A fork created specifically to focus on enabling BLE & WiFi companion firmware for the LilyGo T-Deck Pro & LilyGo T-Deck Max. Created wholly with Claude AI using Meshcore v1.11 code. 100% vibecoded.

🇫🇷Lire en français (traduction IA)🇫🇷

Check out the Meck discussion channel on the MeshCore Discord

• Supported Devices
• SD Card Requirements
• Flashing Firmware
  • First-Time Flash (Merged Firmware)
  • Upgrading Firmware
  • Launcher
  • OTA Firmware Update
• Path Hash Mode (v0.9.9+)
• Region Scope (v1.7+)
• T-Deck Pro
  • Build Variants
    • Touch chips and the HYN builds
    • 40 MHz battery-saver builds
  • Keyboard Controls
  • Navigation (Home Screen)
  • Bluetooth (BLE)
  • WiFi Companion
  • Combined Bluetooth + WiFi builds
  • Clock & Timezone
  • Timezones (World Clock) (v1.15+)
  • Channel Message Screen
  • Channel Picker
  • Contacts Screen
  • Sending a Direct Message
  • Roomservers
  • Repeater Admin Screen
  • Trace Route Screen (v1.9+)
  • Rx Log
  • Delete Message History (v1.10+)
  • Per-Channel Notification Preferences (v1.10+)
  • Custom Notification Tones (v1.10+)
  • Games (v1.10+)
    • Game Boy / Game Boy Color Emulator (v1.14+)
  • Private Channels (v1.11+)
  • Channel Sharing via DM (v1.11+)
  • Config Export/Import (v1.11+)
  • Settings Screen
  • Experimental Features (v1.15+)
  • Font Styles
  • Compose Mode
  • Symbol Entry (Sym Key)
  • Emoji Picker
  • SMS & Phone App (Pro 4G & Max only)
  • Web Browser & IRC
  • Alarm Clock (Pro Audio & Max only)
  • Voice Notes Over LoRa (Pro Audio & Max only)
  • Lock Screen (T-Deck Pro & Max)
  • Shutdown (T-Deck Pro & Max)
• T-Deck Max
  • Build Variants
  • 4G and Audio at the Same Time
  • Antenna (Internal / External)
  • Buzzer (Vibrate) Notifications
  • Capacitive Touch & Buttons
  • Canned Messages
  • Frontlight & Backlight Brightness
  • Keyboard Backlight
  • Multi-Constellation GPS
• Remote Repeater (T-Deck Pro 4G)
• WiFi Repeater
• Serial Settings (USB)
• Text & EPUB Reader
• Web Browser & IRC Guide
• SMS & Phone App Guide
• Audiobook Player Guide
• Meck-Mycelium Web App
• About MeshCore
• What is MeshCore?
• Key Features
• What Can You Use MeshCore For?
• How to Get Started
• MeshCore Clients
• Hardware Compatibility
• Contributing
• Road-Map / To-Do
• Get Support
• License
  • Third-Party Libraries

Meck currently targets two LilyGo devices and also supports the Heltec V3 and V4 as remote repeaters:

The T-Deck Pro and T-Deck Max use the ESP32-S3 with 16 MB flash and 8 MB PSRAM. The Heltec V3 and V4 use the ESP32-S3 with 8 MB flash and 8 MB PSRAM.

An SD card is essential for Meck to function properly. Many features — including the e-book reader, notes, bookmarks, web reader cache, audiobook playback, firmware updates, contact import/export, WiFi credential storage, and Game Boy ROMs and saves — rely on files stored on the SD card. Without an SD card inserted, the device will boot and handle mesh messaging, but most extended features will be unavailable or will fail silently.

Recommended: A 32 GB or larger microSD card formatted as FAT32. Meck's extensive feature set — audiobooks, e-books, voice recordings, contact exports, alarm sounds, web reader cache, notes, and firmware images — can accumulate significant storage over time, so a larger card is worthwhile. MeshCore users have found that SanDisk microSD cards are the most reliable on the T-Deck Pro.

