Do I Need Internet for Digital Menu Boards?

An internet connection is recommended but not required for day-to-day operation of your digital menu boards. At Zenith Digital Menus, our media players store your menu content locally, so your menus continue to display even if your internet goes down.

How It Works Without Internet

Your menu content is stored directly on the media player connected to each screen. Once your menus are loaded, the player displays them continuously — no internet needed. If your Wi-Fi drops out, your restaurant loses power briefly, or your ISP has an outage, your menus keep showing as normal.

This is a significant advantage of our system. You'll never face a blank screen because of an internet hiccup.

When Internet IS Needed

While day-to-day display doesn't require internet, you do need a connection for:

• Remote updates: When you request menu changes, we push them to your screens over the internet. Without a connection, we'd need to update on-site.
• Initial setup: During installation, we configure the media player and push your initial content. Wi-Fi access is needed at this stage.
• Scheduled content changes: If your menus rotate based on time-of-day scheduling, those schedules are stored locally. However, any future schedule changes require a connection to push the update.
• Remote monitoring: We monitor your system's health remotely, which requires an internet connection.

What Kind of Internet Do You Need?

Digital menu boards use very little bandwidth. Any standard business internet connection works fine — even a basic connection is more than sufficient. The media player only uses significant bandwidth during content updates, which are infrequent and brief. Your day-to-day internet speed won't be affected.

No Internet at All?

If your location has no internet (some food trucks, outdoor kiosks, or temporary setups), we can still make digital menus work. We load all content directly onto the media player during installation. When you need updates, we can update the content on-site or provide a USB solution. Just keep in mind that without internet, remote updates aren't possible.

Have questions about your specific setup? Contact us or call 916-960-3519. We'll work with whatever infrastructure you have to get your restaurant, café, or bar set up with beautiful digital menus.