SimHub Setup Guide
Last updated · checked against SimHub 9.11.22
Every oesimracing display connects over USB-C and is driven by SimHub, which is free Windows software. The displays ship pre-flashed, so there is nothing to solder and no firmware to build — setup is install SimHub, plug the display in, enable your game, and load the profile for your product. It takes about ten minutes. If the lights come on but never respond to anything, the cause is almost always that the game is not ticked in SimHub or that SimHub is looking at the wrong COM port.
Everything you need to get your oesimracing display running in SimHub - install, connect, and set up your specific product. New to SimHub? Start at the top. Already set up and just need your product's steps? Jump straight to it.
Setting up a specific product? Jump straight to it:
Watch the full walkthrough above, or follow the written guide below. The install and connection steps are the same for every product; then jump to your product's section for its settings.
What is SimHub?
SimHub is the free, community-standard PC software that powers sim racing dashboards, rev lights, gear indicators and motion hardware. It reads live data from your game - revs, gear, speed, flags - and sends it to your hardware. Every oesimracing display is driven by SimHub, and it works with 100+ games including Assetto Corsa, iRacing, the F1 series, EA Sports WRC and DiRT Rally. This guide covers how to download and install SimHub, how to connect and use it, and the full setup for each product.
How to install SimHub
Read the full install guide → · SimHub won't start? →
The same first steps for every oesimracing display - you'll only need to do this once.
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Download SimHub
SimHub is the free software that drives your display. Go to simhubdash.com, open the Downloads section and download the latest version.
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Extract and run the installer
Unzip the file you downloaded, then open setup.exe inside the extracted folder.
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Get past the Windows warning
When you run setup.exe, Windows may show a “Windows protected your PC” message. Click More info, then Run anyway to continue.
This is safe - SimHub is the sim racing community's standard software. It has been developed and maintained for years and is used by hundreds of thousands of sim racers worldwide to run dashboards, rev lights and motion hardware. The warning only appears because SimHub is made by an independent developer and isn't code-signed with a paid Microsoft certificate - it is not a sign that anything is wrong with the download.
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Finish installation and game setup
Work through the installer, then follow SimHub's guided setup and select the games you have installed so it can read live data from them.
Connect your display over USB-C
Won't connect? SimHub isn't detecting my Arduino →
Also the same for every product - get SimHub talking to your hardware before you configure it.
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Connect your display
Plug your oesimracing display into a USB port. In SimHub, open the Arduino tab, select the My Hardware sub-tab and choose Single arduino. Wait a moment and the port will show as Connected (e.g. COM8) - your display is now talking to SimHub.
Use a USB-C data cable, not a charge-only one. Many spare USB-C cables only carry power. If SimHub doesn't detect the display, swap the cable for one you know transfers data. A USB-C cable isn't included in the box.
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Check your scan settings
Set your Arduino scan settings to match the ones shown below, then click Apply. SimHub will automatically detect your display and connect to its LEDs.
How to use SimHub
Once SimHub is installed and your display is connected, it mostly runs itself. Keep SimHub open in the background while you play and it automatically reads live data from any supported game you launch - revs, gear, speed, flags - and sends it to your lights. You set your colours, effects and layouts once per product in the sections below, and those settings save to the device, so it just works every time you race. There's nothing to launch or reconfigure each session.
The steps above get any display connected. Now pick your product for its specific settings.
Rev Gauge Shift Lights setup
View the Rev Gauge Shift Lights →
Do this first: work through How to install SimHub and Connect your display over USB-C above before the steps below - they pick up from a connected display.
The Rev Gauge is a 16-LED shift-light bar - here's how to set up its rev lights.
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Set up your rev lights
Open the RGB Leds tab. Set Led count to 16, then pick your start and end colours and how the LEDs react to revs. Tick Right to left if your lights fill the wrong way, and use the brightness slider at the top right to set the intensity. Feel free to click the “Add effect” button and experiment with different functions - e.g. flag colours, or airspeed for flight sim games.
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Race
Keep SimHub running in the background and connected to the game you're playing - your rev lights will now react live to what's happening on track.
Gear Indicator + Shift Lights setup
View the Gear Indicator + Shift Lights → · Or the Fanatec-mount version →
Do this first: work through How to install SimHub and Connect your display over USB-C above before the steps below - they pick up from a connected display.
Same setup whether you have the desk-stand or the Fanatec-mount version - the electronics are identical. It's the shift-light bar plus a gear-number matrix, so there are two things to configure.
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Set up your shift lights
Open the RGB Leds tab, set Led count to 16, and choose your start/end colours and how the LEDs react to revs - exactly as for the Rev Gauge above. Tick Right to left if they fill the wrong way and set the brightness at the top right.
