Frequently asked questions.

BackpAQ V4 is available ready-to-use from our Tindie store. This is the easiest way to get started — the unit arrives assembled, tested and ready to pair with your phone.

If you prefer to build your own, full instructions and a parts list are available on Instructables. The open-source design means you can customize it for your classroom or research needs.

A BackpAQ V4 from the Tindie store includes the fully assembled sensor unit with enclosure, a USB charging cable, and quick-start instructions. The BackpAQ mobile app (iOS and Android) and AIView dashboard are free to use — no subscription required.

Yes — BackpAQ is fully open-source. The complete build guide, circuit diagrams, firmware, and parts list are published on Instructables. You'll need basic electronics skills and access to a soldering iron. Total parts cost is typically under $80.

BackpAQ V4 measures six air quality parameters in real time:

• PM1, PM2.5, PM10 — fine and coarse particulate matter (microscopic particles that can enter the lungs)
• CO2 — carbon dioxide, an indicator of ventilation quality indoors
• NO2 — nitrogen dioxide, a gas linked to vehicle exhaust and combustion
• VOC — volatile organic compounds, emitted by paints, cleaners, and vehicle exhaust

Readings update once per minute and are transmitted over Wi-Fi or stored on the built-in SD card.

The BackpAQ mobile app (available for iOS and Android via the Blynk platform) connects to your BackpAQ sensor over Wi-Fi. It displays live readings on a map, lets you name and start recording tracks, and shows a breadcrumb trail of your exposure as you move through your environment.

The app syncs your data automatically to the BackpAQ cloud database, making it instantly available in the AIView dashboard.

AIView is BackpAQ's free web-based analytics and visualization dashboard, available at backpaqlabs.com/app. It lets you:

• View and replay your recorded tracks on an interactive map
• Chart PM2.5, CO2, NOx and VOC over time
• Compare your readings to the nearest EPA monitoring station
• Ask the AI Advisor (powered by Google Gemini) questions about your data
• Interact with AirBuddy — a real-time animated creature that reacts to your air quality

AIView works on desktop and mobile browsers, and can be installed as a Progressive Web App (PWA) on your phone's home screen.

Yes. BackpAQ works both indoors and outdoors. Indoors, CO2 readings are especially useful for assessing ventilation quality in classrooms, offices and other enclosed spaces. Note that GPS tracking is not available indoors, so map-based track visualization requires outdoor use.

Getting started with your BackpAQ V4 takes just a few minutes:

• Step 1 — Charge: Connect your BackpAQ to a USB power source and charge fully before first use. The LED indicator will turn solid green when charged.
• Step 2 — Provision Wi-Fi: On first use, BackpAQ broadcasts its own Wi-Fi hotspot named BackpAQ-XXXXXX. Connect your phone to that network, then open a browser and go to 192.168.4.1 to enter your home or school Wi-Fi credentials.
• Step 3 — Install the app: Download the free BackpAQ app (via Blynk) on your iOS or Android phone. Sign in with your BackpAQ account credentials.
• Step 4 — Power on and connect: Turn on your BackpAQ. Within 30 seconds it will connect to your Wi-Fi and appear live in the app.
• Step 5 — Start a track: In the app, enter a track name and press Record. BackpAQ will begin logging your air quality readings along with GPS location as you move.
• Step 6 — View in AIView: Your data appears automatically in the BackpAQ AIView dashboard. Select your track to see the map, chart, and AI analysis.

If you need to connect your BackpAQ to a different Wi-Fi network — for example when moving from home to school — follow these steps:

• Step 1 — Reset Wi-Fi: Hold the Config button on your BackpAQ for 5 seconds until the LED flashes blue. This clears the stored Wi-Fi credentials and restarts the device in hotspot mode.
• Step 2 — Connect to the hotspot: On your phone, go to Wi-Fi settings and connect to the BackpAQ-XXXXXX network that appears.
• Step 3 — Enter new credentials: Open a browser and navigate to 192.168.4.1. Enter the SSID and password for the new Wi-Fi network and tap Save.
• Step 4 — Reconnect: BackpAQ will restart and connect to the new network automatically. The LED will turn solid green within 30 seconds when connected successfully.

Your data is stored securely in InfluxDB Cloud — a professional time-series database used by researchers and engineers worldwide. Each data point is tagged with your device ID, track name, timestamp, GPS coordinates (where available), and all sensor readings.

The AIView dashboard queries this database in real time via a secure server-side proxy — your credentials are never exposed in the browser.

If your BackpAQ was out of Wi-Fi range during a session, data is automatically saved to the built-in SD card. To upload it:

• Remove the SD card from your BackpAQ unit
• Insert it into your computer using an SD card reader
• Use the BackpAQ SD Sync tool (available in the dashboard) to upload your files

SD card tracks are clearly marked with an "SD-SYNC" badge in the track list so you always know which data came from which source.

Yes. Every track in AIView has a Download button that exports your data as a CSV file. This file contains all sensor readings, timestamps and GPS coordinates for that track, and can be opened in Excel, Google Sheets, or any data analysis tool.

The AIView dashboard currently displays tracks from the last 60 days by default. Your data in InfluxDB Cloud is retained according to the bucket retention policy set for your account. For schools and research projects that need longer retention, please contact us to discuss options.

Your track data is associated with your device ID and is accessible to anyone with a BackpAQ account who uses the same InfluxDB bucket. In a classroom setting this means teachers and students sharing a device can all view the same tracks in AIView.

Photos attached to tracks are shared with all logged-in users — this is intentional, as BackpAQ is designed to support collaborative community science.

Yes — in several ways:

• CSV export — download your track data and share the file with anyone
• AI Advisor report — copy or share the Gemini-generated analysis of your track
• Screenshots — the map and chart views are designed to be screenshot-friendly for presentations and reports

Direct shareable links to individual tracks are on our roadmap for a future release.

BackpAQ accounts use secure password hashing (bcrypt) and session-based authentication. We do not sell or share personal information with third parties. API credentials for InfluxDB, Gemini and AirNow are stored server-side and are never exposed to the browser.

AirBuddy is an animated creature that lives in the AIView dashboard and reacts to your air quality data in real time. When the air is clean (PM2.5 below 12 µg/m³) AirBuddy is green, bouncy and happy. As pollution rises it turns yellow, then orange, then red — squinting, drooping, and surrounded by smog particles.

AirBuddy also grows a small flower garden that blooms in clean air and wilts in polluted conditions, and displays an AQI color bar showing exactly where your current reading falls on the air quality scale.

AirBuddy has two modes you can switch between using the toggle in the panel:

• Avg PM2.5 — AirBuddy reflects the average PM2.5 for the entire selected track. Good for understanding overall air quality on a journey.
• ▶ Live — AirBuddy reacts to each individual data point as you scrub or play through the track. Watch AirBuddy get sick as you pass a pollution hotspot and recover as you move away.

The AI Advisor is powered by Google Gemini and gives you instant scientific analysis of your track data. To use it, load a track and click the ✨ Advisor button in the summary panel.

Gemini automatically receives your PM2.5, CO2, NOx and VOC readings, your GPS route, and data from the nearest EPA monitoring station, then generates a plain-language report explaining what you saw and why it matters.

You can also ask follow-up questions in the chat. AirBuddy suggests context-aware questions to get you started — for example, "Why did my PM2.5 spike at 10:10 PM?" or "How does this compare to the WHO safe limit?"

Yes. When you click an EPA AirNow station on the map, AirBuddy automatically updates to reflect that station's current PM2.5 reading — so you can compare how your BackpAQ readings compare to the official government monitor in your area.