# APRSpot — Beacon your position on APRS > Beacon your position on APRS (iPhone/iPad app by Razvan Zeces.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aprspot/id6784580448 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Razvan Zeces](https://appshunter.io/developer/6772800932) - Category: Navigation, Travel - Price: Free - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 17.0 · 9 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2026-06-29 - Data updated: 2026-08-17 - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aprspot/id6784580448/reviews.md ## What is APRSpot? APRSpot puts your station on the APRS map. Beacon your position to the worldwide APRS-IS network — you'll show up on aprs.fi and in every other APRS client — and watch the stations around you move in real time, right from your iPhone. FEATURES • Smart, periodic, or one-tap position beacons • Background beaconing — drive with the screen off and keep showing on the map • Live map of nearby stations with native APRS symbols • Station list sorted by distance, with speed, course and last-heard • APRS text messaging with delivery acknowledgements • Dynamic Island & Lock Screen Live Activity for your beaconing session • Activity log of raw APRS-IS traffic • Privacy controls: position ambiguity, optional course/speed and altitude • Block and report stations • Free — no ads, no account, no tracking TRY IT WITHOUT A LICENCE Tap "Try the demo" on the welcome screen to explore the whole app with simulated stations and messages — no callsign or network required. FOR LICENSED OPERATORS APRS is amateur radio. Transmitting your position requires a valid amateur-radio callsign (APRSpot does not fill in your APRS-IS passcode automatically, you will need to enter it manually in the Settings section). APRSpot uses background location to beacon your position to the APRS-IS amateur-radio network while you travel, even with the screen off. APRSpot is internet-only (APRS-IS) — no radio or TNC hardware required. 73! ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.6 — 2026-07-24 Version 1.6 Messages in Chinese, Cyrillic or Greek now actually go out. They were being stripped to nothing before, which is a poor way to find out your message never left. You get the full 67 characters, and the composer warns you before the tail gets cut. On the watch you can finally pick your station symbol. Car on the phone, bicycle on the wrist, they don't have to match. New Features: • Pick your APRS-IS server from a list instead of typing a hostname. Regional rotates plus 30 country servers. Advanced mode is still there if you run your own igate or want a host that isn't listed. • Your grid square and country flag now sit in the map's top bar. • Tap the connection pill, the GPS bars or the station count to see what's behind them — server, last traffic, fix accuracy, extended locator. • Statistics back up to iCloud, so a new phone doesn't reset your totals. • SmartBeacon has an Aggressive setting for when you want a really tight track. It costs about double the data of High. That's the trade. Fixed Bugs • The launch screen, beacon button, Dynamic Island and widgets all use the real APRSpot logo now. There were four different icons floating around and none of them was the app icon. • The Dynamic Island keeps up with your speed while driving instead of sitting frozen between beacons. • On an automatic beacon mode without background beaconing, the app now says plainly that beaconing stops when you leave it. That one caught people out. • Beacons cached offline replay at a polite pace, and one too old for its timestamp to be trusted is dropped rather than sent with a bad date. ### 1.5 — 2026-07-19 New — Roaming warning APRSpot now shows a gentle, dismissible banner when it looks like you're using mobile data abroad, so a day of tracking on a trip doesn't turn into a surprise bill. It's a best-effort hint (iOS doesn't report roaming directly) and you can switch it off in Settings › Connection. Fixed — Callsign validation A perfectly valid callsign could be rejected as "invalid" if it was pasted with a stray space (easy to pick up from an email or QRZ) or typed together with its SSID. Those are now accepted. If you were stuck and couldn't transmit, this update fixes it. Also in this release • Faster, more honest connection handling — the app notices a dropped link quickly instead of sitting on a stale "Connected". • Standalone Apple Watch receive keeps working beyond the Nearby screen and is easier on the battery. • Hardened against malformed packets from the network. • No more stale-position beacon right after launch; the Live Activity countdown behaves while parked. • Plenty of small fixes and polish. ### 1.4 — 2026-07-09 Apple Watch, now truly standalone • Your watch receives APRS on its own — see nearby stations and get messages with no iPhone needed. • Smart Cache: keep tracking when you're offline (flights, dead zones). Beacons are stored and replayed with their real timestamps the moment you're back online. On iPhone and Apple Watch. Know exactly where you are • QTH grid locator (Maidenhead) on the Activity screen — tap to copy or share. • Live GPS signal-quality indicator on the map and the watch. • New Satellite and Hybrid map styles. More reliable, more polished • Rock-solid connection handling — a clear Offline state instead of an endless "Connecting…", and automatic reconnect the instant your signal returns. • Retry failed messages with a tap, and your conversation history now survives a relaunch. • Tap a message notification to jump straight to that conversation. • See the packet path (digipeaters and igate) on any station. • Share a station or your own position. • Choose metric or imperial units. • One-tap Beacon button on the Home Screen widget. Plus dozens of fixes and refinements throughout. Thanks for using APRSpot — 73! ### 1.3 — 2026-07-07 Bug fixes and overall improvements. Thanks for using APRSpot! ### 1.2 — 2026-07-04 A big update — APRSpot goes further on your iPhone and your wrist. APPLE WATCH • Reply to APRS messages right from your wrist — dictation and one-tap ham replies • Find Buddy: a live compass that points to a friend's last known position • A live watch-face complication showing your last beacon and tracking status MAP & STATIONS • Country flags on every callsign — see where each station is from instantly (fully offline) • Filter the map by type: moving, weather, infrastructure or buddies • Weather history charts — temperature, pressure and humidity over time • A Find My-style compass to locate any station from its details • Your buddies are now heard anywhere in the world, even far beyond your range BEACONING & MORE • Station profiles — switch between Car, Hiking and Home in a single tap • Statistics — beacons sent, packets heard and data used (Wi-Fi vs cellular), for iPhone and Apple Watch • Messages you send while offline now queue and go out automatically on reconnect • Fresh look: choose a blue, amber or green app icon in Settings Transmitting now uses your own APRS-IS passcode — enter it once in Settings to beacon and send messages. Without it, APRSpot is fully receive-only, so anyone can watch the live map. Plus dozens of fixes and refinements throughout. ## More apps by Razvan Zeces - [FlowStation BS](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flowstation-bs/id6772800930) All apps by Razvan Zeces: https://appshunter.io/developer/6772800932 ## Related topics [aprspot](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/aprspot) · [aprsbeacon](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/aprsbeacon) · [aprs](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/aprs) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-17.*