Kiosk Windows 11 Mele 4C

Kiosk on Windows 11 (Mele 4C reference setup)

This is the maintainer's actual fielded configuration — captured from the live device, registry keys and scheduled-task definitions included. Use it as a copy-paste recipe or as an example to adapt for your hardware.

Why Windows 11

The reason for choosing Windows over Linux on a wall-mounted touchscreen comes down to one feature: the on-screen keyboard auto-shows when you tap a text field. Linux Wayland alternatives (wvkbd, Onboard, GNOME's GOK) require a separate visibility-bridge process and CDP-poking — fragile in practice. Windows' TabTip just works.

Hardware at a glance

Component	Spec
Mini PC	Mele Quieter 4C — fanless Intel N100/N150, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB eMMC
Display	27" Novomatic open-frame touchscreen, 1920×1200, capacitive multi-touch via USB
Enclosure	Custom oak frame with rabbet for the panel + plywood back
Sensor	HLK-LD2410 mounted on top of the frame (optional)
Connectivity	Mele has Wi-Fi 5 + 2.5 GbE; reference build runs on Wi-Fi at 192.168.1.x

For the full build — BOM, vendor links, frame construction, cabling, photos — see Reference-Build. This page covers the software that runs on top.

The unit captured for this wiki has these specifics:

CPU	Intel N150 (the spec sheet lists N100; Mele refreshed silicon mid-cycle)
RAM	16 GB LPDDR4 (15.7 GB usable)
Storage	256 GB eMMC
Touch HID	USB VID 222A, PID 1515

OS

Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC, build 26100 (the LTSC variant — long-term servicing, no forced feature updates).

Why LTSC:

• No forced Windows Update reboots
• No telemetry / advertising / Cortana / Edge Bing hijack
• Stable for 5-10 years per release

If you don't have an LTSC license, regular Windows 11 Pro works fine. Pause Windows Update for max defer (5 weeks) to avoid surprise reboots interrupting the kitchen display.

User account

Single local user named Calendar with auto-login enabled.

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
  AutoAdminLogon    = 1
  DefaultUserName   = Calendar
  DefaultDomainName = <hostname>
  DefaultPassword   = <stored in plaintext, standard Windows behavior>
  Shell             = explorer.exe

To set this up:

1. Settings → Accounts → Family & other users → Add account → "I don't have this person's sign-in information" → "Add a user without a Microsoft account" → name Calendar
2. Run netplwiz → uncheck "Users must enter a username and password" → OK → enter the password twice in the popup. Done.

The plaintext password in the registry is a known Windows AutoLogon tradeoff; that's by design. Don't reuse the password anywhere else.

The boot chain

Boot → AutoLogon as Calendar
  ├─ Scheduled Task "KioskLauncher" (at logon, Highest, Interactive)
  │   └─ C:\kiosk-launcher.bat
  │       ├─ Forces tablet-mode + touch-keyboard auto-invoke registry
  │       ├─ Launches TabTip.exe (Windows touch keyboard)
  │       ├─ 2s delay
  │       └─ Launches Edge in --kiosk mode pointing at your Kinboard URL
  │
  └─ Scheduled Task "PresenceSensor" (at logon, Highest, Interactive)
      └─ wscript.exe C:\run-presence-hidden.vbs
          └─ pythonw … presence-sensor.py <FAMILY_DEVICE_ID>
              └─ FTDI USB serial → LD2410 → POST /api/presence

Step-by-step

1. Install Python 3.12

Download from https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/. During install:

• ✓ Add python.exe to PATH
• ✓ Install for all users → installs to C:\Program Files\Python312\

Then install the presence-sensor dependencies:

& "C:\Program Files\Python312\python.exe" -m pip install aio-ld2410 aiohttp pyserial

2. Install Microsoft Edge

Already installed on Windows 11. Verify:

Get-Command msedge

3. Drop the kiosk launcher

Save as C:\kiosk-launcher.bat:

@echo off
set LOGFILE=C:\kiosk.log
echo [%date% %time%] === KIOSK STARTUP === >> %LOGFILE%

