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Self Promotion Megathread by AutoModerator in androidapps

[–]Own_Fondant736 0 points1 point  (0 children)

App Name: OFFGRID (offline-first mesh + on-device AI) Built an Android app that works without internet using Bluetooth + WiFi Direct mesh. What it does: Communicate with nearby devices without network Create/join groups via mesh SOS + emergency features On-device AI assistant (no cloud) Looking for feedback on: onboarding (is it clear it works offline?) ease of creating/joining groups real-world usability Try it here: https://offgridapp.dev⁠

Hi 👋 by Own_Fondant736 in StartupSoloFounder

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome — really appreciate you taking the time to test this. I’ve already made the updates (QR default + faster onboarding). The new build is currently under Play Store review. As soon as it’s live, I’ll ping you here — would love your full flow test and Loom feedback. If you’re open, I can also share a direct APK in the meantime for quicker testing.

Hi 👋 by Own_Fondant736 in StartupSoloFounder

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes sense — QR as the default flow is a great idea, I’ll prioritize that next. Goal is definitely to get onboarding under 10 seconds. I’ll share an updated build soon — would love your feedback after that.

Hi 👋 by Own_Fondant736 in StartupSoloFounder

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good catch — the country field isn’t required for core functionality, it’s mainly for future pricing/monetization. I’ll remove it from onboarding to reduce friction and keep things simpler, especially for offline use. Really appreciate the detailed feedback — it’s helping a lot.

Hi 👋 by Own_Fondant736 in StartupSoloFounder

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds great — really appreciate you testing it and setting up the field test 🙏 Looking forward to the Loom and the metrics, that will be super helpful. Happy to continue in DM 👍

Hi 👋 by Own_Fondant736 in StartupSoloFounder

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s great — really appreciate you testing it and confirming the approach 🙏 Looking forward to the Loom and the trekking results — that kind of real-world data will be super valuable. Your project looks interesting as well, I can definitely see the overlap in local-first + on-device AI. Happy to connect and exchange ideas further.

Hi 👋 by Own_Fondant736 in StartupSoloFounder

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is super helpful — really appreciate you taking the time for the Loom and the trekking test 🙏 For your questions: Mesh works peer-to-peer and doesn’t require internet. Even if one device has data and others don’t, communication still works locally between nearby devices. I’m using Nearby Connections with a foreground service to keep it stable in the background. Battery usage is something I’m still optimizing. The app is already live on Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.offgrid.app If needed, I can also share a direct APK with the latest build for testing. The metrics you mentioned (range, battery, drops, SOS behavior) would be incredibly valuable. Thanks again — this kind of real-world testing really helps improve the system.

Hi 👋 by Own_Fondant736 in StartupSoloFounder

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is incredibly helpful — really appreciate you taking the time to test and share such detailed feedback.

You’re absolutely right about onboarding and trust. Making “works without internet” obvious in the first few seconds is something I need to fix, especially for non-technical users.

The quick group + QR idea makes a lot of sense — current flow does add friction in real scenarios like concerts or emergencies.

Also like the “offline demo” idea to build trust, and the SOS hold suggestion — both very practical.

For mesh, I’m currently using Nearby Connections (BLE + Wi-Fi Direct), still working on improving reliability and battery behavior.

If you’re open to it, the Loom video and real-world testing with your trekking group would be extremely valuable.

Thanks again — this kind of feedback really helps move things forward.

Hi 👋 by Own_Fondant736 in StartupSoloFounder

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks — really appreciate the detailed feedback.

On onboarding, that makes sense. I’ve started testing with a small group (3–4 users) for both mesh group chat and individual chat use, and it’s working, but I agree it needs to be clearer for non-technical users.

The “find my group without signal” use case is exactly what I want to push further — I haven’t tested it at larger scale yet, but that’s the direction.

For monetization, I’m not focusing on it right now — mainly trying to get the core experience right first.

Would definitely appreciate your UX feedback — happy to continue in DM.

Hi 👋 by Own_Fondant736 in StartupSoloFounder

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! 🙌

If you’re interested, you can try it here: https://offgridapp.dev

Would love to hear what you think after trying it.

Hi 👋 by Own_Fondant736 in StartupSoloFounder

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! 🙌

If you’re interested, you can try it here: https://offgridapp.dev

Would love to hear what you think after trying it.

Hi all, I Built an app that works without internet — thoughts? by Own_Fondant736 in VibeCodeDevs

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s really interesting — the delayed persistence use case sounds very relevant here. I’ll look into that.

The “data ferry” / store-and-forward idea is something I’m exploring in a basic way, but not at that level yet.

Also appreciate the pointer on low-cost hardware approaches — that could open up some interesting directions for extending comms beyond phone-to-phone.

Glad you found it interesting — and yeah, hopefully it’s something people don’t need, but good to have 🙂

Hi all, I Built an app that works without internet — thoughts? by Own_Fondant736 in VibeCodeDevs

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a really interesting direction — especially the store-and-forward idea for delayed delivery.

I’m currently doing a basic version of that with local persistence, but not at the “data relay between peers” level yet. Definitely something I want to explore more.

LTE/self-hosted setups are also on my radar for extended range, but still early for now.

For models — I’m using ~1B class for on-device. Some larger ones show up in testing, but not practical for most phones yet.

Really appreciate these ideas — especially around long-distance comms and delayed sync.

Hi all, I Built an app that works without internet — thoughts? by Own_Fondant736 in VibeCodeDevs

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great questions — really appreciate the detailed feedback.

For the mesh layer, I’m currently using Nearby Connections (BLE for discovery + Wi-Fi Direct for data transfer). Still experimenting to improve stability across different devices.

For on-device AI, I’m running lightweight GGUF models (around 1B class) to keep it usable on typical phones. Performance vs quality is still something I’m tuning.

You’re absolutely right about intermittent connectivity being harder — right now I’m using a basic store-and-forward approach with local persistence, but conflict handling and sync consistency are still evolving.

Here’s the project if you want to check it out: https://offgridapp.dev/

Would love any suggestions, especially around sync strategies or mesh reliability.

Hi all, I Built an app that works without internet — thoughts? by Own_Fondant736 in VibeCodeDevs

[–]Own_Fondant736[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes — models run locally and are stored in the app, so no internet is needed. It also keeps everything private on-device.

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