Guides & agencies
How to broadcast a live tour from your phone, step by step
Published Updated 5 min read
The tour starts in five minutes. Twenty people are looking at twenty different screens and someone asks whether to open Settings or scan the QR code. The real challenge of a phone-based tour begins before the guide says a word.
This guide describes the functional prototype of Live Tour reviewed on 28 August 2026. A two-phone test checks the basic journey, but it does not certify a professional tour, a group size or other device combinations.
What you need
- a compatible, charged guide phone with Echoris installed;
- a second phone for the tourist test;
- earphones to verify real audio;
- the ability to enable a Wi-Fi hotspot manually;
- a power bank when duration and device call for it;
- a no-audio fallback if the environment or equipment fails.
The session uses a local network shared by the guide's phone. Its purpose is to transport audio within the group without relying on coverage at the site. Hotspot behaviour still depends on model, operating system and, on iPhone, carrier.
Run a two-phone preflight
Do not merely check that a screen opens. Rehearse the complete joining path:
- enable the hotspot on the guide phone;
- start the live tour;
- use the second phone as a tourist;
- open Echoris as a tourist and scan one QR code;
- let the app prepare the network and tour entry;
- connect earphones, speak and listen;
- walk away, lock the screen and return;
- end the tour from the guide and confirm the tourist sees “The guide has ended the tour”.
An emulator does not reproduce a physical phone's hotspot, radios, battery or audio routing.
Android: prepare the hotspot
On Android, the location and labels of settings vary by manufacturer. On Pixel, Google places them under Network & internet, Hotspot & tethering. Other manufacturers use labels such as Mobile Hotspot or Connection Sharing.
Check in advance:
- that the hotspot remains active;
- that you know the network name and password shown by the flow;
- that battery saving does not stop the application;
- that the phone does not disable the hotspot after a brief idle period;
- that calls or notifications do not change the expected microphone or output.
Google documents up to ten Wi-Fi hotspot connections for Pixel. Do not apply that figure to every Android device or to tour capacity: model, manufacturer and application add their own limits.
iPhone: model and carrier matter
Apple says the number of devices that can join Personal Hotspot at once depends on iPhone model and carrier. It also recommends keeping Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled during connection.
On a tour, keep the access screen visible while the group joins and avoid changing settings mid-flow. If a tourist does not join automatically, follow the instructions shown by Echoris: the app keeps the tour details while the visitor completes the network connection.
That is why the test that matters uses the exact handset the guide will carry.
One QR code carries the network and tour details
The guide displays one signed QR code. It contains the details needed to join the local network and the correct room. The tourist scans it once from Echoris; the app prepares the connection and continues into the tour without asking for a second code.
Give one instruction at a time:
- first, open Echoris as a tourist and scan the guide's QR code;
- next, accept or complete the Wi-Fi connection if the system asks;
- finally, wait while the app checks the network and opens the tour.
If assisted joining is unavailable, Echoris keeps the session details and shows the network name and password. After joining manually, the tourist returns to the app and confirms that they are connected. The first admission still requires the signed QR code: the PIN travels inside it and is not an independent shortcut.
How many people can join
Echoris has a configured technical admission ceiling of 50 tourists. It is not a recommended or certified group size. Usable capacity remains uncertified and must be validated for each combination of phones, hotspot, route and duration.
Validate in stages with the real equipment and stop when joining, audio or recovery ceases to be reliable. For large groups, add legal limits and route operating capacity too.
Orderly onboarding
Before departure, set aside an access area where the group will not block passage. Request earphones and sufficient battery in pre-arrival information. Add a support person when group size requires it.
Join two tourists first and confirm audio. Then add the rest in small groups. Do not begin the main explanation until you know who could not join and which alternative they will receive.
Five failures and how to respond
The network is missing. Confirm the hotspot is active and Wi-Fi is enabled on the tourist phone.
The phone is on the network but not in the tour. If you already scanned the QR code and completed the manual connection, return to Echoris, confirm that you are connected and follow the app's prompt. Do not look for a second code. If the first scan failed, improve the light, clean the camera and scan the current QR code again.
The tourist joins but hears nothing. Check volume, earphones and phone audio output. Play ordinary media outside the app to isolate the problem.
A tourist disconnects on the route. After a confirmed join, Echoris may reuse the saved pairing while the network, room and address remain unchanged. Stop moving and confirm audio before continuing.
The guide cannot broadcast. Apply the fallback: regroup, reduce the talk to essentials, switch to backup equipment or split the tour. Safety and orientation come before preserving the stream.
Close the tour explicitly
End from the guide phone and confirm tourists receive the final state. The tourist screen should say “Tour ended” and “The guide has ended the tour”, with the action “Back to start”. Do not present a normal ending as a connection error.
Visitors do not care that a technical connection was established. The test that matters happens in their earphones: the guide speaks, the tourist hears, the group can move and everyone understands when the tour has ended.
Sources
- Apple Support — Connect to the Personal Hotspot of an iPhone or iPad.
- Apple Support — Share your internet connection from iPhone.
- Google Pixel Help — Share a mobile connection by tethering or hotspot.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need internet to broadcast a live tour?
- No. Audio travels over the guide phone's local network. The hotspot may also share internet access depending on the phone and carrier, but Echoris does not depend on internet access to carry audio within the group.
- How many people can listen at once?
- Echoris has a configured technical admission ceiling of 50 tourists, but it is not a recommended or certified group size. Usable capacity remains uncertified and must be tested with the real phones, hotspot, route and duration.
- Can I use the museum's Wi-Fi instead of my own hotspot?
- Not today. The live session is hosted on the network you share from your own phone. Hosting it from an external Wi-Fi network is on the product roadmap but isn't supported yet.
- What if a visitor can't scan the QR code?
- The first admission requires the signed QR code; the PIN is inside it and does not replace it. Improve the light, clean the camera and scan the current code again. On iPhone, if assisted joining fails after the scan, Echoris keeps the session while the visitor connects from Settings.
- Can I test it without a group?
- Yes, and you should. You need a second phone running the app as a visitor. What doesn't work is testing on an emulator: the hotspot doesn't exist there.