Download the latest firmware from the Releases page. Each release includes two types of .bin files per build variant:

If the device has never had Meck firmware (or you want a clean start), use the merged .bin file. This contains the bootloader, partition table, and application firmware combined into a single image.

Using esptool.py:

esptool.py --chip esp32s3 --port /dev/ttyACM0 --baud 921600 \
  write_flash 0x0 meck_max_standalone-merged.bin

On macOS the port is typically /dev/cu.usbmodem*. On Windows it will be a COM port like COM3.

Using the MeshCore Flasher (web-based, T-Deck Pro and T-Deck Max):

1. Go to https://flasher.meshcore.io
2. Select Custom Firmware
3. Select the merged .bin file you downloaded
4. Click Flash, select your device in the popup, and click Connect

Note: The MeshCore Flasher detects merged firmware by the -merged.bin suffix in the filename and automatically flashes at address 0x0. If the filename doesn't end with -merged.bin, the flasher writes at 0x10000 instead, which will fail on a clean device.

If the device is already running Meck (or any MeshCore-based firmware with a valid bootloader), use the non-merged .bin file. This is smaller and faster to flash since it only contains the application firmware.

Using esptool.py:

esptool.py --chip esp32s3 --port /dev/ttyACM0 --baud 921600 \
  write_flash 0x10000 meck_max_standalone.bin

Tip: If you're unsure whether the device already has a bootloader, it's always safe to use the merged file and flash at 0x0 — it will overwrite everything cleanly.

First boot: On a fresh flash, the device will format its internal storage partition. The display shows "Formatting storage... First boot - please wait" — this takes 1-2 minutes and only happens once. If the device was previously running different firmware (e.g. stock LilyGo or Meshtastic), the partition is automatically erased and reformatted to ensure a clean start.

If you're loading firmware from an SD card via the LilyGo Launcher firmware, use the non-merged .bin file. The Launcher provides its own bootloader and only needs the application image.

Once Meck is installed, you can update firmware directly from your phone — no computer or serial cable required. The device creates a temporary WiFi access point and you upload the new .bin via your phone's browser.

1. Download the new non-merged .bin to your phone (from GitHub Releases, Discord, etc.)
2. On the device: Settings → OTA Tools → Firmware Update → Enter (T-Deck Pro and T-Deck Max)
3. The device starts a WiFi network called Meck-Update-XXXX and displays connection details
4. On your phone: connect to the Meck-Update WiFi network, open a browser, go to 192.168.4.1
5. Tap Choose File, select the .bin, tap Upload
6. The device receives the file, saves to SD, verifies, flashes, and reboots

The partition layout supports dual OTA slots — the old firmware remains on the inactive partition as an automatic rollback target. If the new firmware fails to boot, the ESP32 bootloader reverts to the previous working version automatically.

Note: Use the non-merged .bin for OTA updates. The merged binary is only needed for first-time USB flashing.

OTA Tools (v1.5+): The firmware update has moved into Settings → OTA Tools, a submenu that also contains the new SD File Manager. The file manager creates the same WiFi access point and serves a browser-based interface where you can browse, upload, download, and delete files on the SD card from your phone — useful for managing audiobooks, alarm sounds, e-books, and notes without ejecting the SD card. Both OTA tools work on all variants including standalone builds, except the 40 MHz battery-saver builds, where the OTA Tools row does nothing.

Meck supports multibyte path hash, bringing it in line with MeshCore firmware v1.14. The path hash controls how many bytes each repeater uses to identify itself in forwarded flood packets. Larger hashes reduce the chance of identity collisions at the cost of fewer maximum hops per packet.

You can configure the path hash size in the device settings (press S from the home screen on the T-Deck Pro and T-Deck Max) or set it via USB serial:

set path.hash.mode 1

Nodes with different path hash modes can coexist on the same network. The mode only affects packets your node originates — the hash size is encoded in each packet's header, so receiving nodes adapt automatically.

For a detailed explanation of what multibyte path hash means and why it matters, see the Path Diagnostics & Improvements write-up.

Regions limit how far your flood messages propagate through the mesh. When you set a region, outgoing messages are tagged with a transport code that repeaters use to decide whether to forward them. Messages sent without a region reach all repeaters via the default wildcard, same as always.

Meck does not pre-set any region on a fresh flash. Region names are determined by your local mesh community — check with your local group for the names in use. Common patterns follow ISO 3166 country/subdivision codes (e.g. au for Australia, gb-eng for England, us-ca for California), but communities may also use custom names for their area. Region names must be lowercase alphanumeric characters and hyphens only, max 29 characters.

Device-wide default region: Set in Settings → Default Region. This applies to all channels and DMs unless a channel has its own override.

Per-channel region: In Settings → Channels, select a channel and press Enter to edit its region scope. This overrides the device default for that specific channel only.

Companion app scope (v1.15+): When a companion app is connected and has chosen a region (or no region) for sending, channel messages and direct messages use the app's choice first. Direct messages previously always used the device default region.

Settings nudge: When exiting settings, if no region is configured anywhere (no device default and no per-channel scopes), a prompt reminds you to consider setting one. You can dismiss it to stay unscoped.

Region scope can also be configured via serial commands — see the Serial Settings Guide for set region, get region, set channel.scope, and get channel.scope commands.

The audio DAC and 4G modem occupy the same hardware slot and are mutually exclusive. (The T-Deck Max lifts this restriction — it runs both at once. See T-Deck Max.) The remote repeater and WiFi repeater variants operate as dedicated MeshCore repeaters — they forward mesh traffic and respond to guest logins as normal, but admin management is handled remotely via MQTT through the Meck-Mycelium dashboard, not via the standard mesh admin password login. See Remote Repeater and WiFi Repeater below.

The combined meck_audio_ble_wifi and meck_4g_ble_wifi builds are described in Combined Bluetooth + WiFi builds.

T-Deck Pro v1.1 units came with a CST328 touch chip, but LilyGo later fitted a CST3530 instead in units still labelled v1.1. Touch does not work on those units with the standard builds. They need the HYN builds (meck_audio_ble_hyn, meck_audio_wifi_hyn and meck_audio_standalone_hyn), which use the same Hynitron touch driver as the T-Deck Max. That driver also works with the CST328, but the standard builds remain the default. There are no HYN versions of the 4G builds or of the combined meck_audio_ble_wifi build.

meck_audio_standalone_40mhz, meck_4g_standalone_40mhz and the T-Deck Max's meck_max_standalone_40mhz keep the processor at 40 MHz to save battery. Features that need more speed, WiFi, GPS or the audio hardware are switched off on these builds:

• the web browser and OTA Tools
• GPS (the GPS home page is hidden and GPS stays off) and the map
• audiobooks, the alarm clock (alarms do not go off), voice messages, and custom notification tones (the default buzzer plays instead)
• the SMS & Phone app (the 4G modem is off at boot)
• the Game Boy emulator (Snake and Minesweeper still work)

The home screen tiles for these features are greyed out and do nothing when tapped.

The T-Deck Pro firmware includes full keyboard support for standalone messaging without a phone.

Touch tile home screen: the first home page is a tile grid -- Messages, Contacts, Map, Notes, Settings and the rest -- that can be tapped directly instead of using the key shortcuts above. Originally a T-Deck Max feature, this is now the home screen on all T-Deck Pro builds. Tiles for features a given build does not include (for example Phone on audio builds, or Audiobooks on 4G builds) are inert.

BLE is disabled by default at boot to support standalone-first operation. The device is fully functional without a phone — you can send and receive messages, browse contacts, read e-books, and set your timezone directly from the keyboard.

