Orb Changelog

Free, personal Orb accounts now include access to the core score data in Orb Cloud Analytics, with up to 72 hours of history.

This gives every user the ability to:

• Chart recent Orb Score and sub-score data
• See how scores change throughout the day
• Identify recurring periods of poor connectivity
• Compare Responsiveness Score, Reliability Score, and Speed Score trends
• Review what happened when their network experience declined

• Bug: fixed a database recovery issue causing failures in the app.
• Other bug fixes and optimizations.

• Optimization: improved IP address lookup
• Optimization: faster reporting for packet loss status
• Bug: fixed a database recovery issue for Windows apps
• Other bug fixes and optimizations.

• New Feature: subspace management. Managing Orbs across customers, teams, or sites? Now you can keep everything organized in dedicated spaces. With subspace management, MSPs and distributed teams can:
  • Create spaces by customer, site, or team
  • Control user access by space
  • Set space-specific alerts and rules
  • Allocate Orb, user, config, and rule limits
  • Manage multi-tenant environments from one dashboard
• Read more about subspace management in our blog and docs.
• New Feature: you can change your email address, password, and social logins under Account Settings/Manage Security Settings.

• New feature: users can now create custom event rules and alerts in Orb Cloud including
  • Orb Score, responsiveness, reliability, and speed changes
  • Network changes like Wi-Fi, BSSID, public IP, ISP, or connection type
  • Bandwidth changes
  • Location changes
• Send alerts where your team already works: email, Slack, Microsoft Teams, webhooks, or directly to users in your Orb space. Learn more about configuring event rules and alerts in our docs.

• New integration: MCP for Orb Cloud. Ask questions, investigate issues, analyze historical data, generate reports, trigger tests, and get recommendations — all through your preferred MCP-compatible tools. Read more about this new integration in our blog and docs.

• Bug: Updated Cloudflare usage to fix an issue introduced by a service behavior change, causing upload tests powered by Cloudflare to fail.

• Bug: Updated Cloudflare usage to fix an issue introduced by a service behavior change, causing upload tests powered by Cloudflare to fail.

• Bug: Updated Cloudflare usage to fix an issue introduced by a service behavior change, causing upload tests powered by Cloudflare to fail.

• Bug: Updated Cloudflare usage to fix an issue introduced by a service behavior change, causing upload tests powered by Cloudflare to fail.

• Bug: Updated Cloudflare usage to fix an issue introduced by a service behavior change, causing upload tests powered by Cloudflare to fail.

• App support for new Advanced Events & Alerts feature.
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• New monochromatic setting for Live Orb Score in menu bar.
• App support for new Advanced Events & Alerts feature.
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• App support for new Advanced Events & Alerts feature.
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• App support for new Advanced Events & Alerts feature.
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Removed categorization of the Wi-Fi signal assessment.
• Adjusted color scheme of Wi-Fi signal assessment.
• Changed color of app version in the settings menu to be more readable.
• Added diagnostic log view for better support.
• Other bug fixes and optimizations.

• Removed categorization of the Wi-Fi signal assessment.
• Adjusted color scheme of Wi-Fi signal assessment.
• Changed color of app version in the settings menu to be more readable.
• Added diagnostic log view for better support.
• Other bug fixes and optimizations.

• Removed categorization of the Wi-Fi signal assessment.
• Adjusted color scheme of Wi-Fi signal assessment.
• Changed color of app version in the settings menu to be more readable.
• Added diagnostic log view for better support.
• Other bug fixes and optimizations.

• Better support for MDM deployment on mobile devices.
• Other bug fixes and optimizations.

• Removed categorization of the Wi-Fi signal assessment.
• Adjusted color scheme of Wi-Fi signal assessment.
• Changed color of app version in the settings menu to be more readable.
• Added diagnostic log view for better support.
• Other bug fixes and optimizations.

