What is the Bee?

The Bee is an intelligent camera device that is mounted in vehicles. It looks like a dashcam, but inside it is far more than a dashcam. The Bee supports three main use cases.

Get Started with the Bee

Everything from assembling your Bee to driving and mapping with your Bee. We have a guide for you.

What’s Included

• Bee device

• Safety Pamphlet

• 12/24V Auxiliary Power Cord

• Car Mount

• Bee Mount Bracket and 3 screws

• 2 Allen Wrenches

• SIM slot cover and 2 screws

• Screwdriver

Bee Mount Assembly

1

Before you begin, locate required parts and tools included in the Bee box

• Mounting bracket

• Large mounting screw

• 2 small mounting screws

• 2 included allen keys

• Suction mount

2

Locate the mounting treads on the top of the Bee housing

3

Lift both of the magnetic sides of the mounting bracket up.

4

Place the bracket on the device and align the holes of the bracket with the mounting threads of the Bee.

5

Use the 2 small screws and small allen key to attach the mounting bracket to the Bee

6

Use the large mounting screw and allen key to attach

7

Raise the magnetic sides of the mounting bracket again and the Bee is now ready to attach to the included mount.

8

Take the included suction mount and remove the thumbscrew at the bottom

9

Slide the prongs at the end of the mount into the mounting bracket

10

Align holes of the bracket and mount, thread the thumbscrew through and retighten. (Be careful, as the cap on the other end can come loose while tightening)

Supported mobile carriers

Uploading through LTE is one of the core features of the Bee LTE model. Below are the known supported carriers by region.

Purchase a physical nano SIM card

You will need a physical Nano SIM card from a supported mobile carrier that has data enabled.

Insert nano SIM card into your Bee

1

Open SIM slot cover

Open the SIM slot cover with the provided screwdriver

2

Insert Nano SIM Card

When inserting the SIM card:

• Metal part facing up and

• Ensure the side with the missing corner is inserted into the slot first

3

Close SIM slot cover

Close the SIM slot cover with the provided screwdriver

Powering up

1. Locate the 12 volt accessory outlet in your vehicle

2. Plug in the included outlet adaptor

3. Locate the power port on the underside of the Bee and plug in the other end of the cord

LED for Power

Approved vehicles mount positions

✅ = 🚘 🚛

Vehicles with at least four wheels are currently approved including cars, vans and trucks of all sizes.

❌ = 🏍️

Vehicles that do not have four wheels are not approved at this time. This includes: bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, motorcycles.

Forward Facing Only

• High-quality usable imagery begins with great mount positions. There are currently two approved mount positions (as shown below).

Example Approved Mounts

Download Bee Maps App

• Download for iOS in the App Store.

• Download for Android in the Play Store.

Open the Bee Maps app once it's finished installing.

Connect Bee Maps App to Bee (iOS)

• Turn on your iPhone's WiFi

• From the Bee Maps App home screen, tap the Connect button.

• You will be automatically directed to your iPhone's Wi-Fi network settings.

• Select the Bee's Wi-Fi network — dashcam followed by numbers dashcam-0123456789ABCDEF.

• Enter the password hivemapper (all lowercase).

• Navigate back to the Bee Maps app.

• Bee is now connected. You should now see a live preview at the top of the home screen as shown below.

Connect Bee Maps App to Bee (Android)

1. Power on the Bee.

2. Open the Bee Maps app on Android.

3. On the main screen, tap the Connect button.

4. Wait for your Bee’s name to appear in the tray.

5. Select your Bee — e.g. dashcam-0123456789ABCDEF.

6. If prompted, Allow discovery of local WiFi networks.

7. Wait a few moments for the app to connect to the Bee.

8. Bee is now connected. You should now see a live preview at the top of the home screen as shown below.

Is my Bee LTE Activated?

After inserting an active SIM card into your Bee this will help you confirm that your Bee is mapping passively.

