More than ten years ago, goTenna started as a company that sold mesh radio devices for general public use. Since then, we have amassed 350-plus military, public safety, and law enforcement agencies conducting mission-critical operations worldwide. With the world becoming increasingly hostile over the last three years, the demand for our professional products to protect frontline operators at the tactical edge has reshaped goTenna’s business. During this time, we have prioritized transforming how operators connect during the world’s most dangerous and critical missions. As a result, the demand for our professional line of products has scaled significantly. goTenna has evolved to focus its tactical off-grid communications solutions and services on first responders, law enforcement officials, and warfighters. While driven by our commitment to enhancing public safety and national security, this strategic shift comes with a difficult decision.
As mentioned last year, our Mesh and Pro lines share critical components. While we had expected and, more importantly, hoped to see supply chains ease over the past year, we have repeatedly seen our component vendors miss shipment deadlines. This challenge has left us in a position where sourcing enough of these components to spread across our Pro and Mesh lines is becoming increasingly difficult. As a result, we last shipped goTenna Mesh to our customers over two years ago.
I know this decision is frustrating for our goTenna Mesh community. However, given that we have not seen any relief from a manufacturing perspective while continually seeing a demand for our product across our government market, I have decided to formally end the goTenna Mesh product line.
This is our plan going forward:
If you already own goTenna Mesh, we are removing the goTenna Mesh app from the app stores by the end of this year. The goTenna Mesh app will continue to operate until your iOS or Android platform no longer supports the current software. We will discontinue technical support for goTenna Mesh by the end of 2023. Please contact prosupport@gotenna.com if you have any questions.
We understand that the Amateur Radio Community (HAM) utilizes goTenna Mesh to support community events and as adjunct communicators for state and local governments throughout the US. We are actively exploring ways to enable the purchase of our Pro X2 for licensed amateur operators to continue to support their local communities using Mesh technologies. There is precedent indicating a path forward, but we can only make promises once we evaluate the regulatory and policy requirements. Please reach out to prosales@gotenna.com if you have any questions.
Production and support for the goTenna Pro X Series of devices and the goTenna Deployment Kit 2 will continue as usual.
The Mesh product helped to launch goTenna, and we are grateful to the users who have been with us since the beginning and throughout our evolution. We hope you continue to support our mission to ensure that the people who keep us safe - both at home and abroad - have access to the best cutting-edge technology for communications-denied environments where and when they need it most.
So before you all turn out the lights on my $600 worth of GTM devices, consider resurrecting, unsupported, the SDKs and open-sourcing them. There are those of us that are stubborn enough to make our GTMs useful. The promise when the SDKs went away was that there would be a grand update to the SW stack that would make them useless. It doesn’t seem like that ever happened.
This announcement, as it stands, is the sad, but unsurprising follow-on to the two-year old announcement of great plans for GTM roadmap going forward.
I second Richard’s comments,
Especially about making the SDK available again potentially with a public SDK key so people can continue to use the devices - or even open source the App (with encryption removed).
If this is not possible what are the chances of having a way of downgrading to firmware 1.1.8 which had the serial console so that the devices can still be used over USB.
Also when you say that the App will be removed from the App Store will people still be able to install it on new phones (from the same account)?
Finally, what will happen to GoTenna plus subscriptions (which are still available to purchase) sadly I renewed it today😬 as it is the only way I have found of getting reliable location updates.
@Ari Screw the little guys then? Glad your company values the consumers that helped build it and spread the excitement over the years, only to have it be dismantled. This is complete bullshit in my personal opinion. Glad I have wasted upwards of $1000 between family and friends on these only to have them be useless.
Go reap your government contracts. When they let up and you need a consumer to buy your products again, I for one will not be recommending it, for the sole fact that you sold us out. Your product is fantastic, screwing over your base is not cool.
You could at least keep continuous app support for your current users. I don’t understand how this is isn’t something that can be done??
Very sad @Ari ! I’ve bought 10 of these, even using them on a trip to Africa right now but you wish to concentrate on government contracts?! Sure, there’s lots of money to be made in wartime but that should never trump consumer use. You should at the very least open source the SDKs so we can continue using our own property (GTMs).
I guess now that that you’re finished with the guinea pigs who helped you build your product to what it is, you can just throw us to the curb. Thanks for nothing!
I smell a class action lawsuit because of all the people that would be left without being able to use their devices…and they were not cheap either…we should definately think about this. Shame on you Gotenna for abandoning and not leaving a way for people to use their devices…!!! I hope all your government contracts will be canceled…
Not to mention the part about shutting down the community that’s put so much time and effort and coordination with these devices, building out networks on their own dime and testing builds …let’s just wipe all that knowledge away.
18 units purchased in our family and our friends. Perfect products for a farm/ranch operation, hunting, fishing, family camping, emergency events.
Networks in every major city.
Now they will be worthless?
Class action sounds viable to be our only option?
Providing a way to allow current owners to continue using products which were purchased with hard earned money in good faith would be the HONEST outcome .
Yes, we should seriously think about a lawsuit. They need to think twice before abandoning hundreds of thousands of users that spent a lot of money on their product.
I could see the writing on the wall so I sold my GTM units a few months ago on Ebay. They’re fetching good prices so sell now while you can. You should be able to sell them for at least $250 a pair if not more. They are being used in war zones like Ukraine and Gaza for secure communications. The units don’t need goTenna’s servers since they work direct mesh, only if you want the mapping or cellular relay.
Jesus at least keep the apps active, on Android 5.6.1 is broken with no notifications for Android 13 and 14, and you’ll just take down the app so soon? And if you have an iPhone you’re SOL, cause at least on android we can save the apks.