Backtrail Pro

Backtrail Pro brings your goTenna Mesh radio back to life, and adds Meshtastic.

When goTenna discontinued its consumer app, thousands of goTenna Mesh radios were left without a way to send a message. Backtrail Pro is an independent app that talks to your goTenna Mesh directly over Bluetooth, so you can text with your group again where there is no cell service: on the trail, at camp, at events, and during outages. It works with Meshtastic LoRa radios too.

OFF-GRID MESSAGING
- Group messages to everyone in range, or direct messages to one person
- "Delivered" receipts on direct messages, with missing pieces resent automatically
- Long messages split into radio-sized parts and reassembled on the other end
- Message history saved on your phone, with filters for group, direct, and SOS and places

CHECK-INS, LOCATION, AND SOS
- One-tap check-ins: I'm OK, On my way, At camp, Heading back, Need help
- Share your location with your group in one tap
- SOS sends an alert with your location to everyone in range on every connected radio, and SOS alerts from your group vibrate your phone with a high-priority notification

MAP AND BREADCRUMBS
- Radar map that works with no internet: see your group and Meshtastic nodes by distance and direction
- Record a breadcrumb trail and follow an arrow back to where you started
- Export your trail as GPX
- Optional street map (OpenStreetMap), off until you turn it on

PEOPLE AND QR CODES
- Contacts with distance, direction, and when you last heard from them
- Add friends by scanning their Backtrail Pro QR code
- Share your group passphrase as an invite QR code

MESHTASTIC TOOLS
- Node list with signal strength, hops, battery, temperature, and distance
- Traceroute and position requests
- Channels: share as a QR code, or import a Meshtastic channel link
- Radio settings: name, region, modem preset, role, and sleep timer
- Range test, and a relay that bridges your goTenna group and the Meshtastic mesh

PRIVATE BY DESIGN
- Optional end-to-end encryption for goTenna messages: AES-256-GCM with a passphrase your group shares
- No account, no sign-in, no servers, no ads, no analytics, no tracking
- Everything stays on your phone; your location only leaves it inside a message you choose to send

MADE FOR THE FIELD
- Works with no internet connection at all
- Optional background connection so messages keep arriving (Android)
- Shows your radio's model, firmware, battery, and region settings
- Dark interface built for outdoor use

WHAT YOU NEED
- A goTenna Mesh radio and/or a Meshtastic radio
- A phone or tablet with Bluetooth LE
- To message someone, they need a compatible radio within range (or reachable through the mesh)

Backtrail Pro is a messaging utility, not an emergency service. SOS does not contact 911 or any rescue service, and radio delivery is never guaranteed. Always carry an independent way to call for help, and a map and compass.

Backtrail Pro is open-source software licensed under the GNU GPL v3.0; source code is available on request at no charge.

goTenna Mesh® is a registered trademark, and goTenna™ is a trademark, of goTenna, Inc. Meshtastic® is a registered trademark of Meshtastic LLC. BlackFox Media LLC is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by goTenna, Inc. or Meshtastic LLC. These names are used only to identify compatible hardware.

Recent changes:
First release of Backtrail Pro: off-grid messaging for goTenna Mesh and Meshtastic radios. Group and direct messages with delivery receipts, optional AES-256 encryption, check-ins, location sharing, SOS, an offline radar map with breadcrumb trails, contacts and QR codes, Meshtastic nodes, channels, and radio settings, and a relay between both networks.