Now in beta · Android & Wear OS
KeyUp turns your phone and watch into a walkie-talkie for your crew, your family and your friends. Turn the crown, say it, keep going, across the floor or across town.
A phone shows the Receiving room with a big red talk button that pulses “On air”. A watch shows the same button.
Our story
KeyUp started as a side project. It was built by one person, for a friend and coworker, while they were both working in a warehouse.
They wanted to talk across the floor without stopping what they were doing. Phone in a pocket, headphones on, and a watch on the wrist to talk into.
So that’s what KeyUp does. Turn the watch crown, say it, let go, keep moving. It runs over Wi-Fi or mobile data, and open mic listens for your voice, not the noise around you.
The same idea works anywhere people want a quick word without a full phone call: a crew on a busy floor, or a family spread across a theme park. Now it’s in beta, and it’s ready for you.
“If you have to stop what you’re doing to talk, it’s not a walkie-talkie. It’s a meeting.”
Who it’s for
For work
Warehouses, factories, kitchens, job sites and events. Keep your hands on the job and your phone in your pocket, and turn the crown when you need the crew.
For your people
Busy weeks don’t leave much time to call or sit down and talk. Send a quick “hey, I’m here” or “grab milk” without a full phone call, then get on with your day.
Works anywhere you have Wi-Fi or mobile data.
Features
KeyUp is built watch-first. On Pixel Watch and other Wear OS watches, turn the crown to go on air, even with the screen off. No unlocking, no tapping through menus, and your phone stays in your pocket. No crown? Just tap and hold.
Open mic wakes on your voice and ignores bangs, beeps and conveyors. Every voice is auto-leveled, you can set each person’s volume, and your headphones and speaker each get their own boost.
Your mic and your speaker don’t have to be the same device. Talk into your watch and hear the crew in any headphones, even music-only earbuds without a mic. Your music keeps playing and just dips while someone talks.
Wi-Fi on the dock, LTE across town. No range limits, no repeaters, no license, no channel to fight over.
Ask it to recap the shift, find what someone said about door 6, or draft an update. It’s optional. Crew includes AI usage, and any plan can bring its own AI key, so you decide who provides it and what it can see.
Missed a call? Replay it. On Crew, talk is transcribed so you can search it by word. Off by default: the Space owner turns it on, and everyone can see when it’s on.
One Space for your crew, family or team. A room for every dock, shift or job, and you always see who’s talking.
Push-to-talk, text, voice notes, photos and calls, all in the same rooms. No separate radio, group chat and phone tree to keep in sync.
Drivers, temps, visiting family: send a link or show a QR code. They join without an account, don’t count toward your people limit, and the pass ends when you say.
Add people by username, friend code, QR or link. Then message or call them directly, even if you don’t share a Space. In a room, you see everyone who’s there and who’s talking right now.
Beta
Keep the radios you already have. Radio Bridge connects a KeyUp room to a real two-way radio, so people on KeyUp hear the radio and radio users hear KeyUp.
Learn about Radio BridgeAndroid phones, Wear OS watches, and any modern browser. On a computer, hold the space bar to talk.
How it works
Name it for your crew, family or team. Add rooms for each area, shift or group.
Share a link or a QR code, or add friends by username. People join in the app, or in a browser with a guest pass.
Hold the button, or turn the crown on your watch. Let go and you’re off the air.
See KeyUp on a real shift
Video coming soon
Pricing
And it’s all free during beta: every beta Space gets up to 15 people at no cost. Beta Space owners are founding members, with a Crew price that never goes up.
For families, friends and small groups.
$0
No card needed. Add a 6th person and get a free 14-day Crew trial.
Founding member
For crews, shifts and busy sites.
Normally $14.99 $9.99 /month
Locked in for life for beta testers. Normally $14.99/month or $149/year (two months free).
Need more? Add people in blocks of 5.
Founding prices shown. Yearly billing available at every size, two months free.
Coming later
For bigger teams and multiple sites.
~$3/user/month
10-user minimum.
Beta
Add-on for Crew and Business
Connect a KeyUp room to a real two-way radio. People on KeyUp hear the radio, and radio users hear KeyUp, so you can bring your whole team together without replacing a single radio. Includes a browser dispatch console.
Guest passes don’t count toward your people limit while they’re active. Prices are in US dollars, before tax, and may change before launch. Founding pricing won’t. You’ll never be charged unless you choose a paid plan, and we’ll give plenty of notice before paid plans start.
Beta
KeyUp is opening in waves, starting with 50 Spaces. Sign up to save your spot, and we’ll email you a Google Play testing link when your wave opens. The people you invite get in with you.
