How do I join or create a group?
To create a group, hold your Milo close to your friend's Milo. Then, simultaneously, you both connect your Milos by holding the side button until the Milos tell you you're connected.
Anyone already in the group can add another Milo to the group by the same method. Because the Milos need to be near each other and both people need to hold the side button at the same time, there is no risk of unknown Milos joining your group.
Check out these videos: How to use Milo groups
Can I separate 2 of my 4 units so I have 2 groups?
Yes, you can.
If you have four Milos, you can easily split into two pairs and use the pairs as two completely separate groups. If all are currently in one group, remove two Milos from the group (double-click the group button) and create a new group with those two.
Also, if you start by grouping all Milos into a single group, but later get temporarily separated into two pairs, the group doesn't dissolve. That's because Milo doesn't need assign a leader role to one, like many other radios do. The group still exists, the two pairs can keep talking to each other, and when they come back together again, they automatically reconnect with the others, as long as you started out directly pairing the 4 with each other to form a single group.
How do I know if my group gets separated, or if someone leaves?
Milo keeps you informed in two ways:
- Automatic notifications play when someone goes out of range or returns, or if they leave the group or turn off their Milo. You can customize how much detail you hear under Advanced Settings in the Milo Link app.
- A Roll Call is something you can request at any time. Do a single click on the group (side) button to hear the current status of everyone in your group, as best as Milo can determine. For example, if someone went out of range and then left the group, MiloNet has no way to know that they left, only that they are out of range.
Can I switch groups?
When more of your friends have Milos, you want to spend the day with a different group. You can do that easily by first leaving one group and then joining the other. To leave, double-click the side group button, then double-click again to confirm you want to leave. Now you can create or join another as you normally would.
At this time, two groups can't be joined. Instead, one group needs to dissolve and everyone in that group needs to individually join the other group. In a future firmware version, we will look at joining groups to create a larger group.
Will Milo connect me with other Milos nearby, even people I don't know?
The first time you connect with another Milo, simply bring your Milos close to each other and hold the side group button simultaneously on both Milos. This means you never need to worry about people you don't know getting joined to your group automatically, and you won't hear random requests to join. The only connecting that happens automatically is the reconnecting to the existing group when getting back into range.
How many people can be in a group?
Currently, we limit Milo group size to 8 people, which covers the needs of the vast majority of our users. The actual max size is larger, but we simply don't like making promises until we've thoroughly tested Milos in lots of environments. If your group is very large, the worst that'll happen is that you might talk over each other.
In the EU and UK, to be compliant with regulations, sub-GHz radio bands are available for group sizes up to 4. For groups of 5+, MiloNet will automatically switch to new, high-performance 2.4GHz radio profiles.