A freshly flashed node with the region set hears nothing. Or a node that works fine at home goes to an event, switches to the event's settings, and still lists familiar names that won't answer.
Nothing is broken in either case. Your node is on different LoRa settings than the nodes you're trying to reach, and the fix is quick once you know where to look.
The first 2.8 alpha didn't last long. A problem turned up in its packet signing code, so 2.8.0 is revoked and 2.8.1 replaces it. If any of your nodes run 2.8.0, update them to 2.8.1.
2.8.1 is an alpha and isn't ready for wide deployment. Most people should wait. Install it if you're comfortable running into bugs and reporting them.
The revocation shouldn't overshadow the release. 2.8 signs packets, keeps your location private by default, and handles much larger meshes. Here's what changed, and what to know before you upgrade from 2.7.
Measure the node's energy use before choosing a solar panel and battery. One current reading is not enough. Meshtastic nodes spend much of their time listening and draw more power when they transmit.
We're excited to announce a major new feature in the Meshtastic iOS app: TAK Server integration. This update bridges two powerful ecosystems—Meshtastic's long-range mesh networking and the Team Awareness Kit (TAK) family of applications such as iTAK and TAK Aware.
What if messages could traverse your mesh infrastructure in a single hop?
What if you could bridge two cities 600 miles apart via LoRa and still have hops to spare?
What if a faster preset requires twice as many hops to reach your friends, but you don't have hops to spare?
That’s exactly what Zero-Cost Hops unlocks for your mesh.
Since the last guide on choosing the right role, a new role - ROUTER_LATE - has been added. What exactly does this role do, when should it be used, and how does it fit into the overall picture of how a Meshtastic network operates?
Meshtastic has a large number of device roles, each designed for a different purpose. While the default CLIENT is a good start for simpler meshes without complex obstacles to work around, for larger meshes with more complex routing needs it's important to select the right role to ensure that the overall mesh is robust, does not get overloaded, and ensures the reliable transit of packets to where they need to go.
This year marked the second time we have deployed an event-specific Meshtastic firmware at DEF CON, and the first time we have partnered with the event organizers and community groups such as Darknet-NG and the Lonely Hackers Club to create and roll it out. While the official numbers are not yet available, many attendees reported seeing more than 2,000 individual nodes connected during the event, with thousands of messages, including a healthy share of Rickrolls and even full Bee Movie scripts, flowing across both public and private channels throughout Las Vegas. This marks the largest known Meshtastic network to date.
As the Meshtastic project continues to grow, so does the number of supported hardware devices. While this growth is exciting and shows just how far the project has come, it also brings new challenges.
Supporting a wide range of hardware requires a significant amount of resources. This includes developer time for maintenance and bug fixes, GitHub runners to build firmware, server space to store hundreds of binaries, and space in the flasher and documentation. All of these factors contribute to increased complexity, making it harder for users to find the hardware they are looking for.
Meshtastic 2.7 Preview is here! This release marks not only the biggest overhaul to our default UI in over four years, but also its official renaming: introducing BaseUI. We've rebuilt and rebranded the interface from the ground up, making it more intuitive, more capable including new standalone features, and easier to use on a wider range of devices. This release also brings Linux-native joystick support and the ability to switch between interfaces, BaseUI and Meshtastic UI (MUI) on supported TFT screens.
As the network crypto mining landscape has evolved, thousands of LoRa-based mining devices sit unused in closets and drawers around the world. These once-coveted pieces of hardware—designed for LoRa-based cryptocurrency mining networks—represent both wasted resources and untapped potential. What if there was a way to repurpose this hardware for something genuinely useful?
These abandoned mining devices can be easily repurposed and transformed into powerful Meshtastic nodes, giving them a new life.