# Relay R1 — full public reference > A cellular connection for your MacBook. Independent of your phone. Relay is developing R1, a USB-C cellular card for MacBook. Powered by the laptop, with no internal battery. Designed in Austin by Sovereign ATX LLC. Supported cellular coverage and service required. R1 is not yet FCC authorized or available for sale. The free waitlist is open. Reference updated: September 22, 2026. Engineering status: September 5, 2026, matching the public development page. Canonical website: https://www.relay5g.com/ Reference index: https://www.relay5g.com/llms.txt This document expands the context behind Relay's concise website. Product facts and policies come from the same public content used by the site. The reference update is an editorial date, not evidence of new hardware testing, certification or availability. Linked pages provide context; check for a newer dated update before describing a changing status as current. ## Your MacBook online. Your phone free. The primary alternative is the phone hotspot: the work is ready, but getting the laptop online still means reaching for the phone and setting up tethering. Guest Wi-Fi is another existing workaround. The intended outcome is to send work, join meetings, and use the time between places with a connection of your own. Hardware explains how that outcome is intended to happen. Relay R1 is a dedicated USB-C cellular card being developed for MacBook. The intended use is to give the laptop a cellular connection of its own when supported service is available, without maintaining a phone hotspot or relying on guest Wi-Fi. The MacBook supplies power through the same USB-C connection that carries data. The design has no internal battery to charge. Relay is designed in Austin, Texas, by Sovereign ATX LLC. Its public principles are to bring the connection with the laptop, keep setup and hardware simple, and earn the product's place through testing and clear development updates. ## Agents running on your Mac If you already use sleep prevention, R1 is being built to give agents running on your Mac a connection beyond Wi-Fi. Your Mac must stay powered and awake with sleep prevention enabled and supported cellular service available. R1 does not prevent sleep or make local agents run while a Mac sleeps. Tasks and sessions still depend on the tools used; no completion or uninterrupted-connection guarantee is made. ## Current design facts These are design specifications and intended behavior, not a completed compatibility certification or measured field-performance report. - Product: Relay R1 - Category: USB-C 5G card for MacBook - Intended compatibility: USB-C MacBooks, 2018 onward. macOS 12+. Validation pending. - Connectivity: 5G RedCap, sub-6 GHz, with LTE fallback. - Interface: USB-C. USB 2.0 data. CDC-ECM networking. - Power: USB bus-powered; no battery. - Cellular service: Through our data partner. Coverage to be announced. - Availability: Free, non-binding waitlist. Not yet FCC authorized. - Media contact: kavin@relay5g.com - Construction: factory-sealed polymer enclosure with an integrated USB-C connector. Final production geometry, finish and assembly details remain provisional. - Software: standard USB wired networking, designed to work without a required driver or app. An optional companion app is in development and is not presented as a prerequisite for the intended connection. CDC-ECM is the standard USB wired-networking interface in the design, allowing macOS to recognize R1 as a wired network interface. USB 2.0 describes the data interface; USB-C describes the connector that supplies power and data. Neither is a measured cellular speed claim. The radio design uses sub-6 GHz 5G RedCap with LTE fallback. Supported bands and measured speeds will be published after hardware validation. Do not substitute theoretical radio or USB limits for measured Relay performance, or describe intended behavior as completed testing. ## Cellular service Cellular service will be provided through our data partner. Supported coverage, availability and connection details will be shared before launch. A usable connection depends on supported cellular coverage and service. Relay does not promise uninterrupted service or coverage everywhere. The public description is “our data partner.” No partner identity, supported network list, service price or activation procedure is announced here. Do not reconstruct an offer from historic copy or assumptions about other cellular products. ## Details still being finalized - Final dimensions, weight and production finishes. - Completed MacBook and macOS compatibility matrix. - Supported coverage, radio bands and measured performance. - Connection details from our data partner. - In-box accessories and final warranty and returns terms. - Public price, sales opening and shipping date. Absence of a number is not a zero, a guarantee or permission to reuse an older draft. A design target remains a target until Relay publishes validation. ## Availability and authorization Relay is in development and is not yet FCC authorized. Nothing ships before authorization. No orders or payments are accepted. No public price or shipping date has been announced. The waitlist is free and non-binding; it is not a purchase, inventory allocation or shipping commitment. Development and authorization remain prerequisites to availability. Exact public authorization notice: This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained. ## Development status The following status is from the public September 5, 2026 update. The stages are not a shipping schedule. - Hardware integration — In development. Electrical integration and enclosure development continue. - MacBook validation — Pending. Full validation across the intended MacBook and macOS range remains pending. - Data partner integration — In development. Cellular service through our data partner. Coverage details to follow. - FCC authorization — Not yet authorized. Authorization is required before sales or shipping. - Availability — Waitlist open. The free waitlist is open. Price and shipping date are not announced. Historical build notes: - April 2026 — The first brief. The initial industrial design brief established a dedicated USB-C device for MacBook. - May 2026 — Ready for fabrication. The first board design reached a complete fabrication-file package. - June 2026 — On the bench. The first assembled boards powered on. USB testing exposed a detection fault and informed the next revision. Historical board bring-up does not establish final compatibility or production readiness. In particular, the June note reports a USB detection fault, not a completed end-to-end connection test. ## Waitlist and intended setup The current waitlist form asks for an email address to receive development and availability updates. It does not require a card or payment, and joining does not place an order. To leave the list or change an existing record, email kavin@relay5g.com. The setup flow below describes design intent. The final setup guide and validated