Introduction
As part of the continuous improvements to the u-blox A-GNSS service, u-blox has released the new AssistNow service with two variants: Live Orbits and Predictive Orbits. The new release is available to all Gen9 and Gen10 u-blox GNSS receivers and implements a freemium model.
Upon registration of the device on the Thingstream service delivery platform, the Predictive Orbits variant is included in the price of the GNSS receiver at no additional cost. The Live Orbits variant, which offers premium performance, is available for purchase on a pay-as-you-go basis. For select GNSS receiver models, the Live Orbits variant is also available as bundle included in the hardware price and provides lifetime service access.
With the latest AssistNow PCN, released in June 2025, u-blox has announced the End of Maintenance and the End of Support for AssistNow Online and AssistNow Offline services (see below). You can find in this page the most frequent question about the new release and an eventual transition from the legacy Online/Offline services.
Business model and pricing
Is the new AssistNow offer free?
The new AssistNow consists of two variants and follows a freemium model. AssistNow Predictive Orbits is free of charge and delivers orbit predictions, achieving improved time-to-first-fix (TTFF). AssistNow Live Orbits is the paid variant to provides best position accuracy and TTFF for the most challenging signal condition. More information is available in the AssistNow guide.
Why is AssistNow Live Orbits not free of charge as well?
Live Orbits relies on continuously updated, time-sensitive information, which demands greater backend resources and low-latency data distribution to ensure consistent performance across global deployments.
By offering Predictive Orbits for free and Live Orbits as a premium option, u-blox is able to support a wide range of use cases, from cost-sensitive, low-power applications to those requiring near-instant, high-accuracy fixes.
Can I autonomously access the free variant of AssistNow?
Yes, you can get autonomously access to AssistNow Predictive Orbits, as long as the prerequisites are fulfilled:
- A Gen 9 or Gen 10 u-blox receiver that supports AssistNow Predictive Orbits
- Create an account on the Thingstream service delivery platform (see AssistNow User guide)
- The GNSS receiver is registered in the Thingstream service delivery platform according to the procedure explained in the User guide
How much does the AssistNow Live Orbits service cost?
AssistNow Live Orbits is offered with two pricing models. All Gen9 and Gen10 u-blox receivers can use the pay-as-as-you-go pricing plan. With this model, you pay only for the aggregated service requests generated by all your device fleet. You can find the pricing details on the price page.
Some u-blox GNSS receivers are offered bundled with the AssistNow Live Orbits service. If you purchase one of these receiver models, you can use the Live Orbits variant without additional payment. The list of GNSS receivers is available in the AssistNow user guide.
I would like lifetime access to AssistNow Live Orbits for a product that does not support it by default. What do I do?
We know that the list is rather limited at launch. Please check again later, as we plan to add new products in the future. If your total project quantity (not yearly volume) is higher than 100 Kpcs for modules or 1 Mpcs for chips, please reach out to your u-blox sales representative to discuss the options.
Is AssistNow Predictive Orbits free only for a limited time?
No, it’s a permanent offer.
AssistNow Online/Offline
How can I get a new token to access AssistNow Online/Offline?
Starting with the launch of the new AssistNow Predictive / Live Orbits service, u-blox does not distribute new tokens for AssistNow Online/Offline any longer. Only designs with the new service are supported.
I already have a token for AssistNow Online/Offline. Can I still use it?
Yes, you can still use it to access to AssistNow Online/Offline (depending on the active subscription). You are invited to review the information provided in the AssistNow PCN about the Developer tokens.
I am currently paying for AssistNow Offline. Should I continue to pay for the service?
Yes, you will continue to pay, unless you migrate your fleet (for supported products only) to the new AssistNow Predictive Orbits service.
My token has been deactivated. How can I reactivate it?
At the launch date of the new AssistNow service, all Developer tokens that were inactive in the last 2 months have been deactivated and cannot be reactivated. If you need support, please contact services-support@u-blox.com.
Are AssistNow Online/Offline in End Of Life (EOL)?
No, AssistNow Online/Offline are not in EOL and EOL is not planned yet. The services will go in End of Maintenance (EOM) and End of Support (EOS) in mid 2026, as stated in the AssistNow PCN.
What does End of Life and End of Support for AssistNow Online/Offline mean?
End of Maintenance: From the effective date of June 1st, 2026, u-blox will not allocate resources for service maintenance other than critical events that make the service completely unusable.
End of Support: From the effective date of June 1st, 2026, u-blox will not provide customer support for AssistNow Online and Offline.
Transitioning to Live/Predictive Orbits
Is an active AssistNow Online/Offline customer forced to move to the new AssistNow Live Orbits or Predictive Orbits?
No, for existing designs customers can continue to use the current implementation and service. It’s worth noting that AssistNow Online/Offline will be in End Of Maintenance/End Of Support starting from July 1st, 2026.
