Setting up your GPS rover

Platform: Mobile (Archer Setup app) + Archer X8-M1 GPS rover

The Archer X8-M1 is a high-accuracy RTK GPS rover that gives Archer a centimetre-level position fix — so your block boundaries, field features, and trouble spots line up with the real world.

Set up in 3 steps

1. Power on the rover somewhere with a clear view of the sky.
2. In Archer, open the menu (☰) → GPS Configuration. On the Source tab, tap Connect next to Archer X8-M1.
3. Open the Status tab and wait for RTK Fix, then start mapping.

That's the whole flow.

⚠️ Won't connect? Nine times out of ten the rover is still linked to another device. Turn it off and on, keep just one phone nearby, and tap Connect again. More fixes below.

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What you'll need

• The rover, charged or powered.
• The Archer app, signed in, with the right management group selected.
• A mobile data signal on your phone — RTK corrections reach the rover through the app.
• A clear view of the sky for an actual fix. (You can connect indoors — see below.)

Connecting — there's no pairing

The rover uses Bluetooth Low Energy, and Archer connects to it directly from inside the app. There's no pairing, no PIN, and no bonding — and you should not add it from your phone's system Bluetooth settings (it won't even show up there).

1. Open the menu (☰) and tap GPS Configuration.

2. On the Source tab, find Archer X8-M1 and tap Connect.

   

3. Archer connects and configures the rover automatically. Switch to the Status tab to see it working.

Once connected, Archer automatically pulls RTK corrections from the nearest base station — shown under RTK Corrections on the Source tab. Leave it on Auto unless you need to pick a specific base.

💡 Connect indoors if you like. The Bluetooth link works with or without a position fix, so you can check the rover at your desk — you only need open sky to actually get a fix.

💡 One device at a time. The rover talks to a single phone (or computer) at once. While something else holds it, no other phone can see it.

Getting a fix

Open the Status tab to watch the rover work toward an accurate fix. With a clear view of the sky and data on your phone, the status moves through these stages:

💡 RTK corrections need network coverage in your area — Marlborough at launch. Outside coverage, the rover holds at GPS Fix or RTK Float rather than reaching RTK Fix.

You're now ready to map a block or record trouble spots with full accuracy.

Troubleshooting

Archer can't find the rover

Almost always, something else is still holding the connection — and while it's held, the rover is invisible to everything else. In order:

1. Disconnect any other device. Close Archer on other phones, and turn off Bluetooth (or close the setup software) on any computer the rover was configured on.
2. Power-cycle the rover. Off, wait a few seconds, on. This makes it start advertising again so a new phone can find it.
3. Wait up to a minute, then connect in Archer on the one phone you want to use.

💡 A second phone quietly auto-reconnecting in someone's pocket is the most common reason a rover "disappears."

Connected, but no position

Give the rover a minute with a clear view of the sky. If it still shows No Fix, power-cycle it and reconnect — a fresh start clears it up.

Stuck on RTK Float, never reaches RTK Fix

• Get a clearer view of the sky — away from buildings, sheds, and dense canopy.
• Check your phone has a working data signal (that's how corrections reach the rover).
• Confirm you're within an RTK coverage area (Marlborough at launch).

Nothing connects at all

• Make sure Bluetooth is on and Archer has permission to use Bluetooth / nearby devices.
• Toggle Bluetooth off and on, then tap Connect again.
• As a last resort, power-cycle both the rover and the phone.

Tips

• Connect indoors, fix outdoors. Check the rover at your desk; head outside when you need a position.
• One phone per rover. When setting up several units, keep one phone live near them at a time so they don't grab each other's rovers.
• A power-cycle clears most problems. Can't find it, won't fix — off and on again is the fastest reset.