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Mesh Testing

Connect via USB and CLI​

If you have at least two radios with the Meshtastic firmware, you may consider connecting one via USB and the other battery powered. Communicate with the USB radio using a CLI like Meshtastic-python.

  • Ensure you can run meshtastic --info.
  • Ensure the region is set appropriately. If the radios are 915 MHz and you are in the US, then no region changes/settings are necessary. If you are in another region, you may need to run something like: meshtastic --set region EU865.
  • Send a message meshtastic --sendtext hello1
  • Note: The radio connected via USB will not show messages sent.
  • After a few seconds the other radios will show the message. You may need to press one of the buttons on the other radio to see if the message arrived.
  • Run meshtastic --nodes to see if other nodes show in the display.
  • Messages sent from the USB radio should be sent to the other radio(s) via LoRa. The default settings should allow this to work.

Connect via Bluetooth​

The Android app is currently more robust than the iOS app. But, they both should be able to interact with the radios.

  • Install Android or iOS Meshtastic app
  • Start Meshtastic app
  • Connect to radio(s) from inside the app
  • Pair with radio(s). A paring code should show on the radio. Enter that value when prompted to pair a Bluetooth device.
  • In the event you don't have a screen. double press the io button and the value will be set to 123456. (on the tbeam this is the center button)
  • Send message(s) from inside the app.
  • Note: The radio connected via Bluetooth will not show messages sent.
  • Verify that all other radios are receiving the message(s). Might have to click on the button on the radio to see most recent message.

Connect via WiFi/HTTP​

  • Configure the wifi_ssid and wifi_password. meshtastic --set wifi_ssid 'xxx' --set wifi_password 'yyy' (where xxx and yyy are the appropriate values for your network)
  • Reboot radio by either removing power or pressing the power button.
  • Click on the button to cycle through to the screen with IP address and verify that there was a connection to the Wifi access point.
  • Send message(s). meshtastic --host 192.168.1.200 --sendtext hello
  • Note: The radio connected via Wifi will not show messages sent.
  • Verify that all radios are receiving the message(s). Might have to click on the button on the radio(s) to see most recent message.
  • Open up a browser to http://meshtastic.local to view the web UI (currently under development). You may need to open http://meshtastic.local/static )
  • If you want to switch back to Bluetooth, you will need to set the wifi_ssid and wifi_password values to blank values (ex: meshtastic --set wifi_ssid '' --set wifi_password '').