• Orb-to-Orb testing: configure Orbs to test to other Orbs on linked to your account. Useful for isolating network paths and seeing intra-network performance. Both Orbs must be on version 1.5+ to use this feature.
• Wi-Fi details now included in-app. For iOS, a shortcut needs to be installed and enabled to retrieve and display this data. See instructions and connection details in detail view.
• Improved performance and data rendering. Note: new app versions are compatible with older sensor versions, but new sensor versions are incompatible with older app versions. Additionally, users will lose 24 hours of history in-app only (data will continue to be available in Orb Cloud). History will begin storing in the new format and be available going forward after update.
• New UI: designed for increased accessibility and readability.
• New app settings: 1.) Increase contrast (on by default) displays the new UI with better readability 2.) reduce motion (off by default) disables the responsiveness radar.

• Orb-to-Orb testing: configure Orbs to test to other Orbs on linked to your account. Useful for isolating network paths and seeing intra-network performance. Both Orbs must be on version 1.5+ to use this feature.
• Wi-Fi details now included in-app. For iOS, a shortcut needs to be installed and enabled to retrieve and display this data. See instructions and connection details in detail view.
• Improved performance and data rendering. Note: new app versions are compatible with older sensor versions, but new sensor versions are incompatible with older app versions. Additionally, users will lose 24 hours of history in-app only (data will continue to be available in Orb Cloud). History will begin storing in the new format and be available going forward after update.
• New UI: designed for increased accessibility and readability.
• New app settings: 1.) Increase contrast (on by default) displays the new UI with better readability 2.) reduce motion (off by default) disables the responsiveness radar.

• Orb-to-Orb testing: configure Orbs to test to other Orbs on linked to your account. Useful for isolating network paths and seeing intra-network performance. Both Orbs must be on version 1.5+ to use this feature.
• Wi-Fi details now included in-app. For iOS, a shortcut needs to be installed and enabled to retrieve and display this data. See instructions and connection details in detail view.
• Improved performance and data rendering. Note: new app versions are compatible with older sensor versions, but new sensor versions are incompatible with older app versions. Additionally, users will lose 24 hours of history in-app only (data will continue to be available in Orb Cloud). History will begin storing in the new format and be available going forward after update.
• New UI: designed for increased accessibility and readability.
• New app settings: 1.) Increase contrast (on by default) displays the new UI with better readability 2.) reduce motion (off by default) disables the responsiveness radar.

• Orb-to-Orb testing: configure Orbs to test to other Orbs on linked to your account. Useful for isolating network paths and seeing intra-network performance. Both Orbs must be on version 1.5+ to use this feature.
• Wi-Fi details now included in-app. See detail view for connection details.
• Improved performance and data rendering. Note: new app versions are compatible with older sensor versions, but new sensor versions are incompatible with older app versions. Additionally, users will lose 24 hours of history in-app only (data will continue to be available in Orb Cloud). History will begin storing in the new format and be available going forward after update.
• New UI: designed for increased accessibility and readability.
• New app settings: 1.) Increase contrast (on by default) displays the new UI with better readability 2.) reduce motion (off by default) disables the responsiveness radar.
• Users can now continuously monitor networks on Android devices with the app closed or in the background. This feature must be enabled in the app settings.

• Optimized on-sensor data storage for lower disk and memory usage
• New sensor APIs to support flexible Orb 1.5 app data views
• Full Wi-Fi data collection (including the iOS app)
• Update dependencies to address new vulnerabilities
• Improved teleport compatibility on some cellular connections
• New default Peak Speed engine - better results in less time
• More reliable network information on iOS
• Bug fixes and optimizations across the board

• Bug: fixed a bug impacting the Orb display name for macOS and iOS sensors
• Other bug fixes and optimizations

• Improved handling of unhealthy pingers
• FreeBSD package
• First hop improvements on FreeBSD and Windows
• Fixed memory leak when using Live Metrics
• Other bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug Fix: improved configuration handling when the sensor starts
• Orb Cloud connection enhancements
• Additional bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug Fix: improved configuration handling when the sensor starts
• Orb Cloud connection enhancements
• Additional support for Android 10 (API level 29) and Android 11 (API level 30)
• Additional bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug Fix: improved configuration handling when the sensor starts
• Orb Cloud connection enhancements
• Additional bug fixes and optimizations

• Improved network interface detection on Windows
• Bug Fix: improved configuration handling when the sensor starts
• Orb Cloud connection enhancements
• Additional bug fixes and optimizations

• Improved network interface detection on Windows
• Bug Fix: improved configuration handling when the sensor starts
• Orb Cloud connection enhancements
• Other bug fixes and optimizations

• New Feature: Group Orbs easily and efficiently. Under status, select "View Options", then select the dimension under "Grouping". Users can group Orbs by:
  • Operating System
  • ISP
  • Connection Type
  • Connection Status
  • Location: City
  • Location: State
  • Location: Country
• Offline Orbs are now easy to identify with a dimmed appearance.
• Offline Orbs now display the estimated time they have been offline.

