Hello there, I just discovered GoTenna a few days ago and I am totally intrigued and have read a couple dozen threads in the community here. A couple solar powered relay stations could really solve a problem I have a in a remote area with no cell signal. I would definitely use the features found in the Plus membership, but I can’t find any information on how that actually works regarding users/devices.
Let’s say I have 2 people using it, one person always uses the same GoTenna paired to their phone, the other person pairs with 2 different GoTenna (one car, one home), and I also own 3 more GoTenna units that are set up only as relay nodes. If I want everyone to have the Plus experience, how many subscriptions need to be purchased?
If you use the same email account in registering the device, it’s per user. But if you use different email accounts, you will need a Plus subscription for each.
Thank you for the reply. So if I own all the devices and register them myself, and I have one Plus membership, all devices will have Plus features? Then, I want to lend them to others for a few days use, they will download the app on their phone and pair it to the device they are borrowing. Will they have the Plus features?
If you want everyone on YOUR account, then that might work. But if you want people to be able to use SMS relay between different people, for instance, that may not work out. Since it would be a lot like sharing your email address with others, it would have all the limits and drawbacks of that. I think having multiple devices works fine, so long as not more than one is in active use at the same time.That’s not quite what you probably have in mind, though.
As for lending to someone else to use with their phone with their own downloaded copy of the app, they would need access to your email account to really make that work. Most people aren’t comfortable with such sharing, even with friends.
I have read all the support pages and the “user manual” and they really don’t go into any detail on this subject. It’s hard to understand what the difference is between a User and GID and what is tied to email address, GTM, or smartphone. I’m still confused.
Imagine you are going on a camping trip and you are the only GoTenna owner, but you have 6 units to share amongst the group. You tell everyone ahead of time to download the app on their smartphone, you get to camp and pass out GTMs, what’s the best way to set this up? Will they be able to pair if the whole trip is away from cellular signal? Can the GTMs be setup with unique GIDs before the trip and then each person’s phone paired to a device?
User vs GID (or GUID)? Basically you have the choice between an anonymous identifier on the mesh - the 14-digit GUID - or you can use your cell number and be much more accessible to those you send a message to.
Your email address is mostly used as an account ID for the app on your phone. That why things get complicated if more than one person is using it.
The app turns your phone into the user interface for the radio that is what’s in the GTM.
If you do have a scenario like you describe, you’ll want anyone who plans on using the mesh to have downloaded and installed the app on the cell device you’re using while you’re still where you can access the internet since you need to download and install it where you have access via either wifi or the cell network. After that’s done, you don’t need to pair with a GTM yet. So have your companions get the app back in the city, then you can pass out GTMs at the trailhead or camp. There you can pair the GTM’s at your leisure as once the app is on the phone you can head for the boonies.
Thank you, that’s very helpful. So in that scenario, in order to get the Plus features, while connected to the internet the others would have to sign up in their app to register with a new email address to get Plus (whether paid or 30 day trial)?
If that’s the case I see what you mean about sharing email/password around. Each user would need their own Plus account. But if I have two different phones and GTMs that I regularly use I could easily use the same Plus account on them but with different GID.
Yes, that’s correct. When someone downloads the app and installs it, the 30 day free trial starts. If there’s no need for the goTenna before your companions head for the woods, they should wait until just before the trip to do so. That way the 30 days runs as long as will be useful during the trip, especially if you’ll be in the boonies for an extended period.
I have 3 phones I use for network testing. There’s one that operates my personal GTM. Another is on top of the Meshmobile semi-permanently. It serves as a relay node wherever it’s parked, plus as a mobile repeater when I’m out of the truck somewhere and using my personal GTM. Finally, I have a donated Android (Samsung G6) that is general;ly left at home because the screen is cracked. It’s what I ping and test message to when I’m analyzing network performance. The first two are on the same account. When I set-up the G6, it steered me towards using my Google address, so that’s why I ended up with two Plus accounts. Still, for testing purposes, this is useful and at $10/year it’s still quite affordable.
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There’s something else you’ll also want to download before heading for the sticks, maps for the area you’ll be in. They come in two versions, the standard street map version and topographic. To me, this is the most powerful part of Plus, because the maps on most cellphones go dead once you’re off the grid. Plus I often use topo maps in town, because this helps with evaluating network performance. If you look at other enhanced map service apps, you’ll find that Plus is a relative bargain.