A ridgeline at golden hour with fog moving through the valley below, in the founder's own photograph.

Text your crew where there’s no signal.

Chartreuse is for the ones you explore and get lost with. Our app and device talk over long-range radio, so you can text and see where everyone is, with or without service.

No bars, no accounts, no subscription.

We’re building it now. Want to be first to know when it’s ready?

We only email when something real happens. Unsubscribe whenever you like.

A crew of five riding single file up a dusty fire road at midday, photographed from the back of a sixth bike with its handlebars in frame.

Who it’s for

The group chat dies right when you need it

The plan comes together the night before. Who’s driving, who’s bringing what, when everyone is actually leaving.

Then you get where you’re going and there’s no signal. People split up. Someone goes back for a jacket. Two people take the long way. Now the chat is stale, and your options are yelling, walking back, or standing around at a spot you agreed on hours ago.

Everybody has had this day. Some people have it every time.

So what if the chat just kept working?

How it works

Set up before your adventure

Send a message in the app. Chartreuse carries it straight to your friends’ devices. No cell tower in between.

With service or without it, nothing changes.

Three steps and you’re connected

Setup is short, and the app walks you through it.

Step one

Open the box and hold the pairing button

Hold it until the lights blink and your phone finds it. Every time after that, they reconnect on their own.
Step two

Create your crew

Give it a name. The app makes a passphrase to go with it.
Step three

Share the passphrase

Everyone who has it is in your crew, so share it with your friends and nobody else. It’s encrypted, and the keys live on your phone instead of on a server somewhere.

Then you just text. Drop a pin, see where everyone is, and watch the receipt say delivered via radio.

These are designs of the app we’re building, not screenshots of a finished product.

App design: the pairing screen showing your Chartreuse device, an off-grid ready chip, and a Pair your Chartreuse button. — Pairing starts here. Your Chartreuse wakes up ready.

This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.

App design: a confirmation screen reading You’re on the air, with a Find my crew button. — Paired. Next stop, your crew.

App design: a crew conversation where a message receipt reads delivered via radio, with a dropped pin marking a meeting spot. — The receipt says delivered via radio.

App design: a map showing where each crew member is, listed as in range, with a tapped pin for the meeting spot. — Everyone, and where they are.

Why it’s different

No satellites, no towers, no bill

Nothing to sign up for and no monthly payments, because there’s no network behind it. No settings to match, no accounts to make. Open the box, create your crew, start texting the people near you.

Does it really work with zero bars?

Yes, really.

Is this some prepper survival network thing?

Nope.

A satellite subscription?

Also nope.

Is it fun?

That’s the point.

A young buck standing on a dirt trail under oak trees at golden hour, turned to look back down the path. — You have to come back and see this.

Delivered via radio

FAQ

The questions we’d ask too

Does it really work with no cell signal?

Yes, and it’s the reason we built it. Your devices talk straight to each other via long-range radio, so your messages go out with or without service.

How far does it reach?

Far enough for a crew that spreads out over a day’s adventure: the quick ones ahead, someone fixing a boot, two people off at the lake. We’re not printing a number we haven’t finished testing. When the field testing is done we’ll publish what we actually measured, and the list hears it first.

How long does the battery last?

Days between charges (est.) on normal use outdoors. The device sleeps hard between messages and wakes up when the crew needs it. Firm numbers come with the field test results.

How is this different from Meshtastic or a Garmin inReach?

Meshtastic is great if you like building your own network. That’s a proper hobby, and this isn’t it. Satellite messengers like inReach do something we don’t do at all, which is reach the outside world, rescue included. Chartreuse has one job: talking to the people you came with.

Is this an emergency or rescue device?

No. Chartreuse is not an emergency or rescue device. There’s no SOS button and no way to call for help. It talks to your crew, and that’s all it does. If you’re heading somewhere truly remote, carry a satellite messenger too.

Do I need a subscription or an account?

No, and no. There’s no network to pay for, and a crew is a passphrase rather than an account. Nothing to sign up for, nothing to cancel.

Is my crew’s chat private?

Yes. Messages are encrypted and your phone holds the keys, so we can’t read your chat and neither can anyone listening.

What phone do I need?

iPhone or Android at launch, from the App Store and the Google Play Store. Your Chartreuse device pairs with your phone and reconnects on its own after that.

How does my phone talk to my Chartreuse device?

Wirelessly, the same way it connects to your headphones. From there your device handles the long-range part.

Do I need to download the map before I go?

Yes, and it takes a minute. Pick the state you’re headed to and download it while you still have internet. After that the map works with no signal, the same as the rest of Chartreuse.

When can I buy one?

We can’t legally sell it, or even take pre-orders, until the FCC authorization work is finished. That’s the work we’re doing right now. Join the list and you’ll hear the moment it changes. We won’t give you dates we can’t keep.

Still here? Sounds like your crew.

We’ll email when there’s something worth saying. Build updates, real test results, and word the moment it’s ready.

Join the list

We only email when something real happens. Unsubscribe whenever you like.