Offline/Online Developer token will be deactivated in mid 2028 as stated in the PCN.
I am currently using AssistNow Online. Can I migrate to the new service release?
Yes, as long as the prerequisites are fulfilled, you can migrate all your active devices to the new service release.
Which are the prerequisites for using AssistNow Live Orbits and Predictive Orbits?
The prerequisites are:
- A u-blox GNSS Gen9 or Gen10 receiver (chip or module)
- An account (domain) in the Thingstream service delivery platform. Sign-up is free of charge. If you do not have a domain, get one by signing up at https://portal.thingstream.io/
- A GNSS receiver that is registered in the Thingstream service delivery platform according to the procedure explained in the User guide
For more information, visit the prerequisite section of the AssistNow User Guide.
Technical FAQ
Why should I use AssistNow?
AssistNow enables battery-operated devices to achieve the shortest time-to-first-fix in urban canyons or under other weak GNSS signal conditions, minimizing the GNSS receiver power consumption by 90% to get a first position fix. For powered devices that continuously move across different environments, AssistNow maximizes the probability of a GNSS fix, even in the most challenging conditions
Can I use a service-to-service access?
If you need to restrict the device access to your cloud platform, remember that every device request shall be processed individually.
Is the device registration procedure mandatory?
Yes, each device needs to get its own credential (Chipcode) to get access to the service through zero touch provisioning.
Can I do the device registration at the production line?
The device registration requires the input of the GNSS receiver’s unique identifier and the hardware and firmware version. If you can gather this information during production and have a connection to the u-blox service delivery platform, device registration can happen during production.
What are the Klobuchar Ionospheric corrections?
Klobuchar correction mitigates the effect of Ionospheric delay, which is one of the largest sources of error in GNSS positioning. You can get more information in the Service specification section of the AssistNow user guide.
Does u-center 2 support AssistNow Predictive and Live Orbits?
Yes, please get the latest version. It’s worth noting that u-center (version 1) does not support the new service.
Can I use AssistNow without registering in the Thingstream service delivery platform?
This is possible only for the initial evaluation and only if you are using an Evaluation Kit (EVK) and u-center 2. Any other testing or production set-up requires sign-up on the Thingstream platform and the GNSS registration procedure.
Can I evaluate the service before starting payments?
You can evaluate the service using the evaluation device profile, which allow you to get access to Live Orbits and Predictive Orbits free of charge (see usage limitation in the user guide) for up to 3 devices. Evaluation can be done using one of the following options: 1) u-center 2) the AssistNow SDK 3) the Python reference implementation. 2) and 3) will be available during Q3 2025 in the Download section of the Thingstream Platform.
Please reach out to u-blox services support, if the usage limitations are too stringent for your project.
Which GNSS receivers support AssistNow Live Orbits and Predictive Orbits?
All Gen9 and Gen10 receivers.
I am using an M8 GNSS receiver. Can I use AssistNow Live Orbits or Predictive Orbits?
The new service does not support M8 an previous generation of GNSS receivers.
Is an SDK available?
The AssistNow SDK will be available starting in Q3 2025 and will support both Predictive Orbits and Live Orbits. This SDK is not backward compatible with AssistNow Online/Offline.
You can download it in the Download section of the Thingstream platform. It will also include the device registration procedure, as well as A-GNSS data retrieval and injection in the GNSS receiver.
Can I share the Chipcode across multiple devices?
No, the Chipcode is bound to the GNSS receiver and cannot be used across multiple devices.
Can I register a GNSS receiver multiple times, if I lose the Chipcode?
Yes, the registration procedure for the same GNSS receiver can be repeated multiple times under the same Thingstream domain and with the same ZTP device profile.
I already have a token for AssistNow Online/Offline. Can I use it to access the new AssistNow Live Orbits and Predictive Orbits service?
No, you cannot. The Online/Offline token is not supported by the new service.
Can I use AssistNow with the multi-band u-blox GNSS receiver?
Yes.
Can I use AssistNow with non u-blox GNSS receivers?
No, AssistNow uses a proprietary protocol.
Other FAQ
Which SLA (service level agreement) is provided with AssistNow?
To get more information about the SLA, you are invited to read the Service terms, available for download in the Thingstream service delivery platform. If you need a premium SLA, please contact services-support@u-blox.com.
What does “lifetime” access mean?
u-blox grants access to the AssistNow service to every customer that requests it through the Thingstream platform and accepts the Service Terms.
When using bundles, AssistNow can be used or the entire device lifetime without being asked for additional payment. u-blox may terminate the provision of Services according to the conditions specified in the AssistNow Service terms.
[Internal Only]
Do we stop blocking all the current requests that we block today?
No, we continue to block all the current requests that we block today