The best role virtually Helium Mining is its set-and-forget modus operandi. Besides, it powers a world-form decentralized wireless network.

Crypto Mining is supposed to be complicated and costly.

High-performing GPUs or the ASIC miners humming the life out of the nearby living with constant, unbearable rut is how yous should picture conventional mining setups.

And don't even permit me first on mining investments. 🤐

Enter Helium blockchain–an open-source, distributed wireless network powering billions of IoT devices with low-cost internet. But there is a lot in the works, like a Helium 5G network in which you lot pay based on the data you actually consume and not some fixed monthly subscription.

It'll be a lot economical, and the long-term plan is to boot the conventional cyberspace service providers out of business. 😅

However, we're here primarily here for Helium mining which is about…

helium miner
Source: Helium

In a nutshell, you purchase and install a wireless device at your bounds to earn mining rewards. In contrast to power-hungry traditional miners, these little WiFi devices consume but 5W.

But they requite a hard time to the ordinary wireless hotspots. Powered with Helium LongFi technology, these routers have 200 times more coverage than your standard WiFi router.

Then only a few hundred such devices can embrace an entire urban center. This applied science is made possible by depression-power radio networks, technically called LoRaWan.

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Helium Mining (TL;DR)

Merely put, the helium mining for a non-tech-savvy miner is just most purchasing the hotspot device and setting it upwardly. Installation won't take much time either, and there are a lot of YouTube videos most that.

Except this, everything else happens on its ain.

These hotspot owners earn Helium Tokens in return for their 'Coverage.' The but downside is minuscule earnings, particularly if you're the lone Helium hotspot in your location.

Every bit there are a host of activities a miner does, about of them aren't possible without a network of hotspot miners.

You can see the people'south network at Helium explorer.

helium mining explorer

This is analogous to Google Maps, with greenish hexagons representing individual hotspot coverage.

You tin bank check this out to verify the number of miners in your location. In addition, one tin explore all by activities and rewards of every miner on the Helium network.

There are a few more than details to it, but feel costless to skip the next two sections if you aren't too comfy nearly this.

How does Helium Mining Work?

You lot power Helium Network (aka The People'southward Network) and earn rewards by setting up a WiFi router-similar device.

Behind the scenes, your device constructs Proof-of-Coverage (PoC) challenges for other routers, expands the network accomplish (information transfer), completes PoC tasks sent by others, and checks the PoC activity of accessible hotspots.

Overall there are five mining-related ways to earn Helium tokens (HNT):

  • Be a PoC Challenger (up to 2.11%)
  • Join PoC claiming (up to eleven.78%)
  • Witness the challenge (upward to 47.11%)
  • Network Information Transfer (up to 35%)
  • Consensus Grouping Member (vi%)

The percentage indicates the share in which one tin can earn HNT mining rewards based on the action you participate in.

Depending on your vicinity (and the hotspot device), you lot might do one or more than such tasks.

In addition, one also receives mining rewards if elected in the Consensus Group, which validates the transactions (data transfer). This group takes abroad up to half dozen% of all mining rewards.

The rest of the mining rewards (33%) are given to Helium, Inc and the network investors.

Information technology should be noted that, like other mining, Helium mining doesn't guarantee stable returns.

Another point where Helium mining resembles typical mining procedures is halving events. Helium blockchain observes such events after every two years. And likewise, this is done to appreciate the native token's value.

Risks of Helium Mining

Mining rewards aren't guaranteed. The major problems arise when you're the just miner in a specific location.

In that case, you tin can't bring together in PoC activities or be a witness. So you get rewards only for data transfer.

The simply other style to frequently earn HNT is by being the Challenger.

These entities construct PoC challenges for other hotspots named Beaconers or Challengees. Subsequently, the Beaconer takes upward the PoC claiming and completes it in the presence of a neighboring Witness.

However, you should notation that all reward-generating activities are completely automatic and random. And yous don't lift as much as a finger afterward yous plow on your device.

Now that you know enough about it let's check some appropriate hardware.

Best Helium Miners

The first few miners were manufactured by Helium, Inc.

Subsequently, they immune some companies to do the same. So while purchasing a Helium miner, make sure information technology's in the official list of Helium miner manufacturers, which is available on their website.

Mimiq FinestraMiner

Mimiq FinestraMiner: best helium miner

Features:

  • Raspberry Pi 4 Processor
  • 4GB RAM
  • Frequency Support: EU868
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • WiFi ii.four GHz & 5 GHz, Ethernet
  • Antenna Gain: two.eight dBi

Mimiq FinestraMiner comes with a non-agglutinative mount that you can use for loftier stationing providing better coverage. Dashboard direction is supported by Helium or FinestraMiner apps.