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug Fix: Live Orb Score in the system tray was interfering with view-only mode setting. This has been resolved.
• Optimization: Live Orb Score in system tray is now enabled by default.
• Optimization: Clearer design and improved readability of the Live Orb Score in system tray.

• Bug Fix: Live Orb Score in the status bar was interfering with view-only mode setting. This has been resolved.
• Optimization: Live Orb Score is now enabled by default.
• Optimization: Clearer design and improved readability of the Live Orb Score in status bar.

• Support for custom speed endpoints
• Improved WiFi detection on Linux
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• New Feature: Your Orb Score is now displayed in the system tray
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• New Feature: Your Orb Score is now displayed in the status bar
• Bug Fix: Fixed an issue with Wi-Fi Metrics reporting
• Other bug fixes and optimizations

• New Feature: Guest Orbs. Guest Orbs let you invite users into your Orb network and gain real-time internet experience metrics instantly. Read more about Guest Orbs in our Blog.

• Enhanced Orb linking options and visibility to streamline connecting devices to Orb Cloud Spaces.
• Analytics outputs now include detailed Wi-Fi information.
• Bug fixes and optimizations.

• Enhanced Orb linking options and visibility to streamline connecting devices to Orb Cloud Spaces.
• Analytics outputs now include detailed Wi-Fi information.
• Bug fixes and optimizations.

• Support for WiFi Metrics reporting
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Enhanced Orb linking options and visibility to streamline connecting devices to Orb Cloud Spaces.
• Analytics outputs now include detailed Wi-Fi information.
• Bug fixes and optimizations.

• Enhanced Orb linking options and visibility to streamline connecting devices to Orb Cloud Spaces.
• Analytics outputs now include detailed Wi-Fi information.
• Bug fixes and optimizations.

• Bug Fix: Start in Background setting was causing a crash, this has been resolved.

• Bug Fix: Start in Background setting was causing a crash, this has been resolved.
• Bug Fix: Launch in Startup setting was creating incorrect short-cut, this has been resolved.

• Improvement: When view-only mode is initialized, the app will prompt users to unlink that Orb to free up space on account. This is useful when only using a device to monitor other Orbs on account.
• Bug fix: Fixed a bug that was forcing account log out for some users between sessions.
• Bug fix: Fixed a bug where updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service acknowledgement was being displayed repeatedly for some users.

• Improvement: When view-only mode is initialized, the app will prompt users to unlink that Orb to free up space on account. This is useful when only using a device to monitor other Orbs on account.
• Bug fix: Fixed a bug that was forcing account log out for some users between sessions.
• Bug fix: Fixed a bug where updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service acknowledgement was being displayed repeatedly for some users.

• Improvement: When view-only mode is initialized, the app will prompt users to unlink that Orb to free up space on account. This is useful when only using a device to monitor other Orbs on account.
• Bug fix: Fixed a bug that was forcing account log out for some users between sessions.
• Bug fix: Fixed a bug where updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service acknowledgement was being displayed repeatedly for some users.

• Improvement: When view-only mode is initialized, the app will prompt users to unlink that Orb to free up space on account. This is useful when only using a device to monitor other Orbs on account.
• Bug fix: Fixed a bug that was forcing account log out for some users between sessions.
• Bug fix: Fixed a bug where updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service acknowledgement was being displayed repeatedly for some users.

• Bug fixes and optimizations

Note: see changes in 1.4.2 release notes

• New feature: Configurable Web Responsiveness endpoints
• Improvement: Disable first hop discovery if no socket permission
• Improvement: Handle sleep and wake events on Windows
• Improvement: OpenWRT initialization scripts use ephemeral mode by default
• Bug fix: Retry deployment token application if initially offline
• Bug fix: MacOS device name fallback for default hostname
• Bug fix: Cleanup Sensor shutdown
• New Architecture Support: Cortex-a15-3x arch (voxel entware)

Note: this version was partially distributed. See 1.4.3 for latest changes.

