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What is MeshCore?

Text messaging over radio, with no cell towers or internet. Here is what it is, what you need, and how to send your first message.

MeshCore is free software for sending text messages over LoRa radios. LoRa is a long-range, low-power radio technology. MeshCore radios form a mesh, so a message can pass through other radios to reach people beyond direct range. It keeps working when WiFi, cellular service and the internet are down.

To start, you need a supported LoRa radio and the MeshCore app. The app runs on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux and the web. Your radio links to the app over Bluetooth or USB.

Each radio runs firmware for one role. A companion is your personal radio that connects to the app. A repeater sits in a high spot and forwards packets to extend the network's range. A room server stores posts like a small bulletin board, so people can read posts they missed. A sensor role also exists for remote telemetry and alerts. Sensor firmware is not pre-built, so it takes some programming to set up.

Direct messages are end-to-end encrypted. The firmware is released under the MIT license. The official MeshCore app and the T-Deck firmware are free to use, with optional paid unlocks for some advanced features, and the project FAQ says they are not open source. In the United States, MeshCore uses the 902 to 928 MHz ISM band, often called 915 MHz. The suggested U.S. setting is 910.525 MHz.

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Set up your first radio

Checked against the official docs on Oct 28, 2026.

These steps take you from no radio to your first message. They follow the official MeshCore guides, with US radio settings checked against the app's preset list. Your local group may use different settings, so check with them first.

  1. Buy a supported 915 MHz radio

    MeshCore runs on 433, 868 and 915 MHz LoRa boards, so pick the 915 MHz version for the US. The official site recommends companion radios such as the Wio Tracker L1 Pro, ThinkNode M1, Heltec V3, WisMesh Pocket and WisMesh Tag. The full list of supported devices is on the web flasher.

  2. Install the MeshCore app

    Get the MeshCore app by Liam Cottle from Google Play or the App Store, or download it for Windows, Mac or Linux from meshcore.io. A web version runs at app.meshcore.nz. The official guide suggests keeping an offline copy for when the internet is down.

  3. Flash companion firmware

    Open flasher.meshcore.io in Chrome or Edge on a desktop computer, since the flasher needs the Web Serial API. Choose your device, pick the Bluetooth companion role, plug in the radio by USB, and click Flash. Do not run a full erase when you are only updating, because that wipes your radio's identity.

  4. Pair over Bluetooth

    Turn on the radio, open the app and tap Connect. Pick the MeshCore-XXXX device that matches your radio. Enter the PIN shown on the radio's screen, or 123456 if it has no screen.

  5. Set your display name

    Tap the settings icon, enter the name you want others to see, and tap the tick icon to save. The Bluetooth device name updates after you reboot the radio.

  6. Choose the US radio preset

    In settings, tap Choose Preset under radio settings and pick the US preset, then save. The MeshCore FAQ lists the USA/Canada (Recommended) preset as 910.525 MHz, SF7, BW 62.5 kHz, CR5. Every radio on your local mesh must use the same frequency, bandwidth and spreading factor.

  7. Send your first message

    Open the channels tab, tap Public, and send a message. If a repeater heard you, the message shows Heard 1 repeat; with no repeater nearby it shows Sent. Many local groups also use hashtag channels such as #test for test messages, so check what your area uses.

  8. Share your contact with an advert

    Before you can send private messages, you and the other person must add each other as contacts. You can scan each other's QR codes in person, or tap the signal icon and send a zero-hop or flood-routed advert. Community guides note that contacts can take a day or two to fill in. Adverts are not encrypted. They share your name and, if you set one, your location with everyone who hears them.

  9. Add yourself to the map

    In the app, tap the three-dot menu, then Internet Map, then the three-dot menu again and choose Add me to the Map. You can remove your marker later from the same companion radio. This puts your location on a public website. Use an approximate spot unless you're comfortable with it being exact.

About radio settings

The preset values come from the MeshCore FAQ, which lists USA/Canada (Recommended) as 910.525 MHz, SF7, BW 62.5, CR5. The app's live preset list, checked 2026-10-28, has an entry titled USA with the same values, a separate Canada entry with the same radio values plus a 3-byte path hash, and a USA - Southern California entry at 927.875 MHz. The MeshCore docs call these presets community suggestions. Austin Mesh, NashMesh, PugetMesh and RDUMesh all publish 910.525 MHz, 62.5 kHz, SF7, CR5. Your local group may also recommend a path hash size or region scope, so ask them before you change anything else.

Find your local group and use what they publish.

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