We’ll email you a Google Play testing link as soon as a spot opens. Keep an eye on your inbox (and your spam folder, just in case).
Welcome aboard, founding member.
Yes. Everything is free during the beta, for up to 15 people per Space, and we don’t ask for a card. After launch, the Free plan covers 1 Space with up to 5 people, 3 rooms and 7 days of history. When your Space adds a 6th person, you get a free 14-day Crew trial. Crew is $14.99/month (or $149/year) for up to 15 people, and beta testers lock in $9.99/month for life. Bigger crews can add people in blocks of 5: 20 people is $19.99/month, and 25 people is $24.99/month, each $5 off for beta testers too. Nothing is ever charged unless you choose a paid plan.
Because crews change every week. New hires, temps and seasonal help shouldn’t mean a bigger bill each month. Crew starts at a flat price for up to 15 people, and grows in blocks of 5 people as your crew does. Guest passes don’t count toward your limit while they’re active.
No. KeyUp is built for loud workplaces, and it works just as well for families and friend groups. Send a quick “hey, I’m here” or “grab milk” without a full phone call, keep a friends list you can message or call directly, and make a room for the family or the carpool. The Free plan covers up to 5 people.
A call has to ring and be answered, and a text has to be typed and read. With KeyUp you hold the button (or turn your watch crown), say it, and let go. Everyone in the room hears it right away, and they can replay it later if they missed it. When you do need a real conversation, you can message or call from the same app.
Yes, anywhere you have Wi-Fi or mobile data, with no range limit between cars, rides or campsites. It isn’t a radio, so where there’s no signal at all it can’t reach anyone.
Android phones running Android 9 or newer, and watches running Wear OS 3 or newer, including Pixel Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch4 and newer, and other Wear OS watches. iPhone and Apple Watch aren’t supported yet; iPhone users can join from a browser with the web app.
No. The phone app has a big talk button and works great on its own. A watch just means you never have to take your phone out: turn the crown (or tap and hold) and talk.
Yes. In KeyUp your mic and your speaker can be different devices. Talk into your watch and hear the crew in any Bluetooth or wired headphones, including music-only earbuds that don’t have a mic. If you’re playing music, it keeps playing and just dips while someone talks, then comes back up.
Open-mic mode listens for your voice and ignores bangs, beeps, conveyors and backup alarms, so you can talk hands-free without flooding the channel with noise. Voices are auto-leveled so quiet and loud talkers sound the same, you can set each person’s volume, and your headphones and speaker each have their own volume boost.
Yes. KeyUp works over any internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile data like LTE and 5G) and switches between them as you move. It does need some connection: it isn’t a radio, so with no signal at all it can’t reach your crew.
All connections are encrypted in transit. Rewind recordings, transcripts and the AI assistant are off unless your Space turns them on, and everyone in the room can see when they’re on. We don’t sell your data or use it for ads. You can export your data or delete your account from inside the app at any time. Read the Privacy Policy for the details.
It’s optional. A Space owner can add an AI assistant to a room. Crew includes AI usage, and any plan can use its own API key from a supported AI provider instead. When it’s on, what you ask it, plus the room context you allow, is sent to that provider to get an answer. When it’s off, nothing goes to any AI. The assistant is always shown in violet, so you know when you’re talking to it.
Create a pass in a room and share the link or QR code. Guests join from their browser or the app without making an account, and only see the room you invited them to. You choose how long the pass lasts and can end it anytime. Active guests don’t count toward your people limit. Free allows 1 guest at a time, Crew allows up to 10, and Business up to 25. Each person can get 2 guest passes per Space every 30 days. After that, you can keep them as a member.
Radio Bridge is an add-on for Crew and Business, now in beta. It connects a KeyUp room to a real two-way radio, so people on KeyUp hear the radio and radio users hear KeyUp. You need a small computer next to the radio and a USB radio interface cable. It’s +$10/month, and free to try during beta. See Radio Bridge.
Sign up with the form above. We’re opening in waves, starting with 50 Spaces, so sign up early to save your spot. When your wave opens we’ll email you a Google Play testing link. Open it on your Android phone, tap Become a tester, then install KeyUp from Google Play. The watch app installs from the Play Store on your watch. The people you invite get a one-tap link to join the beta too, and they don’t use up a spot.
No. KeyUp depends on internet service, servers and your batteries, so it’s not a replacement for emergency radios or 911. Keep your site’s emergency procedures, and in an emergency call 911 or your local emergency number.
Email support@keyupradio.com with “Security” in the subject. See our Security page for what’s in scope and how we respond.