ZeroTrace AirLeak
Capture Modes
What each mode does to the BLE scan and the capture stream
AirLeak's mode determines whether the BLE scanner is running and whether the capture stream is flowing to the app. The mode is set from the app's Modes tab (mode.set over Bluetooth) and persists across reboots.
Modes the app exposes
| Mode | BLE scan | Capture stream | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor | on | streaming to Live / Hunt / Insights | Continuous capture, the working mode |
| Wardrive | on (max-rate) | streaming to the Drive map | Geo-tagged collection while moving |
| Setup | off | none | Idle / configuring / pairing |
The firmware enum also carries self_test, room_scan, recon, and stalker_hunt. recon and stalker_hunt back the app's Hunt features; setup, monitor, and wardrive are the three cards on the Modes tab.
The retired WiFi-era modes (mdns_audit, travel) still exist in the firmware enum but are rejected by mode.set, so the app never lands the device in them.
Monitor
The everyday capture mode. The NimBLE observer scans continuously and the aggregator builds a live, device-centric table that streams to the app over the dedicated capture characteristic. Privacy alerts are evaluated on every observation.
This is what you want almost all of the time.
Wardrive
A max-duty observer profile for geo-tagged collection. When you start a drive in the app's Drive tab, the app puts the unit into Wardrive so the radio scans flat-out, and the phone stamps each device at the GPS location where it was heard strongest. Live, Hunt and Insights yield the capture stream to Drive so a single consumer gets the full-rate feed.
The map, track, WiGLE-CSV export and Drive History all live in the app. See the ZeroTrace Mobile App docs for the Drive workflow.
Setup
The radio stops scanning and no capture stream flows. This is the safe idle state for:
- First boot before a license is stored (the default if no mode is persisted)
- Pairing or changing settings
- Moving between locations
The unit keeps advertising and accepting a connection in Setup, so you can always reach it to flip modes.
Recon (Hunt)
Recon keeps the control channel up, the unit stays advertising and connectable, but pauses the capture stream while the scanner keeps running silently in the background. The app shows "recon, stream paused". Leaving recon triggers a fresh snapshot so the live list refills. This backs the app's stealthier Hunt workflows.
Mode persistence
The active mode is saved on every change and automatically restored on boot. Once you've picked Monitor on a unit, every subsequent power-up starts capturing immediately, you don't need to set it again.
The single control surface for modes is the app's Modes tab. There is no serial console or CLI on the device.