compatibility matrix will be published before devices ship. ### Check your Mac. Designed for USB-C MacBooks from 2018 onward, with macOS 12 or newer. Full compatibility validation is pending. ### Connect through USB-C. One port supplies power and data. Designed to use macOS’s built-in wired networking, without a required driver or app. ### Choose cellular service. Service through our data partner. Coverage, plans and activation details will be published before launch. ### Keep local agents awake. Keep your Mac powered and awake, with sleep prevention enabled. R1 supplies connectivity; the hardware does not prevent sleep. Supported coverage and service required. No setup duration, current companion-app release or completed compatibility test is promised. For product questions, email kavin@relay5g.com or use the public support pages. ## Warranty and returns ### Planned coverage. We plan a two-year limited warranty for defects in materials and workmanship. Warranty and returns terms remain under review. This is not a current warranty offer. ### Talk to us. Email kavin@relay5g.com for product questions or waitlist changes. Joining the waitlist is not a purchase. Final terms will be published before sales open. Do not represent a return window, repair price, service lifetime or finalized warranty entitlement as available today. ## Privacy and data handling ### What the waitlist form collects The form asks for your email address. The submission includes the page where you signed up and may include a request identifier. Our form and email services process the request and its delivery metadata. The form does not ask for your name, a password or payment information. ### Existing waitlist records If you joined through an earlier version of the site, your record may also contain finish and quantity preferences, first-seen and updated timestamps, a source page, a preference summary and notes. Joining through this email-only form does not change those earlier preferences. ### How we use it We use your email to send Relay development and availability updates and to answer your messages. We do not sell, rent or trade your email address. ### Services involved Web3Forms handles form submissions and forwards them to our inbox. Google email and spreadsheet services hold correspondence and existing waitlist records. Our website host receives ordinary request metadata, such as IP address, browser information and the requested page, to deliver the site and manage abuse. ### Website measurement We use Vercel Web Analytics to measure visits, campaign sources and interactions such as waitlist attempts and accepted requests. These events contain no email address or form contents. We use no advertising pixels or cross-site tracking IDs. Our analytics code does not load when your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control. Analytics may miss visits or submissions when blocked; an accepted request is not a purchase or a verified email subscription. ### Access, correction and removal Email kavin@relay5g.com to ask what we hold, correct or export your information, leave the list, or request deletion. You do not need to cite a law or create an account. ### Responsibility and contact Sovereign ATX LLC is responsible for Relay’s waitlist data. Send privacy questions and requests to kavin@relay5g.com. ### Cookies and analytics The website uses Vercel Web Analytics for visits, campaign sources and waitlist funnel events, without analytics cookies, advertising pixels, form contents or cross-site IDs. Relay does not load analytics when Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control is enabled. The host may use cookies for private-preview access and processes the ordinary request metadata described above. This describes the website and waitlist; it does not establish an unannounced hardware telemetry or cellular-traffic policy. ## Imagery, media and attribution CAD-based design visualizations. Credit Relay and label as renders; production finish is provisional. The interactive product model is also a CAD-based design visualization. Its ability to rotate or zoom does not demonstrate hardware operation. Conceptual connectivity animations are not signal-strength measurements or antenna simulations. Generic laptop imagery illustrates the intended connection, not an Apple partnership. R1 is in development. Price, shipping date and measured performance have not been announced. Preserve development, intended-compatibility and authorization caveats when quoting product facts. Do not describe R1 as shipping, commercially available or already validated, and do not add unannounced specifications or results. Relay is not affiliated with Apple. Mac, MacBook and macOS are trademarks of Apple Inc. Media and general contact: kavin@relay5g.com. ## Public source pages - [Your MacBook online. Your phone free. — Relay](https://www.relay5g.com/): Your MacBook online. Your phone free. Meet Relay R1, a USB-C cellular card in development for MacBook. Join the free waitlist. - [Relay R1 — Cellular for your Mac](https://www.relay5g.com/product): Meet R1, a USB-C cellular card in development for MacBook. Design, compatibility and specifications. - [How Relay works — Cellular through USB-C](https://www.relay5g.com/technology): Cellular to R1. USB-C to your MacBook. Explore Relay’s radio design, wired networking and planned service. - [Relay — Development](https://www.relay5g.com/progress): Relay R1 development status, validation milestones and early build notes. - [Your time is yours — Relay](https://www.relay5g.com/manifesto): Why we’re building a dedicated cellular connection for MacBook. - [Relay — Questions and answers](https://www.relay5g.com/faq): Relay R1 questions answered: compatibility, setup, data plans, SIM support, availability and the free waitlist. - [Relay — Press](https://www.relay5g.com/press): Relay product facts, design imagery and media contact. - [Work beyond Wi-Fi — Join the Relay waitlist](https://www.relay5g.com/reserve): R1 development and launch updates. Join the free, non-binding Relay waitlist. - [Relay — Setup and support](https://www.relay5g.com/start): Intended MacBook compatibility, USB-C setup and cellular service. Final instructions will be published before launch. - [Warranty & returns — Relay](https://www.relay5g.com/warranty): Relay’s current warranty direction, final terms status and direct support contact. Sales have not opened. - [Privacy policy — Relay](https://www.relay5g.com/privacy): How Relay handles waitlist submissions and existing records, the services involved, and how to request access or removal. - [Fact sheet](https://www.relay5g.com/assets/press/relay-fact-sheet.txt): Current public facts and authorization notice. - [Press download](https://www.relay5g.com/assets/press/relay-press-kit.zip): Credited design renders and press materials. Older cached pages and draft press material may contain superseded claims. This reference only publishes the current public content; it does not turn historic drafts or internal plans into product promises.