No, you do not need to download the app for the AVA Byte to work, however, we highly encourage it!
The app provides useful data like water levels, light, temperature, humidity, and sends tips on how to maintain your plants. You can scan the pod packs provided to sync the device to the plants and get the optimized growing recipe for your plants. Then, you can keep track of harvest times, growing tips, and recipes. You can also add multiple gardens. If you do not have a smartphone and want to grow using the AVA Byte, then there is a default recipe that activates as soon as you plug the AVA Byte in. It takes about 1 minute for it to start and you can grow in offline mode.
To activate offline mode, triple tap the button quickly as you would double click a mouse, until it lights up solid green for 5 to 10 seconds. The recipe will automatically start 60 seconds after the button has been triple tapped.