What's new in Orb 1.4

The measurement update

Meaghan Bauman
Meaghan Bauman, Head of Operations on January 21, 2026
What's new in Orb 1.4

Orb 1.4 is now available. Since Orb 1.3 we have shipped dozens of improvements across app platforms and the CLI to make Orb more reliable, more configurable, and easier to use.

Highlights include: better measurement controls, faster startup to first result, improved multi-space access in the app, expanded architecture support, and more.

Here’s a full rundown of what’s new in Orb 1.4.

New features

Access and manage all your Orbs from the app

You can now see all your Orbs in one place in the app and switch between Spaces in the app by navigating to Settings → Account → Your Spaces.
Space Picker

Account linking via QR code

Orb now supports linking your account using a QR code, streamlining setup and onboarding for new devices (Linux CLI).

ICMP testing disabled by default

To improve measurement reliability on real-world networks, ICMP testing is now removed from the measurement protocol by default. You can re-enable it:

  • in-app under the Orb menu “Include ICMP” on iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows, or
  • via the ORB_INTERNET_ENABLE_ICMP environment variable on Linux CLI.
ICMP Toggle
ICMP Toggle

Read more about this change: Why the “ping” command doesn’t always reflect your internet experience

Router responsiveness control

New controls let you disable router responsiveness measurements in the Orb menu. This is useful when ICMP traffic is blocked or when Orb is running on a router. To disable it:

  • in-app under the Orb menu, toggle off “Router Measurements” or
  • via the ORB_FIRSTHOP_DISABLED=1 environment variable on Linux CLI.
Router Toggle
Router Toggle

Ephemeral Mode

Ephemeral Mode is now supported, allowing the Orb sensor to keep all measurements in-memory. This will benefit devices writing to flash, such as a Raspberry Pi utilizing an SD card, by eliminating write cycles to preserve the flash’s durability. However, Orb measurements will not persist when the device reboots or Orb stops running. The Orb configuration will persist after a device restart. This mode must be enabled by setting the environment variable ORB_EPHEMERAL_MODE to a value of 1. More configuration options are available in the documentation.

Usability improvements & bug fixes

  • Faster time to first measurement: Orb now reaches measurement results more quickly after startup.
  • Improved Router Lag measurement: Refined how router lag is measured for more consistent results.
  • Enhanced summary data configurability: Summary reporting has more configuration options to tailor how results are presented and computed.
  • Fixed rare measurement anomalies: Fixed cases where latency measurements could exceed timeout thresholds.
  • Better systemd environment variable support: Orb’s systemd service handling now respects environment variables more reliably.
  • View-only mode performance issues addressed: We resolved bugs where the app could start slowly when in view-only mode.
  • General bug fixes and performance optimizations: Across all platforms there are numerous stability improvements and resolved edge cases.

Expanded platform & device support

  • Windows Server compatibility improvement: Orb now runs on Windows Server installations that do not have the Wireless LAN Service enabled.
  • Expanded architecture support for Linux CLI. New architectures are supported in the CLI:
    • mips_24kc
    • aarch64-cortex-a76
  • New Linux CLI and Docker packages. We released new distribution packages including:
    • MIPSLE Debian package
  • New Support: OpenWRT 25.12 (new APK package manager)

These make deploying Orb on embedded hardware and custom containers easier than ever.

What’s next

We are continuing to refine Orb based on your feedback and real-world conditions. Check out The Forge changelog for detailed release notes by platform and the Coming Soon page for what’s next.

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