Beehive App User Manual

A mobile app for beekeepers: keep track of apiaries and hives, maintain an inspection journal and create tasks, and, if you like, connect scales and sync with the cloud.

Working with the app

These sections describe how to work with apiaries, hives and the journal without having to connect scales or hubs. You can add devices later (see the section on devices).

First launch

When you open the app for the first time, the main screen is shown. While there are no apiaries or hives yet, it shows a hint with the first steps and the "Create apiary" and "Add hive" buttons.

Where to start:

1. If you like, sign in or register (☰ menu → Sign in) so your data is stored in the cloud and available on other phones. You can skip this and work locally (see Using the app without registration).
2. Create an apiary — the place where your hives stand.
3. Add a hive to the apiary and fill in the details about the colony.
4. Optional: if you have scales, turn them on near your phone — they connect automatically. Then link them to the hive in its settings.

You don't need to connect scales or hubs to keep track of your apiary and journal.

Registration and sign-in

Sign-in:

1. On the main screen, open ☰ Menu → Sign in.
2. Enter your email and password and tap "Sign in".
3. If you forgot your password, tap "Forgot password?" and follow the prompts.
4. On Android you can sign in with Google — the "Sign in with Google" button on the sign-in screen. The account is linked to your Google e-mail address; no password is needed.

Registration:

1. On the sign-in screen, tap "Register".
2. Enter your email and tap "Continue".
3. Enter the verification code from the email.
4. Set a password (at least 6 characters).

To learn more about data storage and sync, see Data storage and cloud sync.

Using the app without registration

You can use the app without an account:

• create apiaries and hives;
• keep journals and tasks;
• fill in the hive card and use the queen rearing timer.

Limitations without signing in:

• data is stored only on this phone;
• no sync with the cloud or other devices;
• QR scanning and the hive QR code are unavailable (they require an account and sync with the server);
• if you uninstall the app, all local data will be permanently lost.

You can sign in or register at any time from the menu — after you sign in, your local data is included in the sync (see the section on storage and the cloud).

Main screen

The main screen is the list of apiaries and hives.

How the list works

• Hives are grouped by apiary. Tap an apiary header to collapse or expand its list.
• Hives without an apiary are shown in the "Outside apiaries" group.
• Pull the list down to force a sync (after signing in). Below the header you can see whether a sync is in progress or when the last successful one happened.

Hive card in the list

If scales are linked to a hive, its card has two parts: the hive name at the top and the scales data at the bottom.

Element	Description
Name	Hive name
Scales	Scales name, battery level and date of the last sync
	Scales battery level (green — full, orange and red — time to replace the batteries)
Weight	Latest weight and change per day (▼ — loss, ▲ — gain)
Bar and "Queen emerged…"	Queen rearing progress, if a timer is running for the hive: the stage and the queen emergence date
Red frame and	The scales have data that hasn't reached the app yet, or new settings haven't been sent to the scales. Tap ⓘ to find out what to do

Tapping a hive opens the hive card.

List view: detailed or compact

☰ Menu → "Hive list view":

• Detailed — a hive with scales takes two rows: the hive, and the scales with battery and sync time.
• Compact — all cards are the same height: the daily weight change, battery and sync date are shown to the right of the hive name. Handy when you have many hives.

Header buttons

Button	Action
	Menu
	Journal (all entries of all apiaries and hives)
	"Devices" screen (scales and hubs)
	Add an apiary or a hive
	Firmware update (appears if the firmware check is turned on)

Other elements

• QR (bottom right corner) — quickly find a hive by its code (only after signing in).
• Task reminder — if you have overdue tasks or tasks due today, a banner appears above the list; tap it to open the task list.

Menu

The menu contains: sign-in or the current account, the app language, hive list view, links to the website, this manual, documents, feedback and the Telegram group, as well as sign out and delete account.

Adding an apiary

1. On the main screen, tap .
2. Choose "Apiary".
3. Enter a name and confirm.

The apiary will appear in the list. The button in the apiary header opens a menu:

When you delete an apiary, its hives are not deleted — they move to the "Outside apiaries" group.

Honey plant bloom at the apiary

The app shows when willow, dandelion, orchards, rapeseed, raspberry, linden, buckwheat, fireweed, heather and other honey plants — more than a hundred species — come into bloom at your apiary. The dates are calculated from long-term weather for the exact place where the apiary stands.

How to open: apiary header → → "Honey plant bloom".

Apiary location

The first time, the app asks where the apiary stands. This is needed once: the location is stored with the apiary in your account, and the app does not track your movements.

• "I am at the apiary now" — take the coordinates from the phone (location permission is required).
• "Pick on the map" — move the map so that the crosshair is over the apiary and tap "The apiary is here". The target button in the header moves the map to your current position.

You can change the location at any time with the pencil button in the header of the bloom screen.

