Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First, they work as advertised. I bought 4 about six weeks ago and have done numerous tests with them. I have bought 2 more just recently. I have personally done a 15.5 mile test with one relay in between and they worked wonderfully. The distance between the relay and the two people was 6.5 and 9 miles. The relay was hung on the top strand of barb wire fence with a carabiner. It was that simple to make my own personal repeater. Real test by a real guy. They work. As with ALL radios, range is dependent on too many factors to give a definitive, set range capability. Just know they do what a 1w device of this nature should be able to do. Since buying and using these, I've had several "Aha" moments about the impact these would have for my family in a real, extended emergency or disaster. Do your own research on these. But while researching, think about these five things that set these apart from any other emergency communication device available to the average person: Privacy, delivery confirmation, ease of extending range with relays, out of the box usability for virtually anyone (we all text now, even teens) and ability to keep device outdoors (immediate range extension) while user is indoors via bluetooth. These things put the Gotenna Mesh in an entirely different universe compared to FRS/GMRS radios and even, quite frankly, Ham Radio. (I'm a Ham - N7DLJ) If you think about these things in the context of emergency communications and you don't have several "Aha" moments, you either just don't really think private communication is a big advantage or you don't truly understand how these work and you need to keep researching. It's not hyperbole to say these things are groundbreaking. They don't use much power at all and use standard USB chargers. So pair these with a basic portable charger and a $50 portable USB solar panel and keeping them charged in an extended emergency would be pretty easy. Cons: Must have app installed on device before using. If a need for these arises and you haven't installed the app, it's too late. And the biggest problem of all which they need to fix, internal battery that cannot be easily replaced. This is a relatively new device and they recently worked out some kinks and improved the devices enormously with a recent firmware update. There is an active community of users who give great feedback to the company and there are some really great things coming in future firmware updates that will make these things even more amazing.