SenseCAP M1-US915

SenseCAP M1-US915 helium miner

Features:

  • Raspberry Pi 4 Processor
  • 2GB / 4GB / 8GB RAM
  • Frequency Support: EU868, US915
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • WiFi 2.four GHz & 5 GHz
  • Antenna Proceeds: two.6 dBi for US915 and two.8 dBi for EU868
  • 64GB MicroSD card storage

The product description mentions miles of coverage and is eligible for automated OTA upgrades.

In improver, SenseCAP M1 comes with a cooling fan and oestrus sink pre-installed to ensure smooth operation.

Browan Merryiot Hotspot

Browan Merryiot Hotspot helium miner

Features:

  • Rockchip RK3566/Quad-core Cortex-A55
  • 4GB RAM
  • Frequency Back up: EU868/US915
  • Bluetooth 5.ii
  • WiFi 2.iv GHz
  • Antenna Gain: ii dBi
  • Built-In Antenna
  • eMMC 32GB/64GB TF card

Though Browan Merryiot comes with an in-built antenna, you can extend the range with an external one. But what sets information technology autonomously is its eMMC storage indicating ultra-fast beacon discovery.

Milesight LoRaWAN Hotspot

milesight helium miner

Features:

  • Quad-core 1.five GHz, 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 Processor
  • 2GB DDR4 RAM
  • Frequency Support: RU864/IN865/EU868/US915/AU915/KR920/AS923/AS923-two
  • WiFi 2.4GHz
  • Antenna Gain: 2/5 dBi
  • 32 GB eMMC Storage

The differentiator, in this case, is the high antenna gains which can provide a not bad range for Proof-of-Coverage resulting in loftier HNT earnings.

Finally, Milesight gives you the choice of two models, UG65 & UG67, for indoor and outdoor use cases.

Bobcat Miner 300

bobcat helium miner

Features:

  • Quad-cadre Cortex-A35 CPU
  • 2GB DDR3 RAM
  • Frequency Support: AS923/AU915/EU868/US915/KR920
  • Bluetooth v.ane
  • WiFi
  • Antenna gain: 4 dBi
  • 64GB eMMC 5.1 Flash Memory
  • OTA upgrades

In addition to the blazing fast eMMC storage, Bobcat Miner was awarded as the favorite hotspot by the helium customs in 2022.

And the loftier antenna gain paves the style for broader coverage, translating into college mining rewards.

MNTD Blackspot past RAKwireless

MNTD helium miner by RAK wireless

Features:

  • Raspberry Pi four
  • 4/viii GB RAM
  • Frequency Support: RU864, IN865, EU868, US915, AU915, KR920, AS923, CN470
  • Bluetooth v.0
  • 2.four & 5Ghz WiFi
  • 32 GB SD Carte Storage
  • In-built Estrus Sink

Equally given on the website, MNTD Blackspot is based on the RAK Hotspot. And notably, all these mentioned specifications vest to the RAK version.

Nebra ROCK Pi Miner

Nebra rock Pi helium miner

Features:

  • Dual-cadre Cortex A72 1.8GHz/Quad-cadre a53 1.4GHz
  • 2GB RAM
  • Frequency Back up: US915, AU915, KR920, AS923, EU868, IN865, RU864
  • Bluetooth five
  • WiFi
  • Antenna Gain: 3 dBi
  • 32GB eMMC Storage

Nebra ROCK Pi comes in two plans: basic(gratuitous) and avant-garde(paid). The bones plan constitutes auto-updating, and the advanced tier represents remote management, including device stats, performance, etc.

RADACAT COTX-X3

RADACAT helium miner

Features:

  • Quad-core Cortex-A72 @one.5GHz Processor
  • Upward to 8GB RAM
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • WiFi 2.4 / 5GHz
  • Antenna Proceeds: 3.v/viii dBi
  • 32GB Micro SD Card

This is the most premium option on this list, with an optional high gain antenna and LCD display. As of this writing, this COTX-X3 mining hotspot was readily available for purchase without any booking flow.

Determination

Then that was Helium mining–easiest, plug-and-play type of mining procedure you tin ever promise for. The all-time thing is a ane-time small-scale investment (~500 USD), noiseless performance, and supporting the world's largest wireless network.

All the same, the rewards are equivalent and tin't be compared to typical Proof-of-Piece of work (PoW) mining.

Interest in PoW mining? Bank check out crypto mining profitability and some mining platforms to kickstart the adventure.