What the screen shows

The "Nectar plants only" switch hides pure pollen plants (hazel, alder and so on). Tap a row to open the plant card: dates, nectar and pollen ratings, honey yield and a short note; main honey plants are marked "main".

The dates are averages for 2010–2025 for a cell of about 55 × 40 km; in a given year bloom shifts by 1–2 weeks depending on the spring. The data for your location is downloaded from the website once and then works offline. The same map for the whole world is on the website: beehive-scale.ru/en/honey-plants-map.html.

Adding a hive

1. On the main screen, tap .
2. Choose "Hive".
3. Choose an apiary (or leave "Outside apiaries") and enter a name.
4. Tap "Create".

The hive will appear in the selected apiary. Tap the hive to open its card and fill in the details.

Hive card

Open a hive from the list. The card consists of the following sections:

At the bottom of the screen there is a "Dictate inspection" button: voice input of a new entry with the "Inspection" action.

Hive menu

The button in the top right corner:

Editing

1. → "Edit" — the card fields become editable.
2. Change the fields you need — a "Save changes" button appears at the bottom.
3. To leave without saving, tap "Back".

Finding a hive by QR code

A QR code lets you quickly open the right hive on your phone.

Scanning

1. Sign in to your account (scanning is unavailable without signing in).
2. On the main screen, tap the button (bottom right corner).
3. Allow access to the camera and point it at the QR code on the hive.
4. The card of the found hive will open.

If the hive isn't found, make sure it was created in this account and has been synced with the server at least once.

Getting a QR code to stick on a hive

1. Open the hive card.
2. → "Hive QR code".
3. Tap "Share QR code" — send or print it. The image shows the hive name and its QR code.

Journals

The app keeps a journal — a timeline of entries and tasks (reminders with a date). Entries are linked to an apiary or to a specific hive.

Available journals

Journal	How to open	What it shows
All apiaries	Main screen → in the header	All entries and tasks for all apiaries and hives
Apiary	Apiary header → → "Apiary journal"	Entries of the apiary and all its hives
Hive	Hive card → → "Hive journal"	Entries and tasks of this hive only

Below the journal header there is a selection bar: "All apiaries › apiary › hive". Tap an apiary or a hive to switch the journal without going back to the main screen. The caption below the bar tells you which entries are currently shown.

In the "All apiaries" journal, each entry is labeled with the hive it belongs to.

Entries and tasks

Below the selection bar there is a "Notes" / "Tasks" switch.

Entry (note)

• Records an event that has already happened or is happening today.
• Date — the day of the event (can be changed).
• You can specify the action type: inspection, feeding, treatment, honey harvest, etc. — this is used by the filter, the calendar and the "Recent actions" section of the hive card.

Task

• This is a reminder for a future date.
• The task date cannot be earlier than tomorrow.
• In the list, tasks are sorted by due date; overdue tasks and tasks due today are included in the reminder on the main screen.
• When a task is done, open it → "Completed" — it becomes a regular entry with today's date.

How to add an entry or a task

1. Open the journal of an apiary or a hive (in the "All apiaries" journal, first choose an apiary or a hive in the selection bar).
2. Choose "Notes" or "Tasks".
3. Tap + in the top right corner.
4. Fill in the form:

1. Tap "Save".

You can also add hive entries and tasks right from the hive card — with the + buttons in the "Recent actions" and "Tasks" sections.

Voice input: on the hive card — "Dictate inspection"; an entry with the "Inspection" action is created, and you can correct the text before saving.

Editing and deleting

• Open an entry → ✏️ → make changes → "Save".
• 🗑 in edit mode — delete after confirmation.
• Photos: tap a thumbnail to view it full screen; in edit mode, tap ✕ on a thumbnail to delete it.

Calendar

You can view the journal as a list or as a calendar. Use the button in the journal header to switch: — calendar, — list. The selected view is remembered.

• Days with entries show an action icon (the most frequent action that day) and the number of entries.
• Arrows ‹ › or a swipe — another month; "Today" — go back to the current month.
• Tap a day to see its entries below the calendar. On an empty day you can add an entry (or a task) for that date right away.
• Below the calendar there is a monthly summary: the total number of entries and how many of each action. Tap an action to show only that action in the calendar; tap it again to clear the selection.
• In "Tasks" mode, the calendar shows tasks by due date; overdue tasks are highlighted in red.

Journal filter

The "Filter" button in the journal header (with the number of selected types).

1. Tap "Filter".
2. Select one or more action types: inspection, honey harvest, treatment, feeding, expansion, reduction, queen replacement, swarm catch/install, split/nucleus and others.
3. Tap "Apply" — only entries with the selected actions will remain in the journal (in the current "Notes" or "Tasks" mode, both in the list and in the calendar).
4. "Reset" — clear the filter and show all entries.

The filter does not hide tasks without an action type — tasks usually don't have an action type.

