Everything you need to get set up and keep your NearestPlane running.
Answer a few questions and get the fix — or a message ready to send to Harry with everything he needs.
Full step-by-step instructions for first-time setup — connecting to WiFi, entering coordinates, and saving settings.
The fastest way to get help. Harry responds personally, usually within a few hours — even on weekends.
Send a detailed message and Harry will get back to you with a full response.
Update radius, display options, night mode and more — online, without going back through setup.
Enjoying your NearestPlane? A Trustpilot review means the world and helps other aviation fans find us.
Follow these steps in order — takes about 5 minutes.
Connect the USB-C cable to a USB-C wall plug rated 5V 3A. The display will show Join WiFi: NearestPlane after a few seconds.
Use a mains wall socket rather than a TV USB port, a computer or a power bank.
If the screen stays blank, or you can't find the NearestPlane network, try a different USB-C cable and a different socket. If it's still dark after that, get in touch — don't go buying chargers.
On your phone or laptop: go to Settings → WiFi and connect to NearestPlane. Password is setup123. If you see a security warning, tap Proceed or Ignore — this is normal.
Open Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or Edge and type 192.168.4.1 in the address bar. Do not search for it — type it directly. The setup form will load.
Long-press your home on Google Maps to get your coordinates, or use latlong.net. Copy the minus sign exactly as you are given it. Longitude is negative west of Greenwich — the UK, Ireland, Portugal and the Americas — and positive east of it, which is most of continental Europe. London is -0.1278; Zurich is 8.5417 with no minus.
Choose your network from the dropdown. Only fill in the manual name box if yours isn't listed. The password is case-sensitive.
Tap Save & Connect and keep your phone/laptop screen on by scrolling occasionally. The display will flash, count to 120, then show "Ready!". First flight appears within 30 seconds.
They are on the back, next to the USB-C socket. You should not need them day to day.
A quick press switches the display off and on again. That is all it does. It never opens setup mode, and it never changes your location, your WiFi or any other setting.
If you have sent your display off to track a particular flight from nearestplane.com/tracking, hold this one and it goes back to showing the sky above you. It does nothing the rest of the time.
Hold the two closest to the USB-C socket at the same time and keep holding until the display starts to reset — up to 10 seconds. It does not react straight away, which is where most people let go too early. That puts it back into setup mode, for re-entering your WiFi or your location. It has to be both of the bottom pair — the top button on its own will not do it.
Most issues are solved by one of these.
Your home WiFi password was entered incorrectly. Hold the bottom two buttons (UP + DOWN) together until it starts to reset (up to 10 seconds) to restart setup. Re-enter the password carefully — it's case-sensitive.
Your phone has switched back to mobile data. Go to WiFi settings and confirm you're connected to NearestPlane. On iPhone, temporarily switching off mobile data helps. If still not loading, press RST on the back of the board.
Almost always caused by incorrect coordinates. Correct them at nearestplane.com/settings — no need to touch the display. Long-press your house in Google Maps to get precise coordinates, and check you haven't swapped latitude and longitude. The location only saves if both numbers are valid, so if nothing changes, check them both.
The display only shows 2.4GHz networks. If you have a combined 2.4/5GHz network under the same name, just pick it — it'll connect on 2.4GHz automatically. If it truly isn't listed, type the network name manually in the box below the dropdown.
Check your home WiFi is working normally. If your router password changed, hold bottom two buttons (UP + DOWN) together until it starts to reset (up to 10 seconds) to re-enter setup and update your details.
Want to change what's shown on screen? There's now an easy online option — no buttons needed.
Visit nearestplane.com/settings on any device connected to your home WiFi. Type in your WiFi network name and you'll see your current settings. Change radius, display options, aircraft filters, night mode — then hit save. Your device will flash, briefly show the old settings while it saves, then restart with everything updated. Takes about 2 minutes.
While the display is running, hold the bottom two buttons (UP + DOWN) at the same time and keep holding until it starts to reset — up to 10 seconds. Nothing happens for the first few seconds, which is where most people let go too early. The display restarts into full setup mode where you can update your location, WiFi, and all display options. Use this if you've moved house or changed your WiFi password.
Hold both buttons before plugging in the USB-C cable and keep holding until it starts to reset, up to 10 seconds. Goes straight to setup mode without loading any previous settings.
Harry is on hand personally. Most messages get a reply within a few hours.