Uses a lot of battery
Uses a lot of battery.
Lots of bugs
Really love the project, but the iOS app has many bugs (for example, location sharing and trace route functions don’t work. No multi device support or ability to bulk clear old nodes
Response from developer
What an embarrassing way to treat a. Open source project.
Mr W
Not receiving messages from node in OSX app
Crashes
Was working well until the current update. Now it crashes as soon as it connects to my node.
Response from developer
Then file a bug, what an embarrassing way to treat an open source project built by volunteers.
Please add versions for older devices 😩
😭Why did you remove support for older devices??? What a professional response from a developer…
Response from developer
iOS 15 was never supported, embarrassing way to treat open source.
Please add versions for older devices 😩
😭Why did you remove support for older devices???
Response from developer
What a terrible way to treat open source.
Works great on my M3
Glad to have support on Mac, thank you! Works great!
Terrible on Ios
iOS will not allow access to the settings feature, latest update terrible.
Response from developer
Report a bug then, what a terrible way to treat open source.
Interesting experimental communication network
Meshtastic is a short/medium range messaging protocol based on LoRA, an IOT wireless messaging protocol that works on the 900MHz ISM band. If you don’t know what that means, this app probably isn’t for you. But if you’re interested in experimenting with low speed mesh networks that can help you communicate with others over several miles, or you want a better alternative to devices like the GoTenna, it might be something you should consider.
The idea behind Meshtastic is to create a peer to peer network that doesn’t require any infrastructure. As I said, there’s a hardware component, available from several different manufacturers such as LilyGo (I use their T-Beam board -check Printables.com for a nice shape file for a 3d printed case) or you can construct your own using most any ESP32 board and LoRA module. Your iOS device connects to the hardware via Bluetooth LE via the App. You’ll then be connected to the local mesh network, and you should start to see other devices. If they are sending their location (T-Beam includes a GPS module, or the app can use your iOS device GPS) you’ll see it on the map. You can then send short text messages.
Where it gets interesting is when there are several devices nearby. As your message is received by other Meshtastic nodes, it will be retransmitted. This greatly increases your chances of the message getting through to the recipient. And because of the modulation used, even with only two devices the range can be several miles. With basic antennas I was able to communicate over 3 miles easily. With better antennas I was able to get over 10 miles with no obstructions. So combining the range and mesh network it should be possible to communicate over several miles easily.
The iOS app is very polished and actively developed. Even though it is an open source project, the developers are working hard to improve and maintain their software.
If you’re looking for a way to keep in touch at a campsite or other place where there’s no cellular network, or just want to explore mesh networks and UHF signal propagation, this is something you should consider.
The idea behind Meshtastic is to create a peer to peer network that doesn’t require any infrastructure. As I said, there’s a hardware component, available from several different manufacturers such as LilyGo (I use their T-Beam board -check Printables.com for a nice shape file for a 3d printed case) or you can construct your own using most any ESP32 board and LoRA module. Your iOS device connects to the hardware via Bluetooth LE via the App. You’ll then be connected to the local mesh network, and you should start to see other devices. If they are sending their location (T-Beam includes a GPS module, or the app can use your iOS device GPS) you’ll see it on the map. You can then send short text messages.
Where it gets interesting is when there are several devices nearby. As your message is received by other Meshtastic nodes, it will be retransmitted. This greatly increases your chances of the message getting through to the recipient. And because of the modulation used, even with only two devices the range can be several miles. With basic antennas I was able to communicate over 3 miles easily. With better antennas I was able to get over 10 miles with no obstructions. So combining the range and mesh network it should be possible to communicate over several miles easily.
The iOS app is very polished and actively developed. Even though it is an open source project, the developers are working hard to improve and maintain their software.
If you’re looking for a way to keep in touch at a campsite or other place where there’s no cellular network, or just want to explore mesh networks and UHF signal propagation, this is something you should consider.
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Please add versions for older devices 😩
😭