Data storage and cloud sync

Registered user (signed in)

After you register and sign in, all app data is synced with the server whenever you have internet access.

On different phones signed in to the same account, you will have the same data after syncing.

When sync happens

• when you sign in and open the main screen;
• automatically, shortly after you save changes in the app;
• when you pull the list down (pull-to-refresh) on the main screen or on the "Devices" screen.

The status is shown below the header: "Syncing…" or "Synced: …".

Signing out and deleting the account

Using the app without registration (local storage)

If you don't sign in to an account:

• all apiaries, hives, journals and other data are stored only in the phone's memory;
• no cloud sync is performed;
• data is not transferred to another phone automatically;
• if you uninstall the app from the device, the data will be permanently lost.

We recommend signing in if keeping your data safe and using several devices matters to you.

Queen rearing timer

The timer helps you plan queen rearing: based on the date and stage of the queen cell, the app calculates a calendar of stages.

How it works

A schedule is built from the egg-laying date (or from the stage and day in stage you choose):

On the hive card, the "Queen rearing timer" section shows a day-by-day calendar colored by stage and the current stage (or a message that the cycle is completed).

In the hive list, the card of a hive with a timer shows a progress bar in the stage colors and a caption: the current stage and the queen emergence date; in the compact view — "emerges in N d". After the queen emerges, the caption "Queen emerged …" stays until you delete the countdown. If there are several countdowns, the one closest to emergence is shown, plus "+N" — how many more there are.

How to add a timer

1. Open the hive card.
2. In the "Queen rearing timer" section, tap +.
3. In the form, specify:
4. the current queen cell stage;
5. the day in stage;
6. the date (the reference date for the calculation);
7. a note, if needed.
8. Check the date schedule at the bottom of the form and tap "Add".

Scheduled control tasks

After you create a timer, the app may offer to create control tasks in the hive journal by day of the cycle: larva acceptance check, removal of emergency queen cells, sealing check, nucleus preparation, caging or distribution of queen cells, and queen emergence check on the emergence day. Confirm in the dialog — the tasks will appear in the "Tasks" section of the hive card and in the hive journal.

Deleting a timer

On the timer card, tap 🗑 and confirm. If control tasks were created for the countdown, the app will ask whether to delete them too.

Working with devices (scales and hubs)

The sections below describe connecting scales and hubs via Bluetooth, viewing measurements and configuring the equipment. Devices are not required for keeping track of your apiary and journal.

General information

You can use Beehive with just your phone (apiaries, hives, journal) or together with equipment — smart scales and a hub. Below is a short overview of why you need the devices and how they work.

Smart scales

The scales are placed under a hive and record readings on their own in their memory. In the app you see:

Works without internet. Just walk up to the apiary with your phone: turn on Bluetooth and open the app — it will connect to the scales and download the accumulated measurement history. You don't need an account or Wi‑Fi for this. You only need internet if you want to save the data in the cloud and open it on another phone.

Power. The scales run on four AA batteries. They often last a year or longer — it depends on how often the scales take readings (the interval in the scales settings): the less frequent the measurements, the longer the batteries last.

Hub

A hub is an "intermediary" between the scales and the internet. The scales send their measurements to it via Bluetooth, and the hub sends them to the server. Then the data can be pulled into the app from any phone where you are signed in, even if no phone was at the apiary.

Power. The hub is powered by a USB Type‑C adapter (like many phones). You can also use a power bank. In power saving mode, the hub can run for several months on a single charge.

How the hub connects to the internet:

Both options can be turned on in the hub settings.

Hub cloud

Receiving and storing the hub's data on the server is the hub cloud. Everything else in the app is free: apiaries, hives, journals, scales over Bluetooth and sync between phones.

• The first year of the cloud is included with the hub and starts when the hub first connects to the server.
• After that the cloud is renewed once a year; the second and further hubs get a discount. The subscription belongs to the hub itself: if you sell the hub, the remaining time goes to the new owner.
• The ☰ → "Cloud" screen shows the state of each hub, the renewal amount and date. Payment is made on the website via a link the app sends to your e-mail; a promo code can be entered there too.
• Reminders arrive a month before the period ends; after it ends the cloud keeps working for 14 more days. Then the server stops accepting the hub's data — the app, journals and scales over Bluetooth keep working, and the cloud turns back on immediately after renewal.

If there is no "Cloud" item in the menu, there is nothing to pay for in your account yet.

Two typical scenarios

1. Phone and scales only — you come to the apiary, sync the scales via Bluetooth and view the charts in the app. Everything is stored on the phone until you sign in.
2. Scales + hub + account — the scales send data to the hub, the hub sends it to the server; you view the history at home or on another phone after the app syncs.

The rest of this manual goes step by step: connecting, the "Devices" screen, settings and firmware.

