No, the Plaud device (whether Plaud Note, NotePro, or NotePin) does not need your phone to be on, nearby, or connected during recording for it to be fully operational. It works completely independently: • Recordings are stored locally on the device’s built-in 64GB storage. • You can start and stop recording directly on the device (by pressing the record button) without any Bluetooth connection or app involvement. • It supports hours of continuous recording (up to 20–30 hours depending on the model) and long standby time, all offline. You only need to pair/connect the device to your phone (via the Plaud app and Bluetooth) later when you’re ready to transfer the recordings for transcription, summarization, or storage in the app. The phone must be nearby during the transfer process (Bluetooth range), and you can use a “Fast Transfer” mode that switches to Wi-Fi for quicker uploads of large files. This makes it perfect for recording conversations, meetings, or calls on the go, then syncing everything when convenient.