Getting Started
Identify Hardware
This guide assumes that you have already purchased the devices you will be using with Meshtastic. If you haven't, you can check out our list of supported hardware to see your options.
Before you begin, it's important to determine which kind of hardware you're using. Meshtastic works with devices that have these types of Micro-Controller Units (MCU):
ESP32
The ESP32 chip is older and consumes more power than the nRF52 chip, but is equipped with both WiFi and Bluetooth. Supported ESP32 devices include:
- LILYGO® TTGO T-Beam (>V1.1 recommended)
- LILYGO® TTGO Lora (>V2.1 recommended)
- Nano G1
- Station G1
- Heltec V3 and Wireless Stick Lite V3
- RAK11200 Core module for RAK WisBlock modular boards
nRF52
The nRF52 chip is much more power efficient than the ESP32 chip and easier to update, but is only equipped with Bluetooth. Supported nRF52 devices include:
- RAK4631 Core module for RAK WisBlock modular boards
- LILYGO® TTGO T-Echo
RP2040
The RP2040 is a dual-core ARM chip developed by Raspberry Pi. Supported RP2040 devices include:
- Raspberry Pi Pico + Waveshare LoRa Module (Note: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on the Pico W is not yet supported by Meshtastic)
- RAK11310 Core module for RAK WisBlock modular boards
If your device is not listed above, please review our supported devices to determine which MCU your device has or contact us in Discord with any questions.
Never power on the radio without attaching an antenna! It could damage the radio chip.
Prior to connecting your Meshtastic device to the computer, you should perform the following basic checks.
Verify Data Cable
Some cables only provide charging, verify that your cable is also capable of transferring data before proceeding. To check if your cable can also transfer data, try connecting it to another device (like a phone) and see if you can copy a file to or from it. If the file transfer works, then your cable is also able to transfer data and you can continue.
Install Serial Drivers
nRF52 devices typically do not require serial drivers. They use the UF2 bootloader which makes the devices appear as flash drives. Do NOT download the USB device drivers unless required to install UF2 support.
If you require serial drivers installed on your computer, please choose one of the options below and install it before continuing.
Flash Firmware
After completing the previous steps, you can now flash the Meshtastic firmware onto your device. To proceed, select the appropriate device type for your device.
Connect and Configure Device
After flashing the Meshtastic firmware onto your device, you can now move on to initial configuration.