APRSdroid 9M2PJU Mod

The enhanced APRS companion for Android — built by hams, for hams.

Download  ↓

Screenshots

A look at the app in action on a real device.

Log screen
Log — packet log
Hub screen
Hub — nearby stations
Map screen
Map — offline map view
Messages screen
Messages — conversations
Preferences screen
Preferences — settings
Splash screen
Splash — branded startup

Features

Everything you need for APRS on Android — position reporting, messaging, offline maps, digipeating, IGating, and more.

Real-time position reporting

GPS, fixed, periodic, or SmartBeaconing™. Share your location on the APRS network.

Offline maps

MBTiles + MapsForge V3. No Google Maps dependency — full OSM compatibility, works without a data connection.

APRS messaging

Send and receive messages through the network. Per-station conversation threads.

Digipeater & I-gate

Full 2-way Internet Gateway. Direct or full digipeating. Flexible packet routing (RF + APRS-IS, or RF-only while IGating).

Radio control

Support for Vero, BTech, Radioddity, and other radios. DigiRig interface support.

Bluetooth TNC

Classic Bluetooth and stable BLE support. KISS, TNC-2, Kenwood, and AFSK protocols.

Mic-E compression

Efficient position encoding with Mic-E, including EMERGENCY status support.

Enhanced station viewer

Hub log sortable by distance or newest. Speed, course, and altitude information.

Enhanced features (inherited from NA7Q's fork)

These features come from NA7Q's enhanced APRSdroid fork (homepage) and are not found in the official APRSdroid.

RF & networking

  • Digipeater — direct or full digipeating capabilities.
  • 2-Way IGating — full Internet Gateway functionality.
  • Flexible packet routing — send packets via RF and APRS-IS, or RF only while IGating.
  • Radio control — support for Vero, BTech, Radioddity, and other radios.
  • DigiRig support — seamless integration with DigiRig interfaces.
  • Bluetooth Low Energy — stable BLE support.

Advanced offline mapping

  • Offline maps with MBTiles — complete offline operation capability.
  • MapsForge V3 support — enhanced offline mapping with MapsForge.
  • OpenStreetMap integration — full OSM compatibility for mapping.
  • Google Maps not supported — the mod uses OSM maps (MBTiles + MapsForge V3) for offline mapping, privacy, and zero dependencies.

Data & compression

  • Mic-E compression — efficient position encoding.
  • Mic-E emergency status — including EMERGENCY status support.
  • Standard compression — multiple compression formats supported.

User experience enhancements

  • Unit options — choose between Metric or Imperial units.
  • Hardware control — option to disable hardware acceleration.
  • Enhanced station viewer — added speed and course information.
  • Advanced messaging tweaks — features for power users.
  • Message ID control — option to disable Message ID.
  • Smart Hub log — sort by distance or newest stations.
  • Under-the-hood improvements — numerous performance and stability enhancements.

Download

Get the latest APK below.

Loading releases…

Important: Uninstall any official APRSdroid before installing this mod (different signing key). Android 11+ devices need to grant All files access for offline MBTiles maps (see Settings → OSM Maps).

Note: This build is a work in progress — some features may be incomplete or broken at the time of download, as it is actively updated. Google Maps is not supported; the mod uses OSM maps (MBTiles + MapsForge V3) for offline mapping, privacy, and zero dependencies.

Setup

Three steps to get on the air. For offline map files, see the Offline maps section.

1. Install APRSdroid

  1. Uninstall any previous official version of APRSdroid (different signing key).
  2. Download the latest signed release APK from the Download section.
  3. Install the APK on your Android device (enable Install from unknown sources if prompted).

2. Grant All Files Access (Android 11+)

Required for offline mapping files on Android 11 and above:

  1. In APRSdroid settings, go to the OSM Maps category.
  2. Tap "Grant Storage Permissions".
  3. Grant ALL file permissions for device storage access.

3. Use MBTiles or MapsForge V3 maps

  1. Set the map viewer to OpenStreetMap.org to use offline maps.
  2. Select offline maps and enable offline mode from the preferences in the OSM Maps section.
  3. If offline mode is not enabled, the online OSM maps server will be used.

See Offline maps for where to download map files and tools for creating your own.

Offline maps

APRSdroid uses OSM-based offline maps (MBTiles or MapsForge V3). Download a ready-made map below or create your own with the tools listed.

Where to get maps

APRSdroid requires MBTiles in PNG or JPG format (NOT Vector or PBF). NA7Q provides several tools for downloading offline maps:

ToolPlatformDescription
World Map Any Ready-to-use starter world map (zoom level 6).
OSM Map Maker Windows GUI tool for downloading OSM maps.
Python Map Maker Win/Mac/Linux Python script version, cross-platform.
Multi-Map Maker Windows Supports Google, Google Sat, Google Terrain, OSM, USGS, USFS, Canada Topo, Thunderforest, MapBuilder Light/Dark, and more.
Map Viewer Windows Preview different map types to see which style you prefer.
BBBike MapsForge Web Custom MapsForge OSM maps online.

