/GUIDE — WHEN THE NETWORK IS DOWN
The tower stops.
Your message doesn't.
FindTribe keeps short messages, SOS and location updates moving at festivals and live events when cellular networks are overloaded: over the internet when it is there, over Bluetooth between nearby phones when it is not, and over optional long-range LoRa radios for miles.
Why it happens
Bars are not bandwidth.
A cell tower has a fixed capacity. A festival, a stadium or a race puts tens of thousands of phones on the same few towers at the same moment. Your phone keeps showing signal while every text queues behind everyone else's. The same thing happens after an earthquake or a blackout, for a different reason: the tower itself is gone.
Three ways through
One send.
The path that works.
Wi-Fi or cellular data when it is available. FindTribe always tries this first.
Nearby FindTribe phones pass sealed updates along, one Bluetooth link at a time. In a crowd full of FindTribe users, that is a lot of links.
Two compatible LoRa pods trade updates directly. Open ground can mean a few miles; real range varies. Phase 2 adds repeaters that extend the reach.
Short texts. SOS. Your live location.
Small packets that matter. Photos, calls and Event AI wait for internet. The venue map, set times and meeting points are already on the phone.
Sealed before it sends.
A stranger's phone can carry your message without reading it or knowing who is talking. Only your tribe can open it.
What to expect
Honest limits.
Delivery needs a radio path end to end. Bluetooth has to stay on. If no path reaches your tribe, the message waits and sends when one appears. SOS alerts the trusted friends you chose; it does not call emergency services. Phase 1 has no FindTribe repeaters yet.
For organizers
A venue that stays connected
is a venue that keeps selling.
The same paths that carry a friend's message can carry an offline promotion or transaction for your vendors and sponsors. See what FindTribe does for events →
Common questions
Asked when
the bars lie.
Why does my phone stop working at festivals and stadiums?
How can I message friends at an event without cell service?
What is FindTribe Mesh?
What can get through offline, and what cannot?
Can the people relaying my message read it?
Does FindTribe Mesh work in airplane mode?
Set it up while
the network is still there.
Free on iOS and Android.