DeWi Software Development Kits Offer Enhanced Diagnostic Features in Ecosystem
The unprecedented growth of the Helium Network has been phenomenal, having been facilitated by Hotspot Makers and the wider Helium community. As Helium passes 500,000 and approaches 1,000,000 Hotspots and beyond, it’s appropriate for the company to revisit the initial purpose and functionality of their mobile apps, primarily the Helium App.
The open-source Helium App made by the core team has allowed users to incorporate additional Hotspots into the Network and holistically manage HNT. The team permitted HIP-19 manufacturers to add the ability to do rudimentary onboarding and diagnostic tests but these makers have been limited to this base set of capabilities.
Over the past few months, the relevant team has been working with DeWi and Makers to create the tools needed to establish their own mobile and web apps. Through this work, we’ve released Software Development Kits (SDKs) that serve as the foundations for Makers to build their own apps and curate an entire Maker Starter app that is both open sourced and can be cloned to work from the get go; all using the same security that our users expect from the Helium App. Each Maker app will have the ability to onboard and manage the Maker’s Hotspots, with enhanced diagnostic features that were previously unavailable in the Helium App.
What This Means
- Makers will start introducing their own apps and web dashboards over the next few weeks. When Makers are ready, we will start removing onboarding ability for those Hotspots in the Helium App.
- Helium will release a brand new app, called the Helium Wallet to manage your HNT and identity on the Helium Network. We’re very excited to make this available to everyone. Read below for more details on the Beta launch date and features. All users will be encouraged to use the Helium Wallet app.
- The Original Helium App will reduce its scope to manage Helium Hotspots only. Wallet functionality will be disabled over time. This app will be rebranded to the Helium Hotspot app to manage Original Helium Hotspots.
These are very exciting changes and we’ve prepared an FAQ available below to answer common questions. But first..
Helium Wallet App
The Helium Wallet app will be your identity on the Helium Network. A place to manage your HNT and wallet accounts, this new app will be available for open Beta in Q2 2022 on iOS and Android.
All Maker apps will be able to deeplink to the Helium Wallet app to sign transactions, including adding a Hotspot, updating location, antenna, and elevation, and transferring a Hotspot. This means users only have to enter their seed phrase in one place and not individually, in each Maker app.
Remember, your seed phrase is the private key to your entire wallet, including HNT, Hotspots, and Validators, and should be kept safe.
Multi-account Access
Have more than 1 Helium wallet? Import and manage them all in a single app without signing out and signing back in. You’ll also be able to nickname each account to keep track of each account’s purpose.
24 Word Seed Phrase
The Helium Wallet app will support both 12 word and 24 word seed phrases. By default, all new accounts created with this app will be 24 words and 12 word seed phrases can be imported.
Testnet Access
Are you a developer that needs access to testnet? This is the app for you. The Helium Network actively encourages community contributions and providing access to Testnet via the app is a step towards enabling that goal.
Multipayment Features
Send HNT to multiple recipients in one payment transaction. Advanced users have been using this feature in the Wallet CLI for over a year, and now we’re bringing it to the app.
Address Book Support
Save commonly used addresses in a new address book.
And more features coming.. Nano X support anyone?
Under the Hood
On the surface, expanding the App ecosystem to include Makers may seem like a very small change, however, on a deeper level this means everything that comes along with onboarding a Hotspot to the Network will now be in complete control of approved Makers.
Onboarding Server
This is a database that DeWi controls. Each HIP-19 Maker has their own API key to add Hotspots to the server but has no insight to its maintenance. If the Onboarding Server malfunctions or experiences an outage (it seldom has), Makers have to reach out to DeWi.
By open sourcing the Onboarding Server, Makers are in full control of how they maintain this database, who has access to it, and how they can troubleshoot onboarding issues.
Diagnostic Reports and Tools
Helium Hotspot app tries to be agnostic in how users interact with their Hotspots. In its attempt to work with all types of Hotspots, the app wasn’t able to fully take advantage of the additional tooling that Makers have enabled on their Hotspot firmware.
By providing Makers full control, each can differentiate their ability to resolve issues, perform fast-sync, clear SD cards, and even provide networking tools to avoid that dreaded “relayed” peer-to-peer status.