Map tips:

  • Use a precise location for best results (e.g. "Portland, Oregon", "Oregon USA", "Texas USA"). Use the Map Viewer to double-check the selected area.
  • Zoom level is required (1-18). A distance input is optional — if left blank for a city, state, or region, it will download everything within that boundary.
  • For states or larger, zoom 13-14 is recommended. Washington State at zoom 15 is 2-5GB depending on the map used.
  • Not all maps support all zoom levels or areas — research the map type you want.

Connecting a LoRa APRS tracker via Bluetooth (BLE KISS TNC)

APRSdroid can connect to LoRa APRS tracker boards (e.g. LilyGO T-Beam, TTGO T-Beam, Heltec WiFi LoRa 32, RAK Wireless modules, and other ESP32-based APRS trackers) using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) with the KISS TNC protocol. This lets you send and receive APRS packets over LoRa radio without a phone data connection.

Requirements

Setup steps

  1. Flash your tracker board with BLE KISS TNC firmware (if not already done). The firmware must advertise a BLE KISS service.
  2. Power on the tracker and put it in BLE pairing mode (usually automatic on boot).
  3. Pair the tracker with your phone:
    • Go to Android Settings → Bluetooth
    • Find your tracker in the device list (e.g. "LoraTracker" or "LoRa_APRS")
    • Tap to pair
  4. Configure APRSdroid:
    • Open APRSdroid → Menu → Preferences → Connection Setup
    • Select Bluetooth TNC (KISS) as the backend
    • Select your tracker from the Bluetooth device list
    • Set your callsign and passcode
  5. Start the service:
    • Tap the Start button (or Menu → Start)
    • APRSdroid will connect to the tracker via BLE
    • Position reports are sent over LoRa radio
    • Received packets appear in the Log and on the Map

How it works

GPS → Phone → APRSdroid → BLE → LoRa Tracker → LoRa Radio → APRS Network
                                                    ↓
                                          Received packets → APRSdroid
  • Outgoing: APRSdroid gets your GPS position, formats an APRS packet, and sends it to the tracker via BLE KISS TNC. The tracker transmits it over LoRa radio.
  • Incoming: The tracker receives LoRa APRS packets and forwards them to APRSdroid via BLE. APRSdroid decodes and displays them.

About & credits

APRSdroid has a rich history of contributions from the amateur radio community. This project stands on the shoulders of giants.

Georg Lukas (DO1GL) — Original Author

APRSdroid was created by Georg Lukas (DO1GL) and has been the premier APRS client for Android since 2010. Written in Scala with a Java core, it supports TCP/IP, AFSK, Bluetooth TNCs, and USB TNCs. Georg continues to maintain the upstream project and graciously licenses it under the GNU GPLv2 so that the community can build on his work.

NA7Q — Enhanced Fork

NA7Q's fork builds on Georg's original work with significant enhancements:

  • BLE TNC support for modern Bluetooth TNCs (Mobilinkd, DigiRig, etc.)
  • Digipeater and IGate functionality
  • Symbol overlay support
  • Mic-E decoding improvements
  • Various bug fixes and compatibility updates

NA7Q's fork is the direct upstream of this mod.

Homepage: https://na7q.com/aprsdroid-osm/

9M2PJU — This Mod

This mod, maintained by 9M2PJU, builds on NA7Q's fork with a focus on modern Android compatibility, UI/UX polish, and project infrastructure. Contributions include:

  • Adaptive launcher icon for Android 13+ — full logo with navy background, matching modern app icons.
  • New app icon and logo across all density buckets.
  • Branded splash screen with perfect-fit centerCrop rendering.
  • Modern Android support — targetSdk 35, foreground service types for Android 14+, Bluetooth permissions for Android 12+, storage permissions for Android 11+, POST_NOTIFICATIONS for Android 13+, edge-to-edge opt-out with proper system bar inset handling for Android 15+.
  • Material 3-inspired UI design system — Theme.MaterialComponents with tonal navy/amber palette, shape theming, refined typography, modern component styles, bottom navigation bar, dark theme, no sliding animations between screens.
  • GitHub Actions CI/CD — signed release APK builds, automatic GitHub Releases on v* tags, auto-generated version.json.
  • GitHub Pages landing page at aprsdroid.hamradio.my with live download counters, responsive for desktop and mobile.
  • In-app update checker — download and install updates directly from GitHub Releases, with Cloudflare CDN fallback.
  • Android 14+ crash fix — RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED flag for registerReceiver.
  • App name and About dialog unified across all 52 locale files.
  • Version bumped to v2.0.0 (tocall APDR20).
  • Comprehensive README and documentation rewrite.

Bob Bruninga, WB4APR — Creator of APRS

Bob Bruninga, WB4APR (1947–2022) created the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) in the 1980s. His vision of a real-time, position-aware digital communications network for amateur radio lives on in every APRS client, igate, and digipeater worldwide. Without Bob's pioneering work, none of this would exist.

APRS® is a registered trademark of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR.