RNode Firmware 1.85 Updated With Hotfix

[markqvist]

Hotfix Update: The v1.85 RNode Firmware release was updated on 2025-11-21 15:15 GMT with a fix for Heltec V4 interference detection, and a fix for a rare bug that would cause packet buffer state de-synchronization. This bug was extremely rare when running low or normal bitrates, but more likely if the RNode was configured with a high bitrate and transferring large amounts of data.

If you updated your RNodes before the hotfix update, you can re-update to the fixed version of 1.85 using:

rnodeconf --clear-cache followed by rnodeconf /dev/ttyACM0 -uU

[markqvist]

Aaand, it turns out the Heltec v4 LNA was weirder than I thought. The v1.185 release has been updated again just now, so same procedure as last time :)

[sergst83]

how do I turn on wifi?
After successful firmware and configuration, wifi remains disabled.

rnodeconf /dev/ttyACM0 -w STATION --ssid my_wifi_ssid --psk my_wifi_psk

[17:15:37] Opening serial port /dev/ttyACM0...
[17:15:40] Device connected
[17:15:40] Current firmware version: 1.85
[17:15:40] Reading EEPROM...
[17:15:41] EEPROM checksum correct
[17:15:41] Device signature validated
[17:15:41] Setting WiFi SSID to: my_wifi_ssid
[17:15:41] Setting WiFi PSK
[17:15:41] Setting WiFi to station mode

but

rnodeconf /dev/ttyACM0 -c
[17:15:45] Opening serial port /dev/ttyACM0...
[17:15:49] Device connected
[17:15:49] Current firmware version: 1.85
[17:15:49] Reading EEPROM...
[17:15:49] EEPROM checksum correct
[17:15:49] Device signature validated

Device configuration:
Bluetooth : Disabled
WiFi : Disabled
Interference avoidance : Disabled
Display brightness : 255
Display address : Default
Display blanking : Disabled
Display rotation : Default

device info

rnodeconf /dev/ttyACM0 -i
[17:18:42] Opening serial port /dev/ttyACM0...
[17:18:45] Device connected
[17:18:45] Current firmware version: 1.85
[17:18:45] Reading EEPROM...
[17:18:46] EEPROM checksum correct
[17:18:46] Device signature validated
[17:18:46]
[17:18:46] Device info:
[17:18:46] Product : LilyGO LoRa32 v2.1 420 - 520 MHz (b1:b4:37)
[17:18:46] Device signature : Validated - Local signature
[17:18:46] Firmware version : 1.85
[17:18:46] Hardware revision : 1
[17:18:46] Serial number : 00:00:00:01
[17:18:46] Modem chip : SX1278
[17:18:46] Frequency range : 420.0 MHz - 520.0 MHz
[17:18:46] Max TX power : 17 dBm
[17:18:46] Manufactured : 2025-03-02 11:18:50
[17:18:46] Device mode : Normal (host-controlled)

[markqvist]

Only supported on ESP32-S3 based boards for now. There's some quirks with AP mode on the old ESP32 devices I need to work out properly before enabling it there.

If you want to experiment with it and help out, you can just set #define HAS_WIFI true in your boards config section in Boards.h and compile and flash from source.