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Set up the gear matrix
Open the Display & Alerts tab to configure the gear number. Choose your preferred font and tick Clear when out of game. Turn on Matrix redline blink if you'd like the gear to flash on the rev limiter, and use Matrix brightness to set how bright the number is.
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Race
Keep SimHub running in the background - you'll now see your revs and current gear update live as you drive.
iFlag: GT Edition setup
Do this first: work through How to install SimHub and Connect your display over USB-C above before the steps below - they pick up from a connected display.
The iFlag is an 8x8 RGB matrix that does three jobs on one panel: live marshal flags, a large gear number, and a blind-spot warning. It's configured on SimHub's RGB Matrix tab.
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Open the RGB Matrix tab
In SimHub, open the RGB Matrix tab - this is where the iFlag's 8x8 panel is configured. You'll see the matrix preview, the Hardware settings and Settings buttons, and the list of effect groups.
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Open Hardware settings
Click the Hardware settings (Rotation …) button, just under the profile name.
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Set the rotation to Landscape (90°)
In the Arduino RGB Matrix settings box, set RGB Matrix rotation to Landscape (90°), click Apply, then Ok. This orients the panel the right way up for the iFlag.
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Turn on the “When game is running” group and pick your effects
Expand the “When game is running” group and switch it on, then tick Clear background when active. Inside it, enable the effects you want - the iFlag can show your Gear, marshal Flags and a Spotter overlay for blind-spot warnings. Each one is set up below.
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Flags
The Flags effect shows live marshal flags. Tick the flags you want enabled (Yellow, Black, Blue, White, Green) and reorder them by priority - the top of the list wins when several occur at once. Flags only appear in games that report them.
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Gear
The Gear effect shows your current gear as a large number. Pick a Font (e.g. THICK8x8), choose a Color and Redline color, and turn on Redline Blink if you'd like it to flash on the limiter.
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Spotter overlay (blind-spot warning)
The Spotter overlay is the blind-spot warning - it lights up when a car is alongside you. Pick a Style animation (e.g. RightArrowAnimation) and tick Clear background when car is spotted left or right.
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Race
Keep SimHub running in the background - flags, your gear and the blind-spot warning will all update live as you drive.
Troubleshooting & FAQ
The quick fixes for the things people ask about most.
SimHub doesn't detect my display
Nine times out of ten it's the cable. Use a USB-C data cable, not a charge-only one - many spare cables only carry power. Try a different cable and a different USB port, then in SimHub's Arduino tab make sure Scan all serial ports is enabled and click Apply.
What USB-C cable do I need?
Any USB-C data-transfer cable. A charge-only cable won't work, and one isn't included in the box.
Do I need to flash or program anything?
No. Your device ships pre-flashed and ready to race - install SimHub, connect, and go. The profile downloads below are only needed if you ever have to reflash, for example for tech support.
My rev lights fill the wrong way
In the RGB Leds tab, tick Right to left to reverse the direction.
My iFlag is upside down or the wrong way round
It's the matrix rotation. In SimHub's RGB Matrix tab, click Hardware settings (Rotation …), set RGB Matrix rotation to Landscape (90°), then click Apply and Ok. The iFlag setup section above shows this with screenshots.
SimHub isn't reacting to my game
Make sure SimHub is running in the background and that you selected your game during SimHub's setup - some games also need telemetry/UDP enabled in their own options. Keep SimHub open while you play.
Does it work on PlayStation or Xbox?
The display itself needs a Windows PC running SimHub - but you don't always have to race on that PC. Several console games can broadcast their telemetry across your home network, so a PC on the same network runs SimHub, receives that data and drives the lights over USB. It works with games that output telemetry - for example Gran Turismo 7 on PS5, the F1 titles, and Forza on Xbox - where you turn on UDP/telemetry output in the game and point it at your PC's IP address (GT7 also needs UDP ports 33739 and 33740 open on the PC). Games that don't broadcast telemetry, or a setup with no PC in the loop, won't work.
Profile downloads
Your device ships pre-flashed and ready to race - you won't normally need these. They're here only in case you ever need to reflash the SimHub profile, for example for tech support.
Choose the profile that matches your device. In SimHub, import the .tfp via the profile menu, then re-upload it to your device.
Next, if you want to go further
- The SimHub guides58 pages covering SimHub itself — free, neutral, and written for anyone using it.
- Device not detectedCables, drivers, COM ports and the generic CH340G break that kills a working setup overnight.
- Getting shift lights rightThe RPM range that decides whether they work, and the mistakes that make them useless.
- Going further with the LEDsProfiles, groups and conditional effects — where a rev bar becomes an instrument.
Not got yours yet?
Every oesimracing display plugs in over USB-C and runs on the same SimHub setup you just read - pick one and you'll be racing in minutes.