To connect to the MeshCore companion app, navigate to the Bluetooth home page (use D to page through) and press Enter to toggle BLE on. The BLE PIN will be displayed on screen. Toggle it off again the same way when you're done.

The WiFi companion variants (meck_audio_wifi, meck_audio_wifi_hyn, meck_4g_wifi and the T-Deck Max's meck_max_wifi) connect to the MeshCore web app, meshcore.js, or Python CLI over your local network via TCP on port 5000. WiFi credentials are stored on the SD card at /web/wifi.cfg.

Connecting:

On these builds WiFi is on at boot (even if you turned it off before restarting), and the device tries to join your saved network during start-up. The combined builds (meck_max_ble_wifi, meck_audio_ble_wifi and meck_4g_ble_wifi) are different: WiFi is off at boot (see Combined Bluetooth + WiFi builds).

To join a network for the first time, or to change networks:

1. Open Settings. If the WiFi Radio row shows OFF, select it to turn it ON. It takes several seconds before the row shows ON, so please be patient.
2. Select the WiFi row (it shows WiFi: (not connected) until you have joined a network). The device scans for networks.
3. Select your network, enter the password and press Enter.
4. A Connecting... popup shows while the device joins the network. This can take up to 15 seconds.
5. Once connected, a popup shows the device's IP address for 2 seconds and you are returned to Settings. The IP address is also displayed on the WiFi home page.
6. If the device can't connect within 15 seconds, a Could not connect popup shows and you are returned to the network list to try again. The second line of the popup says why, for example Wrong password?, Network not found, Signal lost or Timed out.

Turning WiFi off and on (v1.15+): On the WiFi home page, press Enter (or long press) to turn the WiFi radio off or on, the same as the WiFi Radio row in Settings. The bottom of the page shows Press Enter to Turn Off Wifi or Press Enter to Turn On Wifi. Network setup and passwords stay in Settings.

Turning WiFi on (from the home page or the WiFi Radio row) joins your saved network, if you have one. A Connecting to Saved Wifi: popup shows the network name, followed by Connected and the IP address, or Could not connect and the reason.

Connect the MeshCore web app or meshcore.js to <device IP>:5000.

WiFi is also used by the web reader and IRC client on WiFi variants. The web reader shares the same connection — no extra setup needed.

There are three combined BLE & WiFi builds: meck_max_ble_wifi for the T-Deck Max (v1.15+), and meck_audio_ble_wifi and meck_4g_ble_wifi for the T-Deck Pro Audio and 4G (v1.15.1+).

Each combined build has both the Bluetooth and the WiFi companion connection, one at a time. Both are off at boot. After a restart, whichever one you turn on first works straight away: from its home page (press Enter or long press), or for WiFi from Settings.

Switching between Bluetooth and WiFi restarts the device, every time. Bluetooth only gives its memory back when the device restarts, and WiFi needs that memory to start. So once you have used one connection since the last restart, turning on the other one works like this:

1. The other connection's home page shows a restart hint: Press Enter to Restart into Wifi on the WiFi page, or restart into Bluetooth on the Bluetooth page.
2. Press Enter (or long press). A popup asks Switch to WiFi? (or Switch to Bluetooth?). Press Enter again within 5 seconds to restart.
3. The device restarts and turns on the connection you chose by itself. WiFi joins your saved network, with the Connecting popup.

After a normal restart or power-on, both connections are off again.

From the companion app, turning WiFi on or off (set wifi.enabled) is applied by the app's reboot in the same way.

The T-Deck Pro and T-Deck Max do not include a dedicated RTC chip, so after each reboot the device clock starts unset. The clock will appear in the nav bar (between node name and battery) once the time has been synced by one of these methods:

1. GPS fix (standalone) — Once the GPS acquires a satellite fix, the time is automatically synced from the NMEA data. No phone or BLE connection required. Typical time to first fix is 30–90 seconds outdoors with clear sky.
2. BLE/WiFi companion app — If connected to the MeshCore companion app (via BLE or WiFi), the app will push the current time to the device.

