Set up a Scout

Setting up a Scout takes two steps: install the Scout software on the board from a computer (once), then pair it in the app.

1. Install the Scout software

Do this once, from a computer with Chrome or Edge. Plug the board in with a USB data cable and open install.networksurvey.app. The NS Scout page walks through each step. Later updates install from the app over Bluetooth (see Firmware updates).

On the phone, More > Hardware > NS Scout has the same instructions under Install the Scout software, with Share link to send the installer address to your computer and Where to buy for the boards.

When the install finishes, the installer shows the Scout’s name, like NS-5CFA. Every Scout’s name starts with NS-.

2. Pair it

Power the Scout from USB or a power bank and keep it next to the phone. A new Scout is ready to pair right away: its light blinks fast.
Open More > Hardware > NS Scout and tap Add a Scout.
The Add a Scout sheet looks for nearby Scouts and lists each one with its status. Tap Pair next to yours.
The sheet reads “Pairing with NS-5CFA. Tap Pair when Android asks. If nothing appears, check your notifications.” Tap Pair in Android’s pairing prompt.

Android’s pairing prompt may also offer to share contacts and call history with the Scout. Network Survey doesn’t need them, so you can leave that off.

When pairing finishes, the sheet closes and the app says “NS-5CFA is paired. Wi-Fi now comes from the Scout.” After that the phone reconnects to the Scout on its own whenever something needs it, with no more prompts.

If you pair while a survey is recording, the survey keeps the phone’s Wi-Fi: “NS-5CFA is paired. This survey keeps using phone Wi-Fi; switch to the Scout here once it stops.”

What the Add a Scout sheet shows

Status	What it means
Ready to pair	The Scout has no phone yet, or its pairing window is open. The row also gives a rough distance: very close, nearby, or weak signal.
Paired with this phone	This is your Scout.
Was reset since you used it	This phone paired with it before, but the Scout no longer has that pairing (it was erased or the software was reinstalled).
Paired with another phone. Hold its BOOT button for about 3 seconds to pair it here.	The Scout belongs to another phone. Rows like this have no Pair button until you open its pairing window.
Needs a firmware update	The Scout runs older software than this app understands. It can pair, and then needs an update before it records.
Update Network Survey to use it	The Scout runs newer software than this app understands.

If the sheet stays empty for 10 seconds, it shows Didn’t see your Scout? with a checklist:

The Scout software is installed (one time, from a computer at install.networksurvey.app).
It has power: its light blinks.
It is within a meter of this phone.
Its name starts with NS-, like NS-5CFA.
If it was used with another phone, hold its BOOT button for about 3 seconds.

The sheet asks you to turn on Bluetooth, or to allow Nearby devices, when the phone needs that to look for Scouts.

Moving a Scout from another phone

A Scout pairs with one phone at a time. Holding its BOOT button for about 3 seconds opens a 60 second pairing window, and the light blinks fast. Pairing a new phone in that window replaces the old phone’s pairing, so a Scout you used with an iPhone stops working with the iPhone until you pair it there again.

If the Scout refuses, the sheet says “NS-5CFA refused to pair” and repeats the BOOT button tip. If Android still holds an old pairing for the Scout, the sheet says to forget the Scout in Android’s Bluetooth settings first, with a Bluetooth settings button.

Replacing your Scout

The phone uses one Scout at a time. Pairing a second one asks Replace NS-5CFA? first: “This phone uses one Scout at a time. Pairing NS-7B21 removes NS-5CFA from Network Survey.”

The NS Scout page

Once a Scout is paired, More > Hardware > NS Scout shows:

The status panel: the status word (see Status words), the Scout’s name, a line with more detail, and one button when there is something to fix, such as Turn on Bluetooth, Allow, Pair again or Update firmware.
Wi-Fi comes from: your Scout or This phone. Locked while a survey records. See Wi-Fi comes from your Scout or this phone.
Now: Doing (for example “All 41 channels · now 36”, or “Waiting for a survey or a Wi-Fi screen”), Hearing (frames per second, or “Not listening”), and Data missed (“None”, or what was missed, for example “3 records dropped on the Scout” or “1 Bluetooth packet lost”).
Scout: Model, Firmware (the version and whether it is up to date), Wi-Fi bands, and Battery (a percentage, or “USB powered” for a board without a battery).
Update firmware. See Firmware updates.
Remove Scout.
Advanced: Erase pairings on the Scout.

The app connects to the Scout while something needs it: this page, the Survey tab while the Scout is the Wi-Fi source, a Wi-Fi screen in Signals, or a survey that records from it. The rest of the time it lets the Scout go, and the status reads Not connected.

Remove a Scout

Tap Remove Scout. The dialog Remove NS-5CFA? says “Wi-Fi will come from this phone.” If any saved setups record Wi-Fi clients or Raw frames, it says how many, and that they skip those until you add a Scout. Then: “To pair it again later, also forget NS-5CFA in Android’s Bluetooth settings.” Apps can’t remove Android’s own pairing, so the message after removing has a Bluetooth settings button.

You can’t remove the Scout while a survey records (“Stop the survey to remove it”), because the survey would lose its Wi-Fi source.

Erase pairings on the Scout

Advanced > Erase pairings on the Scout is only needed before giving a Scout away. The Scout forgets every phone it was paired with, including this one, and Network Survey removes it. To use it with this phone again, forget it in Android’s Bluetooth settings and add it again. The Scout must be connected (“Connect to the Scout first”), and it is not available while a survey records.

The Scout’s BOOT button can also erase its pairings without a phone; see Reading the Scout.