• Bug fixes and performance optimizations.

• Bug fixes and performance optimizations.

• Fixed issue with cross-verified Responsiveness measurement where outage conditions for one endpoint would impact the overall recorded Lag.
• Bug fixes and performance optimizations

• Fixed issue with cross-verified Responsiveness measurement where outage conditions for one endpoint would impact the overall recorded Lag.
• Bug fixes and performance optimizations

• Fixed issue with cross-verified Responsiveness measurement where outage conditions for one endpoint would impact the overall recorded Lag.
• Bug fixes and performance optimizations

• Fixed issue with cross-verified Responsiveness measurement where outage conditions for one endpoint would impact the overall recorded Lag.
• Bug fixes and performance optimizations

• Fixed issue with cross-verified Responsiveness measurement where outage conditions for one endpoint would impact the overall recorded Lag.
• Bug fixes and performance optimizations

• ICMP testing is removed from the measurement protocol by default for responsiveness and reliability. ICMP measurements can be re-enabled in-app by tapping on the Orb menu (...) and toggling on "Include ICMP". Read more about this change in our blog.
• New controls to disable router responsiveness measurements are available in the Orb menu (...). Disabling router responsiveness can be useful when the network blocks ICMP traffic or if the Orb is running on your router.
• Bug fixes and performance optimizations.

• ICMP testing is removed from the measurement protocol by default for responsiveness and reliability. ICMP measurements can be re-enabled in-app by tapping on the Orb menu (...) and toggling on "Include ICMP". Read more about this change in our blog.
• New controls to disable router responsiveness measurements are available in the Orb menu (...). Disabling router responsiveness can be useful when the network blocks ICMP traffic or if the Orb is running on your router.
• Bug fixes and performance optimizations.

• ICMP testing is removed from the measurement protocol by default for responsiveness and reliability. ICMP measurements can be re-enabled in-app by tapping on the Orb menu (...) and toggling on "Include ICMP". Read more about this change in our blog.
• New controls to disable router responsiveness measurements are available in the Orb menu (...). Disabling router responsiveness can be useful when the network blocks ICMP traffic or if the Orb is running on your router.
• Bug fixes and performance optimizations.

• ICMP testing is removed from the measurement protocol by default for responsiveness and reliability. ICMP measurements can be re-enabled in-app by tapping on the Orb menu (...) and toggling on "Include ICMP". Read more about this change in our blog.
• New controls to disable router responsiveness measurements are available in the Orb menu (...). Disabling router responsiveness can be useful when the network blocks ICMP traffic or if the Orb is running on your router.
• Bug fixes and performance optimizations.

• ICMP testing is removed from the measurement protocol by default for responsiveness and reliability. ICMP measurements can be re-enabled through an environment variable (ORB_INTERNET_ENABLE_ICMP) in configuration. Read more about this change in our blog.
• Ephemeral Mode is now supported allowing the Orb sensor to better preserve the flash by not writing to disk. This will benefit flash-based devices like Raspberry Pis, however, note that stats will not persist when the device reboots or Orb stops running. This mode must be enabled through an environment variable (ORB_EPHEMERAL_MODE).

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• New feature: Live Metrics streaming! Spin up a live metrics session to stream real-time active measurements for any online Orb. From the Status screen, click ... next to any online Orb and select "Live Metrics", a new window will open with a custom URL. Share this URL with IT help desk, customer support, or for remote troubleshooting. You must have an Orb account and be an admin to use this feature.