The first time you connect to your Bee via the Bee Maps App you should see a notification showing you that your LTE is active.

APN Setting

If your SIM card is active but you don't have service you may need to add APN SIM settings for your mobile carrier.

• Connect Bee Maps App to your Bee

• Go to Settings

• Go to Bee

• Go to Advanced

• Go to APN Settings

• Follow the instructions for adding your APN Settings

Mount check

1. Connect Bee Maps App to your Bee

2. Go to Settings

3. Go to Bee

4. Go to Mount Check (video demo)

5. Follow the instructions on the screen to adjust the Clarity and Tilt

Tips for Improving Mount Quality

• Mount the Bee on the front windshield with a clear, unobstructed view of the road. Avoid areas with tint, black coatings, dot patterns, or interior accessories.

• Do not block the driver’s view. Choose a safe, low-impact mounting spot.

• Avoid tinted windows and minimize visibility of your vehicle’s interior in the frame.

• Remove personal items from the dashboard—name tags, documents, or anything that could identify you.

• Make sure the Bee is level—not pointed too far up at the sky or too far down at the hood.

• If using AI event detection, follow the official Bee Placement and Detection Guidelines for best results.

View your mount rating

• Open your Bee Maps App

• Go to Settings

• Go to Profile

To improve your mount rating, you may need to change your mount positioning or location.

Basics of mapping with Bee

Is my Bee LTE mapping?

There are multiple ways to determine if your Bee is mapping.

1. Confirm via Bee

If you have two blue LEDs on the Bee LTE your devices is mapping.

2. Confirm via Bee Map App

• Connect Bee Maps app to your Bee

• If your icon is blue and pulsing, your Bee is mapping

Tap the Bee image preview to see a larger version and the upload progress (LTE).

Connect your wallet

• Open Bee Maps App

• Go to Settings

• Click on Connect Wallet

Uploads automatically

No action needed. In LTE mode, your contributions upload automatically from the Bee LTE.

Want to Confirm Bee LTE is uploading?

The Bee LTE uploads automatically, but you can watch if you’re curious.

• Connect Bee Maps App to your Bee

• Tap the Viewer in the home screen of the app

• Progress bar on top of expanded viewer appears as shown

How much data is my Bee uploading?

• Connect Bee Maps App to your Bee

• Settings > Data

Step 1 - Connect your wallet

• Open Bee Maps App

• Go to Settings

• Click on Connect Wallet

Step 2 - Connect Bee Maps App to your Bee

The Bee Maps app can be used to upload mapping data captured by the Bee to the Hivemapper Network. When using this method, the Bee Maps app acts as a bridge between your Bee device and the Hivemapper Network.

• Connect Bee Maps to your Bee

• Once connected, the app will begin downloading collected data from your Bee (blue progress bar) to your mobile device.

Step 3 - Upload map data from your phone

The turquoise progress bar indicates the upload process. There are two ways to upload from your phone.

• Upload via WiFi

  • By default, the app will wait for a trusted Wi-Fi network (like your home or office) to begin uploading to the Hivemapper Network.

  • Uploads happen automatically in the background.

• Upload via cellular data

  • Enable the option in the Bee Maps app > Settings > App

  • Toggle the “Use iPhone Cellular Data” button to start uploading via your phone’s cellular data plan.

How much data is my Bee uploading?

• Connect Bee Maps App to your Bee

• Settings > Data

Firmware updates for Bee LTE

No action needed. Bee LTE updates firmware automatically via OTA (over-the-air).

Firmware updates for Bee WiFi

What is Beekeeper?

• Beekeeper is a web based software product for managing a fleet of devices.

• It's primarily for commercial fleets with 5 or more Bee LTE devices.

• Beekeeper has free and paid tiers.

Get started with Beekeeper?

• Learn about Beekeeper capabilities. See here.

• Setup and add Bee LTE devices to a fleet. See here.