This monthly update had started with great news, but unfortunately, it didn’t end with good news.

Mobile App Updates

First, for those who downloaded the last Android update, one of our community members noticed that our developers updated an old APK, so please ignore that version and download the newest version from the last 10 days.

If anyone is experiencing any issues with the mobile, please let us know via email. Although you may not receive updates on the app through the app store, the team is still constantly making app changes and updates.

 

Safe Progress & Challenges

In our previous update, we discussed how the Chinese main PCBA designs had an issue with the eMMC layout and how it may have affected OTA update reliability among other things. The original design routed eMMC signals on two adjacent layers without a solid ground (GND) layer between them, making it difficult to match signal lengths and impedance—both critical for stable communication. Additionally, the close proximity of the signals further prevented proper length matching, which may have contributed to OTA update issues—still to be determined.

To address these concerns, we redesigned the layout by rerouting the eMMC signals and incorporating a solid GND layer between them. This adjustment helps reduce interference, improves impedance matching, and enhances overall signal integrity. By increasing the spacing between signals, we’ve further optimized the design to improve stability. These changes will contribute to the overall performance and reliability of the entire system. Below, we’ve included two images to illustrate the differences between the previous and updated layouts.

Left is old from the Chinese:

Right is new from the Ukrainian:

 

We’ve finally completed the full redesign of the PCBA! 🎉 You can see the outputs from our software below. This is a major milestone for us, as you all know, the previous PCBA had significant issues, and this new design should resolve them entirely. In addition to the main PCBA, we’ve also completed a new camera PCBA and IR PCBA — components that were previously missing from the Chinese team we mentioned earlier.

 

IR LED:

Bolt Sensor:

Exterior Camera:

Hub:

Key Sensor:

Interior Lights:

Main PCBA:

PIR Sensor:

USB-C Input:

 

The next step was to order the PCBAs from China and have them delivered to Ukraine for testing. And here’s where we had our hiccup. After Chinese New Year, when the PCBA factories returned to work and reviewed our files, they discovered that certain parts used in our design were no longer available on the market.

 

What does this mean? Essentially, the Chinese team that worked on our previous design used outdated or now-obsolete components. Even though we no longer work with that Chinese team, we are still dealing with the consequences of their actions. If we can't source these parts, we would be forced to redesign the PCBA again, replace chips, and make extensive changes to the firmware to accommodate the new chips. That goes without saying—it would be a major setback for all of us.

 

Instead of going down that path, our team (not the PCBA factory) has been actively searching the market for these discontinued parts. The good news is that we’ve been able to locate some of them, but not all. We will continue searching to avoid a redesign, because a redesign would mean additional delays and increased costs.

 

For those wondering, "Why would we want our safes to use old chips?"—don’t worry. The system and chips will still function perfectly with these components. Our system isn’t running complex programs that require the latest high-performance chips, so switching to the newest chips would be unnecessary, more expensive, and just overkill. Instead, we’re prioritizing getting our current model out as soon as possible since it’s stable and tested, ensuring everything runs smoothly without adding unnecessary complexity, time, or cost.

 

In retrospect, if we had known last year everything we would have to endure with the Chinese team over the past 13 months, we would have opted to recreate everything from scratch—new files, a new PCBA, new chips, and an entirely new firmware—rather than trying to recover our files from them. Please remember, at the end of the day, we are still working on the Chinese team’s firmware, and having to build off someone else’s work while continuously making updates is far from ideal.

 

So what’s next? We will continuously search for the missing parts. When we find them, we will mass purchase thousands of these parts to prevent future supply issues. Once we secure all the necessary components and deliver them to our new PCBA manufacturer, they will produce sample PCBAs for our Ukrainian team. After the samples are made, it will take approximately six weeks to be shipped, received, and tested.

 

OTA Challenges

Regarding the OTA issue, we still haven’t been able to resolve it, but we haven't been dormant. While we have been creating builds and testing them for the OTA, we have also been fixing lots of other system issues left by the Chinese team. Our team has been trying multiple approaches, and while we know it has been over five months that our team has been tackling the OTA, we remain focused on resolving it as soon as possible, and we hope to have this resolved by the next update.

 

In addition, we have been floating the idea of implementing a failsafe — meaning that if an OTA update fails, the system will automatically roll back to the previous version to prevent a complete system crash from a failed installation. This ensures that no one’s safe will be affected, giving us more time to resolve the OTA issue without putting any deployed safes at risk. If we do not resolve the OTA in the next two weeks, we will shift our focus to implementing this.

 

We know that most of this is still not great news and not what you want to hear, but we are still trying to make things work out as best as they could. We’ve been really hurt by past business relationships, and not just the Chinese, but we feel a huge change now and hopefully, this is the beginning of where things turn around.

 

Mass Production Timeline

Until PCBA development is complete, we cannot begin mass production.
The earliest we would be able to see any mass production run would be around July, and we will keep you updated as we progress. We still receive over 50 emails a month from people telling us they haven't yet received their safe - yes, we are all well aware, please read the updates.

 

SHOT Show 2025!

We exhibited The Space Safe at SHOT Show 2025 in Las Vegas - it's the world’s largest trade show for the gun industry. This event brings together top manufacturers, law enforcement, military, and security professionals to showcase the latest innovations in firearms and security. See images and videos of our product below in action (still using the old and flawed PCBA, which was a headache):

 

Long video with many features:

Video compilation of customers in booth:

Some images:

 

More images:

 

The Space Safe displayed in New Product Center:

Video:

 

And here is a timelapse of our booth setup:

 

Anything else? Yes, here’s a message from our CEO.

 

 

 

Anything else? Yes, as you all know, it has been over three years since we began working on this project. Throughout that time, we have faced many challenges with different partners, leading to unexpected financial losses. Now that we have finally completed the product, we have decided it will be best for us to seek outside investment, sell part of the company, and assist with mass production to help offset these losses.

Additionally, due to global trade wars, our cost of goods has increased dramatically, and we have continuously upgraded our product. As a result, we will be raising the price of The Space Safe from $999 to $1,299. Not to worry—you are not affected.

 

 

We kindly request your cooperation in refraining from sending emails requesting delivery dates and any negative messages, as we no longer plan to respond to those individual inquiries. Rest assured, we're actively working to expedite the process and will provide updates as soon as they become available. Your understanding and patience during this time is greatly appreciated.

 

Sorry for the delay. Thank you for your unwavering support, your understanding and patience during this time are greatly appreciated.

 

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TLDR - SUMMARY

• PCBA redesign complete, and we’ve shared CGI images.
• Some components from the Chinese team's old PCBA designs are obsolete, and we are actively searching to find those parts to avoid a full redesign.
• The Chinese team left us with incomplete files and outdated components, making progress more difficult. We’ve fixed many system issues over the last few months, but the lack of proper documentation makes updates and troubleshooting significantly harder.
• We are continuing to search for missing PCBA parts.
• Once parts are found, it will take approximately six weeks to ship and test.
• OTA issue still unresolved — if not fixed in two weeks, we will aim to implement a failsafe rollback system.
• We exhibited at SHOT Show and shared images and videos.
• Mass production cannot happen before July.
• A message from the CEO is included.
• We are searching for outside investment.

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Next update will be sent around (not before, and possibly after): April 11, 2025.
Thanks for your support!