No. SnoWhere doesn’t use mobile/cell network data, so it works even in areas without network coverage.

SnoWhere uses Bluetooth to detect your friends (and to allow your friends to detect you). Unfortunately WiFi interferes with Bluetooth.

If you’re trying SnoWhere with your iPhone’s WiFi turned on (or are within range of a WiFi hotspot) then SnoWhere’s ability to detect your friends is reduced. Fortunately, out in the mountains where you need SnoWhere the most, there are few WiFi hotspots.

For best performance, please turn off WiFi on your iPhone® when you go out into the mountains.

Encourage your friends to do the same: having to turn your iPhone’s WiFi on when you stop for lunch or get back at the end of the day is a small price to pay for improved SnoWhere performance.

Unfortunately current hardware-based avalanche transceivers operate using a radio frequency that iPhones can neither receive nor transmit, so it’s not possible for SnoWhere to be compatible with current hardware avalanche transceivers.

No. SnoWhere doesn’t use 3G for searching and finding, so data roaming isn’t needed. However, SnoWhere does use Google Maps to display your search tracks on a map, so you may not see the map background without a data connection. See “Why don’t I see maps when I’m searching? for how to ensure you can see maps without incurring data roaming charges.

SnoWhere uses Google Maps to show your search tracks on a map. If you don’t have a data connection SnoWhere can’t download the maps. You may not have a data connection in the mountains if you are abroad and you have turned off data roaming.

To make sure you can see maps, you can load the map data for the area you plan to visit in advance, either before you go on holiday or in the chalet/hotel using WiFi the night before. Just launch SnoWhere, start searching and browse around the area you plan to go to; this will load the map data into SnoWhere for use when no data connection is available.