Where R1 stands.
We build in public, so this page is the honest state of Relay — what's done, what's being revised, and what's still ahead. No spin: prototypes break, we say so, and we fix them.
Six stages. We're on three.
Design done
Schematic and board design for R1 — Quectel RG255C-GL modem, bus-powered USB-C, no battery, nano-SIM tray. Reviewed line by line against the modem's hardware design guide.
First silicon done
V1 prototype boards assembled and on the bench. Bring-up caught a power-detection bug in the USB circuit — traced at the netlist level, fix verified in design review. That's exactly what prototypes are for.
Board revision in progress — now
The revised board is with our hardware partner right now. The fix list is short, specific, and already verified on paper. This is the stage we're in today.
First finished units expected in a couple of months
The first finished Relay R1s — engineering samples in the production enclosure, provisioned and tested end-to-end. Samples, not sellable product: nothing ships to anyone before FCC authorization.
Certification filings targeted H1 2027
FCC and carrier authorization. The modem module is already FCC-certified; Relay's host-level authorization is the long pole, and we don't skip poles.
First shipments Q2–Q3 2027
Reservation holders first, in the order reservations were placed. Reservations are free and stay free.
Contributions — not open yet.
People keep asking how to support the build. Soon. We're wiring up payments properly — a payment processor, the entity paperwork, the boring-but-important parts of taking money the right way. Until that's done, this stays locked on purpose.
When this opens, contributions will support development — bench equipment, certification testing, prototype runs. They are not product purchases and not pre-orders: hardware only ships after FCC authorization, reservation holders first.
Reserve a unit
Free, no charge, cancel anytime. The reservation count is the number that opens doors for us.
Reserve — free→Tell a Mac friend
Know someone who tethers their phone every day? Send them here. Word of mouth beats any ad we could buy.
Share the site→Follow the build
The whole thing is built in public — the wins and the bugs. The manifesto explains why.
Read the manifesto→Relay is subject to FCC rules and does not yet have FCC equipment authorization. No product is sold, delivered, or demonstrated for sale before authorization is obtained. Reservations are free, collect no payment, and can be cancelled at any time. Future contributions, when opened, will support development and are not purchases of hardware.