How to Get Fresh Data

This guide explains how to get the data you need from Aware Outdoors.

Send a message with your location to a specific Aware Outdoors email address or the SMS number. We'll show you how to do that with compatible satellite communication smartphone apps.

Within a few minutes, Aware Outdoors sends your data to your satellite communication device in one or more messages.

Sending Commands

Below you'll find step-by-step instructions for sending commands with popular satellite communication devices. Click on your device type to see details.

SMS messages must contain the command and the location you are interested in. Send your message to +1-650-832-9273

  1. If necessary, enable the satellite messaging mode on your mobile phone
  2. Open your messaging app and create a new message to +1-650-832-9273
  3. Type your command and the coordinates
    Example: precip 38.2055, -119.7087
  4. Send the message and follow the on-screen instructions to ensure it is delivered

Many map apps allow you to copy the coordinates of your current location, or another point of interest. You can then paste them into your messaging app.

For more iPhone details see iPhone satellite messaging instructions

  1. Launch the Earthmate, Explore or Messenger app and check that your inReach device is paired with your phone
  2. Tap the Messages icon (iOS: at the bottom of the screen, Android: left-side menu)
  3. Tap on an existing message thread, or
  4. Start a new message by tapping the compose message icon ( or ) at the top right of the screen
  5. Tap in the "To:" field and enter an email address or click on the Add Contact button ( or ) at the right and search for an existing contact
  6. Ensure the "Message location" option is enabled to include your location in your message.
  7. Garmin apps don't allow empty messages so write something brief such as "hi" and then tap Send

For more details see the Garmin documentation on the Garmin Messenger app for inReach Messenger and inReach Mini 2, the Garmin Explore app for inReach Mini 2, or the Garmin Earthmate app for inReach Explorer, inReach SE and inReach 1.5, inReach Explorer+, inReach SE+, and inReach Mini.

  1. Launch the ZOLEO app and check that your ZOLEO device is connected to your phone
  2. Tap the Chats icon in the bottom left of the screen
  3. Tap on an existing message thread, or
  4. Start a new one by tapping the compose message icon
  5. Search for the contact or enter the email address
  6. Tap the location pushpin icon to send the message with your current location

For more details see the ZOLEO knowledge base.

  1. Launch the Bivy app and check that your Bivy Stick device is connected to your phone
  2. Tap the MESSAGES icon at the bottom of the screen
  3. Tap on an existing message thread, or
  4. Start a new one by tapping the compose message icon at the top right of the screen
  5. Tap in the "To:" field and type the command email address
  6. Tap the red location button to fill in your location
  7. Tap the blue arrow button to send the message

For more details see the Bivy Help Center.

Aware Outdoors Commands

Air Quality

What it is:

Most recent air quality index (AQI) for your specified location, and a brief AQI forecast (if available). Where there is a monitoring station nearby you get its measurement; in remote areas with no station in range you get an estimate instead, clearly marked.

Reply messages: 1-2

Example:

  • AQI: 57 Moderate is the air quality index reading. It is the highest reading among the pollutants reported for your area — fine particulates (PM2.5), ozone or coarse dust (PM10) — which is how the US EPA itself reports AQI, so the number always reflects whichever pollutant is currently worst.
  • The word "Moderate" comes from the US EPA level of concern described here
  • When the worst pollutant is not fine particulates, it is named in brackets: AQI: 84 Moderate (O3) means ozone, and (PM10) means coarse dust. This matters because the sensible response differs — ozone is usually worst in the afternoon heat, while particulates mean smoke or dust.
  • dist 1 mi N tells you that the station providing this measurement is 1 mile north of your specified location. In remote country that distance can be large, so it is worth reading — a reading from 100 miles away may not describe the air where you are standing. This line only appears when we know where the station is.
  • 11/25 9:00 AM PST tells you that the measurement was recorded on November 25 at 9:00 AM PST
  • The AQI forecast, when available, is issued by your regional air quality agency for the nearest reporting area, and covers whichever pollutant that agency forecasts.

When there is no monitoring station nearby

Air quality monitors are sparse, and many wilderness areas do not permit them at all — so in the backcountry there is often no station within range. Rather than tell you nothing, we fall back to a modelled estimate for your exact coordinates, which combines government monitors, satellite observations, weather and active fire data.

  • est means estimated: this number is a model's best guess for your location, not a reading from an instrument, produced by Google's Air Quality API. The marker always appears when the value is modelled, even if the longer explanation is trimmed to fit your device's message limit.
  • Treat an estimate as a good indication rather than a precise measurement. It is generally a better guide than a reading from a station a hundred miles away — but if conditions look or smell worse than the number suggests, trust your senses.
  • Occasionally there is neither a station in range nor an estimate available, in which case you will get No AQI data available rather than a stale or misleading number.
  • This is also how AQI works everywhere outside the US and Canada, since our sources' monitoring stations don't reach further. Even in a country with its own official air quality index, we convert to this same US EPA scale rather than showing that country's index — so the number always means the same thing, and reads the same way, no matter where you're traveling.

When conditions are different upwind

Smoke and dust travel with the wind, so the nearest monitor is not always the most useful one. When a monitor upwind of you is reading meaningfully different air — or meaningfully worse air — than your local reading, we add a second line disclosing it. The primary reading above is never changed by this; it always stays the officially reported number for your exact location.

  • Upwind: AQI 165 Unhealthy, 62 mi NW means a monitor 62 miles northwest of you — the direction the wind is currently blowing from — is reading Unhealthy air. If the wind holds, that is the air heading your way.
  • This line only appears when it adds real information (a meaningfully different reading, or a high enough reading to matter on its own) — most replies won't have one.

Checkin

What it is:

Provides a location update to Aware Outdoors. Used for the CalTopo Location Bridge and Message Groups features. No reply message will be sent to your device.

Reply messages: 0

Elevation

What it is:

The elevation at your specified location

Reply messages: 1

Example:

Fires

What it is:

A list of fires detected within 60 miles (100 km) of your specified location

More details:

Fire data now comes from two sources: NASA FIRMS satellite detections, updated multiple times a day, and NOAA's newer NGFS satellite feed, which scans every 5 minutes and can name a known fire and report whether it's growing, shrinking, or quiet. When both sources see the same fire, you get NGFS's richer line; when only one source has seen a fire, that source's line is shown on its own — so a fire is never dropped just because one source missed it. NGFS is still a beta service on NOAA's end, so treat it as an added signal alongside FIRMS, not a replacement.

If multiple detections from the same source are near each other, they are combined into a single line. You'll see two line formats, depending on which source reported a given fire:

  • NGFS lines start with either the fire's real, official name if agencies have assigned one and NOAA has matched it (e.g. "Timber fire" for an actual incident called Timber — not a category), or, when no name is known yet, a size category instead ("sm fire", "fire", or "lg fire"). Either way, distance, direction, and status follow — growing, shrinking, steady, quiet for a while, or newly detected.
  • FIRMS lines use the older confidence-level format:
    • HI: high confidence
    • md: medium confidence
    • lo: low confidence
    The "Confidence: distance direction" legend line only appears when at least one FIRMS-style line is in your reply.

Reply messages: 1-2

Example:

  • 6/15 7PM PDT: the month/day, time and timezone when the data was gathered
  • Timber fire 9mi NW, growing, seen 12m ago: an NGFS line — a known, named fire 9 miles northwest, growing, last detected 12 minutes ago
  • md: 22 mi SW: a FIRMS line — a "medium confidence" event, 22 miles southwest, that NGFS hasn't also reported
  • sm fire 31mi E, quiet 6h: an NGFS line for a small fire that hasn't had a new detection in 6 hours

Forecast

What it is:

Weather forecast for the next few days (two entries per day)

Reply messages: 1-2

Example:

  • Forecast elev 3287ft indicates that the elevation at the center of the forecast region is 3287 feet above sea level. If you are at a significantly higher or lower elevation you should adjust the forecast appropriately (examples).
  • Each forecast line includes:
    • the forecast period (month/day and d for daytime and n for nighttime)
    • a brief summary of the weather conditions
    • the forecast high temperature for daytime and low temperature for nighttime
    • primary wind direction and speed or range of speeds in miles per hour
  • Now: is the forecast for the rest of the current day and 9/6n: is the forecast for this night
  • 9/7d: is the forecast for the next day (daytime) and 9/7n: is the forecast for the next night
  • Alert: if weather alerts have been issued they will be summarized with the start and end times (hours relative to the current time)

Help

What it is:

Replies with a list of available commands

Reply messages: 1

What it is:

Switches how a device's supported replies (wind, forecast, temp, precip, outlook, aqi, fires, snowdepth) arrive: as text (the default), as an app link, or as both. A link opens in the Aware Outdoors mobile app as a chart or table instead of a wall of text, and works entirely offline once you've tapped it — the app needs no signal at that moment, since everything the link needs travels inside the link itself. Because a link packs more into less space, "link only" can mean fewer satellite messages for the same command. If a link can't be built for some reason, "link only" still falls back to text rather than sending nothing.

Add the words link mode, text mode, or both mode to any command (for example, wind link mode), or send one of those three phrases on its own as a standalone command. You can also set the mode from that device's edit page once you're signed in. The setting is remembered on the device, so you only need to switch it when you want a different mode than what you're already getting.

See the full link mode guide for a step-by-step walkthrough: setup, the one-time step that makes offline links work, finding your replies later, and troubleshooting.