:: Force tablet mode + on-screen keyboard auto-invoke
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell" /v TabletMode /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f >> %LOGFILE% 2>&1
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\TabletTip\1.7" /v EnableDesktopModeAutoInvoke /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f >> %LOGFILE% 2>&1
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\TabletTip\1.7" /v TipbandDesiredVisibility /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f >> %LOGFILE% 2>&1
echo [%date% %time%] Registry set >> %LOGFILE%

:: Start the Windows touch keyboard daemon
start "" "C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ink\TabTip.exe"
echo [%date% %time%] TabTip started >> %LOGFILE%

timeout /t 2 /nobreak > nul

:: Launch Edge in kiosk mode (--kiosk preserves cache; --edge-kiosk-type=fullscreen does not)
start "" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe" --kiosk https://<your-kinboard-url>/ --no-first-run --lang=de
echo [%date% %time%] Edge kiosk started >> %LOGFILE%

Replace https://<your-kinboard-url>/ and --lang=de to taste.

The EnableDesktopModeAutoInvoke=1 registry key is load-bearing. It's the setting that makes Windows pop the on-screen keyboard when a text field gets focus, even outside tablet mode.

4. Drop the presence-sensor wrapper

Save as C:\run-presence-hidden.vbs:

Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run """C:\Program Files\Python312\python.exe"" C:\presence-sensor.py <YOUR_DEVICE_ID>", 0, False

Replace <YOUR_DEVICE_ID> with the device's UUID from Kinboard (Settings → Devices → enable "Presence sensor" toggle on this device → copy the displayed ID).

The Run …, 0, False arguments mean: window-style 0 = hidden, wait = no-wait. So it launches Python detached and the user never sees a console.

5. Drop the presence-sensor script

Copy presence-sensor.py from the Kinboard repo to C:\presence-sensor.py.

Edit the URL constant:

API_URL = os.environ.get("KINBOARD_URL", "http://localhost:3001").rstrip("/") + "/api/presence"

Or set KINBOARD_URL in the user environment so the same script works across redeployments. See Presence-Sensor for full setup details.

6. Drop the display sleep / wake helpers

Save as C:\display-sleep.ps1:

# 8:00 PM — Set 15-minute display timeout for nighttime standby
powercfg /change monitor-timeout-ac 15

Save as C:\display-wake.ps1:

# 7:00 AM — Wake display, disable auto-off for daytime
powercfg /change monitor-timeout-ac 0

# Send SC_MONITORPOWER -1 to turn the display ON immediately
$sig = '[DllImport("user32.dll")] public static extern int SendMessage(int hWnd, int hMsg, int wParam, int lParam);'
$type = Add-Type -MemberDefinition $sig -Name DisplayWake -PassThru
$type::SendMessage(-1, 0x0112, 0xF170, -1)

7. Register the scheduled tasks

Open Task Scheduler (or use PowerShell). Create four tasks at the root level (Task Scheduler Library, not under a sub-folder):

Task: KioskLauncher

• Trigger: At logon of any user (or specifically Calendar)
• Action: Start a program → C:\kiosk-launcher.bat
• Run with highest privileges, run only when user is logged on
• General → Run with: Calendar, Run only when user is logged on, Run with highest privileges

Task: PresenceSensor (skip if not using presence sensor)

• Trigger: At logon
• Action: Start a program → wscript.exe, arguments: C:\run-presence-hidden.vbs
• Same principal settings as above

Task: DisplaySleep

• Trigger: Daily at 20:00
• Action: powershell with arguments -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\display-sleep.ps1
• General → Run as SYSTEM, Run whether user is logged on or not, Run with highest privileges

Task: DisplayWake

• Trigger: Daily at 07:00
• Action: powershell with arguments -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\display-wake.ps1
• Run as SYSTEM (same as above)

In each task's Settings tab, set:

• Allow task to be run on demand ✓
• If the task fails, restart every 1 minute, attempt 3 times
• Stop the task if it runs longer than 72 hours

8. Edge policies (optional but recommended)

Set these via Group Policy (gpedit.msc → Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Microsoft Edge) or directly in the registry:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
  BrowserSignin                = 0      (DWORD; disable Edge sign-in)
  HideFirstRunExperience       = 1      (DWORD; skip first-run wizard)
  DefaultBrowserSettingEnabled = 0      (DWORD; don't nag about default browser)
  ClearBrowsingDataOnExit      = 0      (DWORD; preserve PWA caches across reboots)

These keep Edge behaving in kiosk mode without surprise dialogs.