Setting your timezone:

The UTC offset can be set from the Settings screen (press S from the home screen), or from the GPS home page by pressing U to open the UTC offset editor.

The UTC offset is persisted to flash and survives reboots — you only need to set it once. The valid range is UTC-12 to UTC+14. For example, AEST is UTC+10 and AEDT is UTC+11.

The GPS page also shows the current time, satellite count, position, altitude, and your configured UTC offset for reference.

The last home page is a world clock with three rows: Home (your device's UTC offset) and two extra zones, Zone 1 and Zone 2. Each row shows the zone's UTC offset, its local time in large digits, airport-style city codes for that offset (for example BNE/POM/VLA for UTC+10), and a day marker such as +1D or -1D when the zone is on a different calendar day to Home.

To reach it, press A from the first home page (the tiles), or D from the Shutdown page. Until the clock has been set (by GPS or the companion app), the page shows Clock not set.

On the touchscreen, long press a row to edit it. The editor's on-screen hint shows the touch controls (Tap:-/+ Hold:save).

Editing Home changes the device UTC offset, the same setting as Settings → UTC Offset. Zone 1 and Zone 2 are saved and survive reboots.

Pressing M from the home screen opens the channel picker. All your channels and the DM inbox are shown in a single view with unread message badges, letting you jump directly to any channel instead of cycling through them one at a time. Pressing Q from a channel view (e.g. the Public feed) also returns to the channel picker.

Pressing X on any highlighted channel brings up a confirmation overlay. Press Enter to confirm deletion or Q to cancel. This clears all stored messages for that channel from the circular buffer and saves to SD. The channel itself is not removed -- only its message history.

Unread counts and the companion app (v1.12.3+): on standalone builds (no BLE or WiFi) the home-screen MSG count and the per-channel *N badges climb as messages arrive, and opening a channel clears that channel's count. On BLE and WiFi builds the on-device counts intentionally stay at zero while a companion app is connected, because the app marks each message read as it arrives; they resume counting once the app disconnects. Earlier firmware treated standalone builds as though a companion were permanently connected, so those counts -- along with the DM counter and the new-message screen wake -- never updated.

Press C from the home screen to open the contacts list. All known mesh contacts are shown sorted by most recently heard, with their type prefix, estimated hop count, and time since last advert.

Contact type prefixes

Hop count display

Flood-based hop estimates (~D, ~N) are drawn from a cache of up to 1,000 recently heard adverts and reset to ? on reboot until each contact re-advertises. Confirmed path values (D, N) persist until overwritten by a new path exchange.

Normal mode controls

Note: The Fav filter shows only contacts you have marked as favourites. If it appears empty, no contacts have been favourited yet — use select mode (Enter) and then F to mark contacts.

Select mode — press Enter from the contacts list to enter select mode. The highlighted contact is pre-selected. Use W/S to scroll and Enter to toggle selection on any row.

Adding contacts

Contacts can be added three ways:

1. Automatic — if Settings → Contacts → Add Mode is set to Auto All, any node whose advert is heard is added automatically. Custom mode adds only nodes matching the enabled type toggles (Companion, Repeater, Room Server, Sensor) — each toggle controls whether receiving an advert of that type triggers an auto-add. Manual Only disables all auto-add.

2. From the Last Heard screen — press H from the home screen to open the last-heard advert list. Scroll to the node you want and press Enter (or tap the row) to add it to contacts. Press Enter again on an existing contact to remove it (favourites require a second press within 3 seconds to confirm). Entries show [+] if already in contacts, [★] if a favourite.

