We're migrating client data from json to a new encoding type called beast, which will reduce data transmission usage by approximately 30–50% in most cases. This will be particularly helpful for those using LTE services or other limited data plans.

The same data that is being received by your station will continue to flow through but it will be encoded in a more efficient format before being sent to the servers.

For the majority of participants there is nothing to do as it will happen in the background.

Here's what this means for you, depending on your setup:

✅ No action required

• Hyfix device owners: your device will be updated automatically, nothing to do on your end.

• Standard BYOD installs: (as per the official install guide/script) automatically handled, no changes needed.

⚠️ Action required:

• Custom BYOD Installs: read the below as this applies to you

🔧 Container setups (byod-unofficial-tools) If you're running one of the container setups listed in byod-unofficial-tools, the respective authors have already been advised of this change. Please reach out to them directly for a timeline on when the updated version will be available for you to adopt.

🛠️ Custom container or other setups If you've built your own container setup, you can reference the standard BYOD install script or any of the tools listed in byod-unofficial-tools that have already implemented the change as a guide for updating your setup. Once the change is complete the client will verify and send our system a flag that it is beast-enabled. In batches we will then switch those newly flagged stations to beast mode only.

⏰ The deadline to complete this migration is 20 April 2026. After this date, the older endpoint will be removed and stations that have not been changed over will stop sending data.

If you're unsure which category applies to you, feel free to ask in our Support Chat on the site, or in discord, and the team will help point you in the right direction.

As always, thanks for your continued support in helping grow the network! 🙌