868 vs 915 MHz: Which LoRa Frequency to Use

Loko holds no certification. Licence-exempt bands come with conditions on frequency, power and how often you transmit, and the rules also cover the equipment itself. This page is general information, not legal advice. Check with your national regulator before you use Loko.

Common LoRa Bands by Region

Sources: ERC Recommendation 70-03, Ofcom short-range devices, 47 CFR §15.247, LIPD Class Licence 2025, MIC 920 MHz band. Rules change, and other countries have their own; your national regulator has the final word.

Does 868 vs 915 MHz Change Range?

Hardly. In free space, path loss grows with frequency, and the difference between 868 and 915 MHz works out to 20 × log₁₀(915 ÷ 868) ≈ 0.5 dB. That is too small to notice in the field.

What changes range is everything else: line of sight, how high the antennas are, and what stands between the tracker and the receiver. Loko's range is 20+ km in open areas with line of sight, and much less among trees, hills and buildings. Changing the update interval does not change the range.

How Europe's Duty-Cycle Limits Cap Your Update Interval

In most of the European 863–870 MHz sub-bands, a device may only be on air for a small share of the time:

• 1% duty cycle: at most 36 seconds of transmitting per hour.
• 0.1% duty cycle: at most 3.6 seconds per hour.
• 10% (869.4–869.65 MHz only): at most 6 minutes per hour.

How long each transmission lasts depends on the spreading factor, bandwidth and packet size. Loko's direct (P2P) mode uses spreading factor 12, the LoRa setting with the longest time on air, at 125 kHz bandwidth. We have not published its packet size, so we cannot give a minimum interval for Loko.

Illustrative example, not Loko's figures: if one transmission took 0.1 seconds on air, a 1% sub-band would allow up to 360 transmissions an hour (one every 10 seconds), and a 0.1% sub-band up to 36 (one every 100 seconds). A longer transmission means a longer minimum interval.

How to Set the Frequency on Loko

1. Open the Loko configurator in Chrome or Edge. Firefox and Safari do not support the Web Serial connection it needs.
2. Connect the Loko Air by USB-C and click Connect. On the Configuration tab, set frequency (860–926 MHz) and the pairing IDs id1 and id2, then click Save Changes.
3. Connect the Loko Ground and open the Ground Unit tab. Click Read, set frequency_hz to the same frequency in hertz (for example 868000000 for 868 MHz) and id2 to match the Air, then click Send.
4. Repeat step 2 for every Air you want on that Ground. Each one must use the same frequency and matching IDs.

More than one Ground can receive the same Air if each Ground is set to the same frequency and ID. The Loko Air's transmit power (tx_power) defaults to 8 dBm and can be changed in the configurator; if you change it, keep within your band's power limit. Full steps are in the setup guide.

Where Loko Can't Go

Loko works only between 860 and 926 MHz. It cannot use:

• bands below 860 MHz, such as 433 MHz or the LoRaWAN plans CN470-510 (470–510 MHz) and CN779-787 (779–787 MHz);
• anything above 926 MHz, including the top of the 902–928 MHz and 915–928 MHz bands.

Common Mistakes

• Air and Ground on different settings: if the frequency or IDs don't match exactly, the Ground receives nothing.
• Wrong units on the Ground: the Ground's field is in hertz, so 868 MHz is entered as 868000000.
• Bringing your home settings abroad: a US or Australian frequency is not a European band, and the reverse is also true. Check before you travel.
• Short intervals in a duty-cycled band: in Europe, transmitting very often can exceed the sub-band's duty cycle.
• Assuming licence-exempt means no rules: frequency, power, duty cycle and the equipment itself are all covered.

FAQ

Related Guides

Read the Loko setup guide, the Loko specifications and the LoRa GPS tracker overview.