No bars needed
Phones talk straight to each other and pass messages along. No towers, no router, no account.
Software that keeps working after the lights go out.
When the power's out and the towers are down, most apps just sit there. We make the kind that keep going. Our first one, Off-Grid Net, lets phones talk to each other with no cell signal and no internet.
30.4° N · 86.2° WSanta Rosa Beach, FloridaOff-Grid Net: in testing
What we do
Tools for when the grid lets you down.
Storms, packed crowds, back roads, open water. Signal is the first thing to go. We build software that doesn't need it, and we build it so anybody can pick it up and use it.
Private where it counts
Private groups and one-on-one chats are end-to-end encrypted. The public room is clearly marked public.
Plain words, every device
iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, in nine languages. Buttons say what they do.
Off-Grid Net
Your crew on the radar. Zero bars.
Off-Grid Net turns the phones around you into a network. Every phone running it can pass messages along. The more people nearby that have it, the more coverage and routes you have.
See who's near, how far, and which way.
- You're the blue dot in the middle, and the rings show distance.
- Not sharing a location? Warmer and colder bars still tell you if you're getting closer.
- No GPS fix? It estimates your spot from three nearby devices that have one.
- On iPhones with Ultra Wideband, precise finding guides you to someone close by.
Hold to talk, like a walkie-talkie.
- Push-to-talk voice clips, up to 30 seconds.
- Text, dictation, photos, video, voice notes and files of any type, with no size limit. Plus quick replies you make yourself.
- "Delivered 3 of 4" tells you who actually got it.
- Polls, @mentions, and translation of incoming messages that runs on your phone.
Ask for help. Tell your people where you are.
- HELP sends an alert with your location to the people you pick. Nothing goes out until you tap a choice.
- FOUND drops your exact spot so your people can come to you.
- Roll call asks a group "Are you OK?" and counts the answers.
- On phones, the HELP screen also has a separate call button. When your phone reports the local emergency number, the button shows a phone icon and that number (for example, 911 in the US). Otherwise it shows EMERGENCY. Check the number, then place the call yourself. It needs your phone's own service.
An invisible rope between you and your people.
- Tether: pick a distance. If someone drifts too far or drops out for 30 seconds, both phones buzz and an arrow points the way back.
- Search line spreads a group out at even spacing to cover ground.
- Tether needs consent. The other person agrees on their own phone and can stop any time.
- Each person's card shows battery, when you last heard from them, and a 24-hour status.
Maps that still show up with no signal.
- Black, Street, Satellite or Topo under the radar.
- Download an area while you have signal and it shows with none. (Offline satellite is U.S. only.)
- Drop pins your group can see, and send your trail as a route.
- Coordinates in decimal, DMS, UTM or MGRS.
The important parts, on your wrist.
- Radar, push to talk, HELP, FOUND, finding someone and Tether alerts on Apple Watch.
- A small Tether indicator shows how close you are to the limit.
- The watch works through your iPhone, so keep it nearby with Off-Grid Net open.
Illustration, not a screenshot
Features
What Off-Grid Net can do.
Wi-Fi mesh, Bluetooth backup
Phones pass messages along over Wi-Fi, phone to phone, or Bluetooth when Wi-Fi can't connect. No towers, no router.
Push to talk
Hold to talk, like a walkie-talkie. Or use a hardware button: the Action Button on iPhone.
Any file, any size
Photos, video, voice notes and files of any type. The app sets no size limit, and transfers pick up where they left off.
HELP and a separate emergency call
HELP sends your location to the people you pick. It doesn't call emergency services. On phones, you can then choose to call your local emergency number.
Radar and Find
See who's near, how far and which way, then follow the arrow. Warmer and colder bars help when they don't share a location.
Offline maps
Street, satellite and topo (U.S.), downloaded ahead so they show with no signal. Pins, trails and routes.
Tether
An alert if someone you look after drifts too far or drops out. They agree on their own phone first.
Roll call, polls, status
Ask "Are you OK?" and see the answers. Quick polls, a 24-hour status and battery level on every card.
Private and locked
Private groups and 1:1 chats are end-to-end encrypted. App lock. No account.
On your wrist
Apple Watch: radar, talk, HELP, FOUND and Tether alerts.
Nine languages
The app in nine languages, plus translation of incoming messages that runs on your phone.
Reach farther
Turn on Internet to reach your private groups anywhere you both have a connection. LoRa radio and phone satellite are in testing.
Item mode
Item mode shares the location of a device you own with you, peer to peer, for things no person carries. The device always shows it's sharing, and anyone holding it can stop.
How the mesh works
Knock out the towers. The message can still get there.
The internet is limited. Introducing the extranet...
Each phone with Off-Grid Net hands your message to the next one, like a bucket line. People in the middle can't read private messages.
Towers up. Watch what happens when they go down.
Wi-Fi firstNearby iPhones, iPads and Macs link over Wi-Fi, phone to phone, with no router. It's the fast lane for photos, video and voice.
30–100 ftBluetooth's reach, phone to phone, when Wi-Fi can't connect. Walls and bodies cut that down.
Along the pathA phone farther along the path can extend your reach. Other phones nearby add coverage and other routes, not automatically more distance.
Up to 24 hOut of reach? Phones may carry chat messages for up to 24 hours and deliver them if they get close. Not guaranteed.
Typical ranges, not promises. It only works when other people with Off-Grid Net are close enough, or reachable over the internet if you've turned that on.
How we build
Thoughtful, not fancy.
Works with nothing, first
The phones around you come first. The internet stays off until you turn it on.
No account. No ads. No analytics.
No sign-up, no analytics, and no Big Easy server in the middle of your messages.
Honest about limits
Phone-to-phone range is short, and crowds change everything. The app says so up front, and so do we.
Built for Apple devices
The iPhone, iPad and Mac apps share the same core tools. Apple Watch has a smaller set. Some features exist only on certain devices.
Modules
Coming soon.
Off-Grid Net is not a safety or emergency service. Don't rely on it to locate or protect anyone. In an emergency, call your local emergency number directly.