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• New MIPSLE Debian Package
• New docker packages for the following architectures:
  • AMD 64 MUSL
  • ARM v7 MUSL
• New account linking functionality via a QR code
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• New feature: access all Orbs from the app! Users can now switch between spaces within the app under settings/account.
• Optimization: start up time to measurement
• Improvement: Orb will run on Windows Server without Wireless LAN Service installed.
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• New feature: access all Orbs from the app! Users can now switch between spaces within the app under settings/account.
• Optimization: start up time to measurement
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• New feature: access all Orbs from the app! Users can now switch between spaces within the app under settings/account.
• Optimization: start up time to measurement
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• New feature: access all Orbs from the app! Users can now switch between spaces within the app under settings/account.
• Optimization: start up time to measurement
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Improvement: Orb will run on Windows Server without Wireless LAN Service installed
• New architecture support: mips_24kc
• New architecture support: aarch64-cortex-a76
• Optimization: start up time to measurement
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Improved Router Lag measurement
• Enhanced summary data configurability
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Original release of Orb Cloud 1.0

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug: Fixed a bug where the app was slow to start when in view-only mode.
• Other minor bug fixes and improvements.

• Bug: Fixed a bug where the app was slow to start when in view-only mode.
• Other minor bug fixes and improvements.

• Fix potential disconnected startup failure cases
• Fix rare latency measurement beyond timeout
• Better environment variable support in systemd services
• Bug fixes and optimizations

• Bug: Fixed a bug where the app was slow to start when in view-only mode.
• Other minor bug fixes and improvements.

• Bug: Fixed a bug where the app was slow to start when in view-only mode.
• Other minor bug fixes and improvements.

• New feature: View-only mode A new app setting to disable the in-app sensor. When enabled, the app will not measure network connectivity via that app instance. This feature is helpful when only using the app to view other Orbs on your account. You can find this setting under the settings menu/app settings.

• New feature: Additional language support We now support French, Dutch, Russian, and Spanish in the app. You can find the language selector in settings/app-settings. More languages to come!

• Bug: Previously, when starting measurement, the Orb score would occasionally report -- with a red color, now it will display colorless until a score has been determined.

• Optimization: In mobile apps, when engaging the app from the background in certain edge cases, we observed spikes in the responsiveness metrics. We have applied some optimizations to reduce the frequency of this behavior.

• New feature: View-only mode A new app setting to disable the in-app sensor. When enabled, the app will not measure network connectivity via that app instance. This feature is helpful when only using the app to view other Orbs on your account. You can find this setting under the settings menu/app settings.

• New feature: Additional language support We now support French, Dutch, Russian, and Spanish in the app. You can find the language selector in settings/app-settings. More languages to come!

• Bug: Previously, when starting measurement, the Orb score would occasionally report -- with a red color, now it will display colorless until a score has been determined.

• Windows bug: System tray now includes an “Orb” label.

• Windows bug: Previously when “launch Orb at startup” and “launch in background” was enabled, the Orb would not display in other apps until it was foregrounded on the Windows machine. This has been resolved.

• New feature: View-only mode A new app setting to disable the in-app sensor. When enabled, the app will not measure network connectivity via that app instance. This feature is helpful when only using the app to view other Orbs on your account. You can find this setting under the settings menu/app settings.

• New feature: Additional language support We now support French, Dutch, Russian, and Spanish in the app. You can find the language selector in settings/app-settings. More languages to come!

• New feature: Start in background & hide dock icon Two new app settings are available in macOS. Start in background, when enabled, will start Orb in the background whenever it’s launched. Hide dock icon, when enabled, will not show the Orb icon in the dock, users will need to access the app from the system tray. You can find these settings under the settings menu/app settings.

• Bug: Previously, when starting measurement, the Orb score would occasionally report -- with a red color, now it will display colorless until a score has been determined.

• New feature: View-only mode A new app setting to disable the in-app sensor. When enabled, the app will not measure network connectivity via that app instance. This feature is helpful when only using the app to view other Orbs on your account. You can find this setting under the settings menu/app settings.

• New feature: Additional language support We now support French, Dutch, Russian, and Spanish in the app. You can find the language selector in settings/app-settings. More languages to come!

• Bug: Previously, when starting measurement, the Orb score would occasionally report -- with a red color, now it will display colorless until a score has been determined.

• Android Bug: When using Android 16, the app overlapped with the device status bar. This has been resolved.

• Optimization: In mobile apps, when engaging the app from the background in certain edge cases, we observed spikes in the responsiveness metrics. We have applied some optimizations to reduce the frequency of this behavior.

• Bug fixes and optimizations
• Support for Orb app 1.3 features