   Note: The Last Heard list holds up to 1,000 entries in PSRAM, and advert data is stored persistently on the SD card — so contacts can be added long after the original advertisement was received, even across reboots. This makes Last Heard especially useful when auto-add is set to Manual Only, as it provides a passive catalogue of every node heard on the network.

3. From the Discovery screen — press F from the home screen to run an active discovery scan. Nodes that respond appear in a list; press Enter on any entry to add it to contacts.

Deleting contacts

Enter select mode (Enter), select the contacts to remove (Enter to toggle, A to select all), then press Backspace to delete. You will be returned to the contacts list once the deletion is complete.

To delete every contact at once, use Settings → Experimental Features → Delete all contacts (v1.15+). See Experimental Features.

Exporting and importing contacts

In select mode, press X to export. If contacts are selected, only those contacts are exported; if none are selected, all contacts are exported. Contacts are saved as a JSON file to /meshcore/ on the SD card with a timestamp in the filename. The JSON format is compatible with MeshCore companion apps — you can copy the file from the SD card and import it into the Android, iOS, or web companion app.

Press R on the contacts list (outside select mode) to import contacts from a JSON file on the SD card. The most recent export file in /meshcore/ is used automatically.

Contact limits: All variants support up to 2,000 contacts (stored in PSRAM).

Select a Chat contact in the contacts list and press Enter to start composing a direct message. The compose screen will show DM: ContactName in the header. Type your message and press Enter to send. The DM is sent encrypted directly to that contact (or flooded if no direct path is known). After sending or cancelling, you're returned to the contacts list.

While a DM is in flight the conversation view shows its delivery state: Sending x/N as the device retries, Delivered once the recipient acknowledges, or Failed if every attempt goes unanswered. Retries are handled on the device, so this works without a companion app connected.

Contacts with unread direct messages show a * marker next to their name in the contacts list.

Reading received DMs: From the home screen, press M to open the channel picker, then select the DM Inbox entry to view received direct messages. This shows all received direct messages with sender name and timestamp. Entering the DM inbox marks all DM messages as read and clears the unread indicator.

Room servers are MeshCore nodes that host persistent chat rooms. Messages sent to a room server are stored and relayed to anyone who logs in. In Meck, room server messages arrive as contact messages and appear in the DM inbox alongside regular direct messages.

To interact with a room server, navigate to the Contacts screen, filter to Room contacts, select the room, and press Enter to open the Repeater Admin screen. Log in with the room's admin password to access room administration. On successful login, all unread messages from that room are automatically marked as read.

Room server messages are also synced to the companion app when connected via BLE or WiFi — the companion app will pull and display them alongside other messages.

Select a Repeater contact in the contacts list and press Enter to open the repeater admin screen. You'll be prompted for the repeater's admin password. Characters briefly appear as you type them before being masked, making it easier to enter symbols and numbers on the T-Deck Pro and T-Deck Max keyboard.

After a successful login, you'll see a menu with the following remote administration commands:

Command responses are displayed in a scrollable view. Use W / S to scroll long responses and Q to return to the menu.

The trace route screen lets you build a chain of repeaters and run a trace through them — the same feature available in the MeshCore companion app, but on-device. Each repeater in the chain that recognises its hash appends its receive SNR before forwarding the packet, giving you per-hop signal quality data for the whole route.

Press R from the home screen to open the trace screen.

Building the path

There are two ways to add hops to the path:

• + Add repeater — opens a picker showing all known Repeater contacts. Press W/S to scroll, Enter to append the highlighted repeater to the path. The contact picker uses the repeater's stored public key bytes directly, so the hash is always correct regardless of mode.
• Type Path — opens an inline text editor for comma-separated decimal hash values, matching the format the companion app uses (e.g. 3601,2198,1244,2198,3601). Useful when the repeater isn't in your contacts but you know its hash from the app or a community listing.

The path is shown as a numbered list below the menu. Individual hops can be edited or removed, and the whole path can be cleared if you need to start over.

