Offline use & connectivity

What works without a SIM

A scooter with no active SIM remains fully usable. Its core functions run locally:

• Riding and the dashboard, including keycards, vehicle data, settings, and the built-in alarm.
• GPS position and time. The GPS receiver does not need a SIM card.
• Offline maps and navigation, once the map and routing packages for your region are installed.
• Firmware updates over Bluetooth from a nearby phone.
• Maps, routing data, firmware, and recovery over USB through Update Mode.

You do not need a cloud account or subscription for any of these. What you give up is unattended downloading over the mobile network and access to the scooter while you are somewhere else.

Maps and navigation are local

Offline map tiles draw the map on the display. Offline routing data calculates a route and provides turn-by-turn instructions. They are separate packages, and you need both for the complete offline navigation experience.

If you chose a region in the Installer, both are normally installed during setup. Check them under Menu → Info → Maps. The Navigation page explains daily use and map settings; the map and routing setup guide covers the files themselves.

Updates without mobile data

Bluetooth for routine firmware updates

1.2+ A nearby phone can transfer firmware to both scooter computers over Bluetooth. For normal updates, use a small delta artifact in the supported mobile app. Keep the phone close until the transfer finishes; the links and complete procedure are on Updates.

Bluetooth is well suited to routine delta updates, but map and routing packages are much larger. Use Update Mode for those. The complete firmware-update flow is on Updates.

Update Mode for large files and recovery

Update Mode turns the scooter into a removable USB drive. You connect a computer, copy firmware into system-update/ or map and routing files into maps/, safely eject the drive, and let the scooter process the files.

This is the offline path for installing maps, changing release channel, using a full image, or recovering when a Bluetooth update is not suitable. The Update Mode guide has the safe, step-by-step procedure.

GPS time is offline too

The scooter has no real-time clock that keeps accurate time while it is powered down. Instead, the dashboard synchronises the clock from GPS when a fix is available. A SIM card is not part of that process.

After a fresh start or a long time indoors, take the scooter outside with a clear view of the sky and give it time to find satellites. Until then, the time may be missing or wrong. You can hide the clock under Menu → Settings → Appearance → Status Bar → Clock; the other display choices are covered on The display.

If you want the scooter online

An internet connection adds automatic firmware and map downloads, online map tiles and remote routing. Internet access alone is enough for automatic system updates; it does not require a cloud account.

There are two cellular routes:

• Keep the factory SIM: Sunshine offers paid connectivity plans for compatible factory SIMs. Sign in at sunshine.rescoot.org, add your scooter, and open its connectivity setup. Sunshine securely links and checks the scooter before offering a plan.
• Use your own SIM: fit a SIM adapter to the main computer and use a data plan from your own provider. This is a hardware modification involving soldering; the online-scooter guide covers the safety steps, SIM choice, APN, and PIN configuration.

With your own SIM, the provider charges you directly and no factory-SIM connectivity subscription is needed. In either case, mobile data use depends on what you enable, especially full firmware images, map downloads, and online maps.

Internet, cloud, and the on-scooter client

These are three different pieces. A SIM gives the scooter internet access. A cloud gives you a place to see and control it remotely. An on-scooter client carries data and commands between the two.

• Sunshine is the community-run web service for scooter status, position, trips, and remote controls.
• radio-gaga is the on-scooter client built for Sunshine. It sends telemetry and events over MQTT, receives remote commands, and buffers data while the connection is unavailable.
• uplink-service is an alternative WebSocket client for the Librescoot uplink-server. It carries telemetry, events, logs, and remote commands and is useful when you run that server yourself.

You normally configure the client that matches your cloud rather than running both for the same job. On versions with the web interface, you can connect a scooter to Sunshine with a bootstrap token or install a radio-gaga or uplink-service configuration file.

WireGuard is a separate, advanced option for a private network connection to the scooter. Its configuration files can be moved through Update Mode; WireGuard does not replace the cloud client that provides history, events, and remote commands.

When a connection is not working

• The clock is wrong: this is usually a missing GPS fix, not a missing SIM. Move outdoors and wait for the GPS indicator.
• A Bluetooth update will not start: make sure the phone is paired, keep it close to the scooter, and check the recovery advice on Updates.
• The scooter has a SIM but no internet: open Menu → Info → Connectivity. With your own SIM, also check the APN and PIN from the setup guide.
• Internet works but Sunshine stays offline: the cellular connection and cloud client are separate. Check that radio-gaga is configured for the scooter and running.
• Update Mode files are ignored: safely eject the drive before leaving the mode, then check ums_log.txt. More checks are in the Update Mode guide.