9. Power policy

Stay on the Balanced power plan but tweak:

powercfg /change monitor-timeout-ac 0   # Display: never sleep on AC
powercfg /change standby-timeout-ac 0   # System: never sleep on AC
powercfg /change disk-timeout-ac 0      # Disk: never spin down
powercfg /change hibernate-timeout-ac 0 # Hibernate: never

The DisplaySleep / DisplayWake scheduled tasks override monitor-timeout-ac daily.

10. Reboot

shutdown /r /t 0

The Mele auto-logs in as Calendar, KioskLauncher fires, Edge opens in kiosk mode pointed at Kinboard. PresenceSensor starts in the background.

Updating

Webapp updates

The Mele just runs a browser pointing at your Kinboard host. When you update the host (./deploy.sh or ./start.sh restart), the kiosk picks up the new code on the next page reload (or after a momentary 502 during the webapp container restart).

Updating the presence script

Push the new presence-sensor.py to the Mele over SSH:

scp presence-sensor.py calendar@<mele-ip>:C:\presence-sensor.py
ssh calendar@<mele-ip> "schtasks /End /TN PresenceSensor; schtasks /Run /TN PresenceSensor"

Updating the kiosk launcher

Same pattern. After the file is updated, log out + back in (or run KioskLauncher once manually).

Logging

Each part writes to a separate log:

Log	What
C:\kiosk.log	KioskLauncher startup events
C:\presence-sensor.log	Presence sensor activity (state changes, distance reads, watchdog)

Note: the presence-sensor log is not currently rotated. As of writing it can grow several MB per week. A v1.1 fix will swap to RotatingFileHandler. For now, Clear-Content it manually if it gets large:

Clear-Content C:\presence-sensor.log

Network

The reference Mele is on Wi-Fi only. If you have Ethernet, plug in and disable Wi-Fi for stability. Note that Wi-Fi sleep can occasionally drop the kiosk from the network for a few seconds; if that's a problem:

# Disable Wi-Fi adapter power management
Set-NetAdapterPowerManagement -Name "Wi-Fi" -DeviceSleepOnDisconnect Disabled

SSH server (optional but recommended)

For remote ops without RDP:

# Install OpenSSH Server (if not already)
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0
Start-Service sshd
Set-Service -Name sshd -StartupType Automatic

# Open firewall (usually auto-opened by the install)
New-NetFirewallRule -Name sshd -DisplayName 'OpenSSH Server (sshd)' -Enabled True -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -LocalPort 22

Then drop your public key into C:\Users\Calendar\.ssh\authorized_keys and you can ssh calendar@<mele-ip> without password prompts.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause
Edge doesn't auto-launch on boot	KioskLauncher task didn't fire. Check C:\kiosk.log exists; if not, verify the task is enabled and runs as Calendar with Run only when user is logged on.
On-screen keyboard doesn't appear	EnableDesktopModeAutoInvoke not set, or TabTip.exe not running. Re-run kiosk-launcher.bat manually and verify both.
Presence sensor not detecting	Check C:\presence-sensor.log for the COM port detected. If wrong, set SERIAL_PORT env var or hard-code in the script.
Display turns off mid-day	Powercfg monitor-timeout-ac got reset by Windows Update. Re-apply via DisplayWake.
Kiosk Edge shows "Your browser is being managed"	Group Policy applied — that's fine, ignore the chrome banner.
Edge updates pop a UAC dialog	Group Policy → disable Edge auto-update, or accept that the dialog is one tap to dismiss

Related

• Reference-Build — full BOM, frame construction, photos, cabling
• Presence-Sensor — full LD2410 setup
• Kiosk-Linux-Guidance — if you want to run on Linux instead
• Self-hosting — the Kinboard host the kiosk points at