Improved Onboarding
With Light Hotspots coming around the corner, the team has realized that Bluetooth connectivity may not be the most effective way to add a Hotspot to the Network. Some Makers have started using QR codes generated from their web dashboards to onboard Hotspots and while it works fine in the Helium App, it’s not quite the ideal user experience.
By giving Makers complete control, they’re able to create a non-Bluetooth experience all within their app.
Hotspot Placement, Earnings, and Insights
By allowing Makers the freedom to create and integrate community features, the community will now have more features than ever at their finger tips.
Makers and other partners like Hotspotty have got this on lock. Everyone should check out community apps in the ecosystem.
FAQ
Will Makers be required to have their own Apps?
Yes. All Makers, in-market and upcoming will be required to have their own App.
If I have Hotspots from 3 Makers, will I need to download 3 apps?
Short answer: yes. However, you should only need to enter your seed phrase into the Helium Wallet app and Maker apps will issue a signing request (via deeplinking) to your Wallet so your seed phrase remain safe.
When are Makers required to release their Apps?
Makers have until March to have their Apps available for the community to use.
What if my Maker doesn’t have an app yet? Will I be kicked off the Helium Hotspot app?
We will keep Makers on the Hotspot app until Makers release their own app, but not much longer past March. We will work with Makers to make sure this is done as soon as possible.
What if I have a Helium Hotspot?
Helium Hotspot support will not go away. You can continue to use the Helium Hotspot app to manage your Hotspot and run diagnostics.
I just found a Helium Hotspot in its original packaging from 2019. What app do I use to onboard?
Congratulations on the find! You can use the Helium Hotspot app to onboard your Hotspot.
Do I need the Helium Wallet app?
Yes, this App will be used to sign transactions for any Maker app and will be your Wallet where you earn HNT mined from your Hotspot.
Where will my HNT be? Does it automatically transfer to the Helium Wallet app and will it be safe?
Once you import your 12 word seed phrase, all your HNT will appear in the Helium Wallet app. Your tokens and Hotspots are safe.
I want to build my own app. How do I do this?
You can find our SDK tools here: https://helium.github.io/react-native-helium/index.html
Our Maker Starter app here: //github.com/helium/maker-starter-app
Do my 12 words from the Helium Hotspot app work on the Helium Wallet app?
Yes, you can use the same 12 words from the Helium Hotspot app on the Helium Wallet app. Your HNT, Hotspots, Validators, and Data Credits will remain associated with that seed phrase which represents your private key on the Helium Network.
Why are 24 words better?
The Helium Hotspot app uses 12 words to generate the private key of a wallet account and is based off the BIP-39 word list with 2048 English words. The odds of guessing a seed phrase is one in 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 and a 24 word seed phrase has even more combinations.
In short, yes 24 words is better than 12. But 12 is not terrible either.
How does signing transactions from the Helium Wallet app work?
You’ll first be asked to authenticate and “link” your Helium Wallet app with the Maker app like so:
Then you’ll continue the process on the Maker app. Here is an example of adding a Hotspot from the Maker app, and deeplinking to the Helium Wallet app to sign:
Once you confirm the transaction, the Helium Wallet app signs the transaction with your private key (derived from the seed phrase) and sends the signed transaction back to the Maker, who will submit it to the Helium Blockchain.
My Maker app is asking me for my 12 word seed phrase. Is it safe?
We recommend all Maker apps to use deeplinking to the Wallet app to sign transactions. Submitting your seed phrase anywhere is a risk, do so at your own discretion. Only use Maker apps advertised from their official channels.
We’re very excited as we enter the next phase of Hotspots, Apps, and Wallets on the Helium Network. Join us on the Helium Community Discord to continue the discussion.
Originally published here.
Author
Chris Munch is a professional cryptocurrency and blockchain writer with a background in software businesses, and has been involved in marketing within the cryptocurrency space. With a passion for innovation, Chris brings a unique and insightful perspective to the world of crypto and blockchain. Chris has a deep understanding of the economic, psychological, marketing and financial forces that drive the crypto market, and has made a number of accurate calls of major shifts in market trends. He is constantly researching and studying the latest trends and technologies, ensuring that he is always up-to-date on the latest developments in the industry. Chris’ writing is characterized by his ability to explain complex concepts in a clear and concise manner, making it accessible to a wide audience of readers.
