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Flash nRF52/RP2040 Factory Erase

Meshtastic uses the littlefs library to store configuration, logs, and other data in the internal flash of nRF52 & RP2040 devices. Updating the firmware does not erase this additional data, which can cause issues when the format and location of data changes between releases.

info

You may now use the Meshtastic Web Flasher to Factory Erase your nRF52 or RP2040-based devices. Visit the flasher, select your board, and click the trash can icon to the right of the Flash button. This will open a dialogue to begin the erase procedure.

Alternatively, follow the instructions below.

nRF52​

To reset the flash storage on your nRF52 board:

  1. Download and unzip the latest firmware from Meshtastic Downloads.
  2. Connect your device to your computer with a USB data cable.
  3. Double click the reset button on your device (this will put it into bootloader mode)
  4. Notice a new drive will be mounted on your computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux)
  5. Open this drive and you should see three files: CURRENT.UF2, INDEX.HTM, and INFO_UF2.TXT
  6. Open the INFO_UF2.TXT file with a text editor and note the SoftDevice value.
  7. Find the file included in the downloaded firmware matching your softdevice major version number (7.x.x or 6.x.x). Either use Meshtastic_nRF52_factory_erase_v3_S140_7.3.0.uf2 or Meshtastic_nRF52_factory_erase_v3_S140_6.3.0.uf2 and copy it onto the new drive. The device should reboot.
  8. With the Meshtastic CLI installed, open your Terminal/Console and enter the command: meshtastic --noproto.
  9. You should see the message: Formatting... Done.

Once the device has been erased, you can proceed to install the latest Meshtastic firmware on a clean storage filesystem by clicking the link below.

RP2040​

To reset the flash storage on your RP2040 board:

  1. Download flash_nuke.uf2 to your computer.
  2. Press the BOOTSEL button and while keeping it pressed, connect it to your computer via a USB cable.
  3. The board should now appear as a mass storage device on your computer with the label RPI-RP2.
  4. Copy the flash_nuke.uf2 file to the device.
  5. The board will now restart and the flash memory will be erased.

Once the device has been erased, you can proceed to install the latest Meshtastic firmware on a clean storage filesystem by clicking the link below.

Flash nRF52/RP2040 Firmware