Getting ready to work with devices

1. Turn on Bluetooth on your phone and allow the app to access it.
2. On Android, turn on location (GPS) — the system requires it to search for Bluetooth devices.
3. Turn on the scales or the hub and bring your phone within a few meters.
4. New scales and hubs will appear on the "Devices" screen ( on the main screen) once they are found.
5. Link the scales to a hive: hive card → → "Edit" → "Scales" field.

Measurements from the scales are saved to the app when connected via Bluetooth. To send data to the server through a hub, set up Wi‑Fi and delivery methods in the hub settings.

Devices

Devices are divided into "Scales" and "Hubs".

Device card

Element	Description
Name	From the device settings
	Battery level and voltage (scales)
Sync	When the app last received data from the device
Red frame and	Sync needed: some data hasn't reached the app yet, or new settings haven't been sent to the device

Tap ⓘ to see a hint. To sync, bring your phone close to the device with Bluetooth turned on — the app connects automatically. The red frame will disappear once the sync is complete.

• Scales → measurement history.
• Hub → hub settings.

Screen header

Button	Action
←	Main screen
	Wi‑Fi firmware update settings

Pull the list down for a full sync with the server (when signed in).

Measurement history

Open the scales from the "Devices" screen or from the hive card (the "Scales" field).

Period

The button with dates lets you choose a range: tap the first and last day, then OK.

Grouping: H / D / W / M

The switch below the period:

For days, weeks and months, the weight at the end of the period and the average temperature are shown. On the right is the weight change compared to the previous row: gains in green, losses in red.

Table and chart

— display settings: "Table" or "Chart" mode and which data to show (weight, temperature, noise) → "Apply".

On the chart, you can zoom in on a section using the zoom slider above the chart. The orange dots at the bottom are calendar events (hive journal entries).

Other header buttons

Button	Action
	Journal of the hive the scales are linked to
	Select records to delete (in H mode)
	Scales settings

Deleting records

In H mode, tap → select the records → "Delete" and confirm. "Cancel" — leave without deleting.

Loading from the server

During the first sync with the cloud, not all older data is downloaded. If there's no data for some period, select that period and tap "Load from server".

Scales settings

on the measurement history screen.

After saving, connect to the scales via Bluetooth to send the settings to the device. Until the settings are sent, the scales are marked with a red frame.

Calibration with a reference weight

Your phone must be near the scales with Bluetooth turned on. Don't close the calculation dialog until it's finished.

1. Tap the button to the right of the "Weight calibration coefficient" field.
2. Press the button on the scales — the scales will take the first reference measurement (without a load).
3. Enter the weight of the load in grams, then place that load on the scales.
4. Press the button on the scales again — the second reference measurement.
5. The app will show the calculated coefficient — tap "Apply", then save the settings.

If the weight on the scales didn't increase, the app will offer to "Measure again" — check that the load is on the scales.

Tare and weight vs temperature coefficient can also be calculated automatically — with the buttons to the right of those fields. Calculate the tare only right after syncing with the scales.

Hub settings

Tap a hub in the device list.

The hub firmware version is shown at the bottom of the screen.

Firmware update (OTA)

Updating the firmware of scales and hubs over Wi‑Fi.

1. On the "Devices" screen, tap .
2. Enter the Wi‑Fi network name and password (you can turn on a hotspot on your phone and enter it).
3. Turn on "Update firmware when connecting to scales/hub".
4. Tap "Save".

The "Available firmware versions" section shows which devices have a new version available.

Set the same network name and password in the hub settings. While the update is turned on, the icon is shown on the main screen.

Frequently asked questions

No hives on the main screen
Tap → create an apiary and a hive. The scales don't create hives by themselves.

Can I use the app without registering?
Yes — the data is stored only on the phone; it will be lost if you uninstall the app. Cloud sync and QR codes require signing in.

Data on another phone
Sign in to the same account and wait for the sync, or pull the list down.

QR code doesn't open the hive
You need to be signed in; the hive must belong to your account and be synced with the server.

A device isn't listed on the "Devices" screen
Check Bluetooth and location; the device must be turned on and nearby. Open the "Devices" screen and wait.

Red frame on the scales or hub
A sync is needed: bring your phone close to the device with Bluetooth turned on — the app connects automatically.

Data isn't on the server
Sign in, check the internet connection, pull to refresh; for a hub — Wi‑Fi and "To server via Wi‑Fi".

Wrong weight
Scales settings → calibration → calibration with a reference weight.

I can't add an entry in the "All apiaries" journal
First choose an apiary or a hive in the selection bar below the journal header.

Dictation doesn't work
Check the microphone and speech recognition permissions in your phone settings.

The app asks me to update
Old versions eventually stop understanding the server, so on launch you may see an "Update required" message with a grace period of a few days. Update the app from Google Play — your data is kept.

Need help
☰ → Feedback or Telegram group.