosk settings. With those 4 settings in place, a power cycle brings the same screen back with nobody at the keyboard.

Example: the certificate carries the IP address

These values are an example; your station has its own. A server is named PLCSRV01 with the IPv4 address 10.10.4.20, and the web server certificate was issued for 10.10.4.20. The Server Configuration entry in the Station Configurator says PLCSRV01. The operator panel at that station runs its desktop at 1920 x 1080, and the whole sequence below takes about 5 minutes.

Entry: PLCSRV01. Certificate: 10.10.4.20. 2 different strings, so the connection is judged against the certificate and refused. No valid Runtime web server connection exists, and Launch UI Client stays grey. Nothing else in the stack is wrong: the name resolves, the network answers, the project runs.

Change the entry to 10.10.4.20 and save. Entry and certificate now carry the same string, 10.10.4.20, so the client opens the session. The button becomes clickable, the runtime loads in about 30 seconds, and kiosk mode starts full screen at the panel's 1920 x 1080 desktop. The whole fix was 1 string in 1 field.

The reverse case fails identically: a certificate issued for PLCSRV01 with an entry of 10.10.4.20 leaves the button grey until the entry is changed to PLCSRV01.

After the button works

2 settings finish the job. In the project's kiosk configuration, select that kiosk mode runs automatically at system startup and enter the runtime access path, on a local drive or a network drive. On the kiosk device, enable "Automatically launch kiosk mode at restart" so every restart brings the kiosk up on its own.

1 operational note: the kiosk settings also include an option to disable the shortcut keys. With that option on, the keyboard has no way out of kiosk mode, so decide the service route, a maintenance login or a documented exit, before the screen goes on the wall.

Recommendation

Recommendation: set the Server Configuration entry in the Station Configurator to exactly the value the runtime web server certificate carries: the computer name when the certificate has the computer name, the IP address when it has the IP address. Confirm the runtime license is visible in Automation License Manager before you change anything, restart the WinCC server after every change to kiosk settings, and enable the automatic startup options only after a manual Launch UI Client has succeeded.

2 side notes for a mixed floor. If part of the kiosk fleet runs on Linux panels, autostart there is a different mechanism with its own failure modes; set up Chromium kiosk autostart on a Linux panel covers that one. A WinCC kiosk client is a runtime view on the PC; a notice screen that plays its own content offline next to the line is a separate device, and shop-floor signage displays is where ours live.

Questions