ACR - Bivy Stick - FAQ

Q: HOW TO CONNECT TO A BIVY STICK?

A: Click Bivy Stick on the menu. Hit the button that says CONNECT VIA BLUETOOTH. Touch the ACTIVATE BIVY STICK button. You will then walk through the steps to set up your device and get it connected to the satellite network. Once your device is connected, it will show the battery power and connectivity on the satellite icon in the upper corner of your screen. You can always check your connection and battery status on the satellite icon on the map screen. Once you are connected, you will have access to all the Bivy Stick features including weather, offline maps, messaging, and SOS.

Q: HOW TO SEND A MESSAGE

A: The user can send messages to contacts in their phone, emails, or by typing in the recipient\’s phone number. Follow these steps:

1. Touch MESSAGES on the menu and go to the message screen. If you have an existing text chain you want to continue, just find it and click on it. If you want to create a new message, touch the new message button in the upper right-hand corner.

2. Type in the name of the person you want to message. The Bivy app connects to your existing contacts on your phone. Be sure that the number you are sending it to is a cell phone or another Bivy Stick.

3. Type the contents of your message. Messages are limited to 160 characters. Hit send.

4. If you want to share your location in your message, touch the orange button to the left of the text field. This will automatically populate your message field with your GPS coordinates and link to view your location on bivy.com.

5. Once you send your message, you will see the status underneath your message. Once your message has successfully made it to the satellites, there will be a checkmark and time stamp. The satellites do not continually send messages down to your device. If you are out of visibility of the satellites while someone is trying to send you a message, it might take longer for you to receive your message. If you miss a message, the satellites will try to send it later. But if you are waiting on an urgent message you can do a manual mailbox check by pressing the Mail button at the top of the message screen. This will ping the satellite system for any messages in your queue. You can do 6 mailbox checks for one credit if you are waiting on a message.

Q:  HOW TO SHARE YOUR TRACKING AND LOCATION

A:  To share your track with someone when you are using only the Bivy Stick device to track, follow these steps:

1. While you have internet service, connect your phone to your device in the Bivy app.

2. Go to the Home screen and select Share My Location

3. Your location is automatically pasted into the message area. It will have your GPS coordinates and also a URL that can be clicked to watch your progress.

Q: CAN THE BIVY STICK BE USED ON MULTIPLE PHONES?

A:  It can be used by multiple phones, but only one phone at a time. Any phone would need the Bivy App. The first phone to connect will create the master account and all billing will go to that account. Just make sure any phone that wants to use it has the app downloaded and sets up their account while in a WIFI network before the trip.

Q:  WHAT DOES THE BIVY STICK DO?

A:  With the Bivy Stick you can send and receive text messages, share your GPS location, Signal SOS, download offline maps, and get weather reports. It communicates directly with satellites. Because the Bivy Stick utilizes small bursts of data, no voice calls are available.

Q:  BIVY STICK LIGHT INFORMATION

A: Below is a list of the LED Light Status Meaning to help you understand what your Bivy is doing:

Status blinking Yellow – means the message is trying to send to the satellite. When it quits blinking yellow then all messages are sent.
Status blinking Green – a message has been received and needs to make sure that the user is connected to the device via Bluetooth.
Status blinking Blue – currently tracking and sharing location
Status blinking Red – SOS has been activated

Signal solid Green – strong satellite connection
Signal blinking Green – Establishing location and should only last a few seconds if you are out in the open. It will not get a GPS lock if you are inside.
Signal solid Yellow – medium/weak satellite connection
Signal solid Red – weak/none satellite connection

When the device has disconnected from the phone via Bluetooth it will attempt to reconnect for 5 minutes but then it will stop so it doesn\’t drain the battery. Hitting the power button once will make the device broadcast again so that the user can connect to it. Messages will try to send for a few minutes and then it will go to sleep for 10 minutes to save battery and then try again until the message is sent or until the device is turned off. The \”Message Sent\” for check-in messages means it was sent to the device, and not necessarily to the satellite yet.

Q:  ARE THERE COUNTRIES THAT ARE ILLEGAL TO HAVE A BIVY STICK?

A:  It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the countries they take the Bivy Stick to. Some countries that we know of that prohibit the use of satellite communicators are India, China, Iran, North Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cuba, Russia.

Q:  WHAT IS THE BATTERY LIFE OF THE BIVY STICK?

A: 120 hours with mailbox checks every 15 minutes, approximately 100 hours with 24/7 tracking

Q: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CHARGE THE BIVY STICK?

A: 4-5 Hours via USB-C to USB-A. This time is cut down substantially by utilizing a USB-C to USB-C charge. If you charge from a USB-A transformer, then it will charge at 0.5 Amps. If you have a USB-C Transformer and cable it will charge twice as fast at 1.0 Amps

Q: HOW DOES THE SOS WORK?

A:  Global rescue handles all SOS monitoring for Bivy stick users. Once you initiate the SOS button Global Rescue will dispatch the appropriate SAR based on your location. Your monthly subscription includes dispatch for rescue anywhere in the world. You could possibly be responsible for costs incurred from a rescue and you can purchase a Global Rescue membership for additional rescue insurance. To activate the SOS on the device, pull back the red tab and depress the button for 5 seconds. The lights will indicate if an SOS has been activated. https://partner.globalrescue.com/bivy/ 

Q: WHAT ARE THE TRACKING INTERVALS?

A:  The intervals and credit costs are: 2 minutes (min) with 1 credit per 12 minutes, 5 min. with 1 credit per 30 min., 10 min. (default) with 1 credit per hour, 30 min. with 1 credit per 3 hours, and 60 min. with 1 credit per 6 hours.