Why is there no temperature data for my reefer?
Temperature readings come from a device travelling with the cargo. When they do not appear in Dockflow, the cause is almost always one of four things, and three of them can be checked without support.
Start here
| Check | If yes |
|---|---|
| Is a device linked to the container at all? | No device linked |
| Have you selected the specific container? | Selection |
| Is this a truck shipment rather than a container? | Truck shipments |
| Was the device added after the file was last synced? | Added after sync |
1. No device is linked
The plainest cause: the file has no device attached, so there is nothing to read.
If a device is attached and still shows nothing, the question moves to the device itself. There are two distinct hardware situations, and they need different follow-up:
- The serial number does not exist. The device identifier is not known at the provider. Usually a typo, or a device that was never registered.
- The device exists but reports no data. The provider has the device on record but has received no readings from it. That points to a faulty unit or one that never got a connection.
Support can confirm which of the two applies by checking the reading history with the device provider directly. That check is worth requesting before replacing hardware, because the two look identical in Dockflow.
A device showing as disabled after the container was gated in empty at destination is expected behaviour at the end of a journey. It is unrelated to whether temperature data was ingested during the trip.
2. Temperature is shown per container
In the temperature view, readings are shown for the selected container only. If a tradeflow holds several containers and you are looking at the wrong one, the view is empty even though data exists.
Select the specific container that carries the device.
This also explains a common false alarm: a placeholder container added to a file will never show temperature data, because no device is attached to it.
3. Truck shipments still need a container record
A device can travel on a truck rather than in a container. Dockflow links temperature devices to a container record, so a truck shipment with no container has nothing to attach the device to.
What to do: create a container entry for the shipment and attach the device to it. The identifier does not have to be a real container number.
4. The device was added after the last sync
If your files reach Dockflow through an integration, the file is usually sent when the underlying order is created or updated. A device added to the file after that last update is not included, because no new update was triggered.
The readings are not lost. They appear once the file is sent again, and the history comes with them.
What to do: trigger an update on the order in the source system, or ask support to refresh the file so the device is picked up.
What to send support
- the file reference and the container number
- the device serial number
- roughly when the device was attached
With the serial number, support can check the device against the provider's records and tell you whether the problem is the link in Dockflow or the device itself.
Related topics
- No tracking data - when the shipment itself has no data
- Dangerous goods - other cargo-specific data in a tradeflow
- Bulk import - adding containers and references
Need help?
- Email support - [email protected]
- In-app chat - click the chat icon in the bottom right
Last updated: July 31, 2026