Emergency
How SOS works
FrameBuff does not reach ambulance, fire or police. An SOS goes to people you already know. Call your emergency number first.
Set it up before you need it
An SOS can only reach people you have already added, so add your family and friends now. You add friends face to face, by QR code.
When you send one
- It tries the internet first.
- With no internet, your phone can ask "turn on mesh?". You can switch that question off.
- The SOS goes ahead of all other traffic: before voice, text and files, with no waiting between messages.
- You see a receipt, or an honest "not delivered yet".
Who gets it
Only people you know: your family, friends and work groups. There is no SOS to strangers and no public broadcast. The BuffNet lobby is a public chat, not a help line, and nobody is on duty there.
Alarms
An SOS can also set off machines: phones blare, TVs show a warning, lights flash. That covers your own devices. A friend's devices join in only if the friend agreed in advance.
Limits
- On slow links an SOS must be short: 512 bytes at most, about one text message.
- A radio signal can be located, even when its contents are encrypted.
- So far this has been tested on simulated slow links only, not over real radio. See Status.
SOS is always free.