Reply messages: 1 confirmation (an extra message added on top of any command it's combined with)

Example:

Outlook

What it is:

A multi-day digest in a single message: each day's high/low temperature, wind, and chance of precipitation, plus the current air quality index -- the most information per message of any command

Reply messages: 1

Example:

  • 7-day outlook (F mph) AQI 52: how many days follow, the temperature and wind speed units, and the current air quality index near your location
  • Thu 82/61 W20 60%: Thursday's high 82, low 61, wind from the west up to 20 mph, and a 60% chance of precipitation
  • Wed -/58: a dash means that half of the day isn't in the forecast -- here the first evening has only a low
  • On smaller-message devices the same information arrives in a more compact form, like Th82/61W20r60

Park Alerts

What it is:

Current park alerts if you are in a US National Park

Reply messages: 1-20

Example:

  • 1/2 indicates that the message is the first of two

Precipitation Forecast

What it is:

Hourly precipitation forecast for the next 48 hours: chance of precipitation and type

Reply messages: 2-6

Example:

  • @9/18 CDT indicates that the forecast begins on September 18 and the times are in Central Daylight Time
  • 11p: 0 at 11 PM the forecast calls for a 0% change of precipitation
  • 2: 13 rain at 2 PM the forecast calls for 13% change of precipitation in the form of rain
  • 3: 15 at 3 PM, 15% change of the same type of precipitation
  • Note: the month, day, hour and AM/PM are included at the start of each message in case the messages arrive out of order or some are lost

Quake

What it is:

Recent earthquakes centered within 75 miles (120 km)

Reply messages: 1-2

Example:

  • 9/6 7:02PM PDT indicates that the earthquake happened on September 6 ad 7:02PM Pacific Daylight Time
  • M 1.6 is a magnitude of 1.6 on the Richter scale
  • 2 mi WSW of Anderson Springs, CA means the earthquake was centered 2 miles west-southwest of Anderson Springs, CA
  • 70 mi NNW means the earthquake was centered 70 miles north-northwest of your specified location

Snow Depth

What it is:

Nearest snow depth measurements (as many as will fit in one reply message)

Reply messages: 1-2

Example:

  • 1mi WNW: this measurement station is 1 mile WNW of your specified location
  • elev 9327ft: elevation of the measurement station
  • Deadman Ck Near Kennedy Meadows - Sonora Pass: description of the measurement station location
  • 12in: measured snow depth

Temperature Forecast

What it is:

Hourly temperature for the next 48 hours: actual temperature and apparent temperature. If the actual and apparent temperature are within 5 degrees Fahrenheit, only the actual temperature will be shown.

Reply messages: 3-6

Example:

  • @4/21 PDT indicates that the forecast begins on April 21 and the times are in Pacific Daylight Time
  • 5p: 58 at 5 PM the forecast calls for 48°F temperature and the apparent temperature will be similar
  • 11: 37 (31) at 11 PM the forecast calls for 37 temperature with a 31°F apparent temperature (wind chill)
  • Note: the month, day, hour and AM/PM are included at the start of each message in case the messages arrive out of order or some are not delivered

Weather

What it is:

Most recent weather observation near your specified location, and a brief summary of any active weather alerts

Reply messages: 1

Example:

  • 9/6 10AM PDT: month/day, time and time zone of the observation
  • Temp 68 F: temperature in degrees Fahrenheit
  • Wind 2mph SW gust 5: wind is 2 miles per hour from the southwest with gusts of 5 miles per hour
  • DewPt 54 deg F: dew point in degrees Fahrenheit
  • RelHum 62%: relative humidity
  • 2mi NW elev 759ft: the observation is from 2 miles northwest of your specified location at an elevation of 759 feet above sea level
  • Alerts: none: no active weather alerts found

Weather Alerts

What it is:

Full text of all active alerts in your area. These may be sent in many numbered messages

Reply messages: 1-20

Example:

Wind Forecast

What it is:

Hourly wind for the next 48 hours: wind speed, gust speed, direction from which the wind will come

Reply messages: 3-6

Example:

  • @9/18 CDT indicates that the forecast begins on September 18 and the times are in Central Daylight Time
  • 11p: 8 12 SSW at 11 PM the forecast calls for 8 miles per hour wind, gusts of 12 MPH fromt the SSW direction
  • 12a: 6 9 at 12 AM the forecast calls for 6 MPH wind, 9 MPH gusts from the same direction as at 11 PM
  • Note: the month, day, hour and AM/PM are included at the start of each message in case the messages arrive out of order or some are not delivered

Test

For test messages: you will receive a reply with a portion of your message

Reply messages: 1

Device Verification

Used only when adding a device to your account

Reply messages: 0 (reply will go the email address you used to create your Aware Outdoors account)