GOTOKY was a 2017 crowdfunded device that promised to turn a phone into an off-grid communication tool. Nelos is the modern app that delivers most of that idea today - group messaging, offline maps, trackers and a Need Help button - on hardware that's actually sold.
GOTOKY promised a lot - and the idea is appealing enough that people still search for it. Because the public evidence that GOTOKY ever delivered to backers is thin (see What Happened to GOTOKY?), this focuses on achieving the same goals today. Nelos connects your phone to a small compatible radio and gives your group chat, direct messages, offline maps, device trackers and a Need Help button - a finished app you can start using for free.
GOTOKY was developed by a company in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, after its founder was injured hiking with no signal to call for help. The device paired to an iOS or Android phone over Bluetooth. Paired, it was meant to allow voice calls (1-to-1 and group), texting (1-to-1 and group), an emergency location beacon that could be pressed even if the phone was dead, direction and distance to other GOTOKYs, offline topographic maps, real-time tracking and route recording. It used license-free UHF frequencies, dual-band 868 MHz (EU) / 915 MHz (US), and could store up to 1,000 messages on its own when not connected to a phone. The device had no GPS module of its own - it stored the last GPS location received from the phone.
This is the closest match to the "phone + external radio + mesh" part of GOTOKY. You get group messaging and everyone's location on an offline map, relaying through a repeater when people are out of direct range, with no subscription for the radio link. What to know: LoRa mesh carries text and location, not voice - so GOTOKY's "voice calls" part isn't here. See What Is a LoRa Mesh Radio?
If what you wanted from GOTOKY was mainly voice at close range, a two-way radio does exactly that, simply and cheaply. The trade-off: no map, no history, no location. See LoRa Mesh vs Walkie-Talkie.
One point to be clear about GOTOKY's emergency button: as described, it alerted other GOTOKYs and stored a last location - it did not reach rescue services directly. A PLB (personal locator beacon) or a satellite messenger does: when activated, it sends a signal to a search-and-rescue network. If "being able to call for rescue" is what you need, that's a separate layer - see LoRa Mesh vs Satellite Messenger.
GOTOKY was in the same wave as goTenna Mesh and Sonnet. goTenna Mesh has left the consumer market; Best goTenna Mesh Alternatives walks through the same set of options.
| The part of GOTOKY you want | Today's option |
|---|---|
| Group messaging + location + maps, no subscription | Phone + LoRa mesh |
| Voice at close range | Two-way radio |
| Being able to call for rescue from a remote area | Satellite messenger or PLB |
People drawn to the idea of combining a familiar phone interface with an external off-grid radio will find that in Nelos: chat, direct messages, an identity that stays yours even if you swap radios, offline maps, device trackers and a "Need Help" button that alerts the group - free to start, no account. Because compatible radios come from several manufacturers, you're not depending on one company. Nelos carries text and location, not voice.
The full picture is in the off-grid communication guide; hardware is in off-grid communication devices; and Getting Started covers setting up a group.
Nelos brings group messaging, location sharing, and a shared group map with location updates to LoRa mesh — with no cell service, no server, and no account.
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