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No Wi-Fi? No problem. If you’re taking an AirBeam Mini into the field, you don’t need to be connected to the internet the entire time to collect air quality measurements.
AirBeam Mini is designed to record measurements locally and sync that data when a connection becomes available again. This makes it possible to collect air quality data in places where Wi-Fi or cellular service is limited or unavailable.
Here’s how it works.
Can AirBeam Mini record data without internet?
Yes. AirBeam Mini can keep recording measurements when an internet connection is unavailable.
During a mobile session, AirBeam Mini sends measurements to the AirCasting app on your phone over Bluetooth. If that connection drops, the Mini saves measurements to its internal storage and syncs them once the connection is back.
That means you can take your AirBeam Mini on a walk, bike ride, community science project, or field study without worrying about staying connected the entire time.
Record a mobile session with AirBeam Mini
For mobile data collection, connect your AirBeam Mini to the AirCasting app using Bluetooth. You do not need Wi-Fi or cellular internet to collect measurements during the session.
Before you head out, open the AirCasting app and sign in while you still have an internet connection.
To get started:
- Turn on your AirBeam Mini.
- Open the AirCasting app on your phone.
- Tap the + button.
- Select Mobile session.
- Follow the instructions in the app to connect your AirBeam Mini.
- Begin collecting measurements.
During a mobile session, AirBeam Mini communicates measurements to the AirCasting app once a second via Bluetooth. Keep your phone within approximately 10–20 feet of the Mini to maintain the connection.
The important thing to remember is that Bluetooth and Internet are two different connections. Your phone can communicate with the AirBeam Mini without being connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data.
What if my phone is offline?
Keep recording. If your phone doesn’t have internet access while you’re collecting measurements, the session can sync to AirCasting once your phone is back online.
So if you’re headed somewhere without service, don’t stop collecting just because your phone is offline.
What if AirBeam Mini loses its connection?
Your data is safe. Whenever AirBeam Mini is recording a mobile or fixed session and the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection is interrupted, it logs measurements to its internal storage.
Once the connection is restored, the stored data syncs automatically. There’s no button to tap and nothing to retrieve by hand.
This works for both session types:
- Mobile sessions: If you walk out of Bluetooth range or your phone drops the connection, the Mini keeps recording. When your phone and Mini reconnect, the missing measurements sync to the app.
- Fixed sessions: If your Wi-Fi goes down, or you move the Mini somewhere without Wi-Fi, it keeps recording. Once it’s back in range of the Wi-Fi network it was set up on, the stored measurements upload automatically.
One thing to know: AirBeam Mini does not have its own GPS, so it can’t track location by itself while it’s disconnected from your phone. Any measurements recorded when AirBeam Mini is disconnected from the phone are pegged to the last known location.
How much data can AirBeam Mini store?
A lot. Depending on your sampling interval, the Mini’s internal storage holds:
Sampling Interval Storage Capacity
10 minutes 1,675 days
5 minutes 837 days
1 minute 167 days
5 seconds 14 days
1 second 67 hours
- While you’re on Wi-Fi, open the AirCasting app and set up your AirBeam Mini to record a fixed session.
- Wait until you see the first measurements appear in the app.
- Leave the Mini powered on. Don’t turn it off from this point forward.
- Install the Mini at your monitoring location. Plug it in if you plan to monitor for more than 20 hours.
- When you’re done, bring the Mini back within range of the Wi-Fi network you used to set it up. It reconnects automatically and uploads everything it recorded while it was away.
The above method is also ideally suited to research projects that seek to collect 24/7 air quality exposure data from participants carrying the AirBeam Mini but don’t want to log location data and don’t want to have the participants use their phones in tandem with the AirBeam.
Fixed sessions record 1-minute averages, and the Mini can store 167 days of data at that interval, so there’s plenty of room for long deployments.
A few things to keep in mind
Charge your AirBeam Mini before heading out. Without an internet connection, your biggest concern isn’t connectivity. It’s making sure the device has enough power to finish the job. In a mobile session, a fully charged AirBeam Mini runs for 20–33 hours, depending on the sampling interval: about 20 hours at intervals of 1 minute or less, 30 hours at 5 minutes, and 33 hours at 10 minutes. Fixed sessions always sample once a minute and run for about 20 hours on battery.
Keep Bluetooth range in mind. You don’t need internet for Bluetooth, but your phone does need to stay within 10–20 feet of the Mini to receive measurements in real time. If you get separated, the Mini stores measurements and syncs them when you reconnect.
Don’t panic if your data isn’t immediately online. If you’re collecting data somewhere without service, your measurements may not appear on the AirCasting website right away. That’s expected. They’ll show up once you reconnect and sync.
The bottom line
You don’t need Wi-Fi or internet access everywhere you collect air quality data.
With AirBeam Mini, Bluetooth lets your phone and device communicate without an internet connection, and internal storage keeps your measurements safe whenever a connection is interrupted.You can even run a fixed session somewhere with no Wi-Fi and upload the data when you bring the Mini back.
So whether you’re monitoring air quality on a neighborhood walk, running a community science project, or deploying a sensor somewhere with unreliable connectivity, you can keep collecting data and sync it when you’re back online.
For full details, see the AirBeam Mini User’s Guide.