Hash mode

Meck supports both 1-byte and 2-byte hash modes. The screen defaults to your device's path.hash.mode setting but can be toggled on the fly:

• 1-byte mode (Mode: 1-byte) — older networks, more collision-prone but smaller packets
• 2-byte mode (Mode: 2-byte) — current MeshCore default in most regions, fewer hash collisions

Use A / D on the mode row to toggle, or Enter to cycle.

Running a trace

Once at least one hop is in the path, scroll to Run Trace and press Enter. Meck creates a PAYLOAD_TYPE_TRACE packet and sends it direct-routed through the chain. The screen switches to a "Tracing..." state with an elapsed-time counter while waiting for the response.

When the trace completes, the screen shows:

• Each hop in order with its receive SNR (in dB)
• The final SNR of the response packet arriving back at your device
• Total round-trip time in milliseconds

If 30 seconds pass without a response, the trace times out and the screen returns to the build view so you can adjust the path and try again.

Symmetric paths and direct visibility

For a round-trip trace, the path needs to be symmetric. To trace through repeaters A → B → C and back, type A,B,C,B,A. The trace packet travels out through A→B→C, and the response comes back C→B→A.

You also need to be able to hear the last repeater in the chain directly — that's the one that sends the response back to your device. If the last hop is too far away to hear, the trace will time out even though the outbound leg succeeded.

The screen supports up to 16 hops per trace.

The Rx Log is an on-device packet sniffer, mirroring the Rx Log in the MeshCore companion app. Open it from Settings -> Rx Log >>. It captures every packet the radio receives -- including relays destined for other nodes, since capture happens before filtering -- into a buffer of the most recent 100 packets, shown newest first.

Each entry shows the route type (flood or direct) and payload type, the receive time and wire size, the packet hash, the hop path, and the channel hash/name (for group messages) or the From/To node hashes (for addressed packets). For channel messages your device can decrypt, the decoded "sender: message" line is attached as well.

The log is held in RAM only and is cleared on reboot.

A running RX packets count also appears on the radio details page on the home screen (page through with D), just beneath the noise-floor reading. It counts flood and direct packets received since boot and resets on reboot or whenever you change radio parameters (frequency, bandwidth, or spreading factor).

You can clear all stored messages for any individual channel or the DM inbox without removing the channel itself.

From the home screen, press M to open the channel picker. Navigate to the channel you want to clear and press X. A confirmation overlay appears asking "Delete message history?" -- press Enter to confirm or Q to cancel.

Messages are invalidated in the circular buffer and the change is saved to SD immediately. The unread counter is also reset. New messages will continue to appear as they arrive.

Each channel (and the DM inbox) can be individually set to one of three notification levels:

• All -- notify on every message (default)
• @ (Mentions) -- only notify when someone tags you with @YourNodeName or @[YourNodeName]
• Off -- completely muted (no buzzer, no keyboard flash, no screen wake, no toast)

Messages are always stored in history regardless of the notification setting -- only the alerts and unread badges are suppressed.

To change a channel's notification preference: from the home screen, press S to open settings, scroll down to the Channels >> section and open it. Navigate to the channel you want to configure, and press N to cycle through the three modes. The current setting is shown in the channel row hint as N:All, N:@, or N:Off.

Each channel can have its own notification tone instead of the default buzzer sound. When a message arrives on a channel with a custom tone assigned, that tone plays through the speaker instead of the RTTTL buzzer.

To assign a tone: from the home screen, press S to open settings, scroll down to the Channels >> section and open it. Navigate to the channel you want, and press T. The tone picker appears with a list of available sounds. Use W/S to browse, Enter to select, or Q to cancel. Select "Default (silent)" to remove a custom tone and revert to the standard buzzer.

Audio variant (PCM5102A DAC): A selection of bundled tones are copied to the /alarms/ folder on the SD card on first boot. You can also add your own MP3 files to that folder -- they'll appear in the tone picker alongside the bundled options. This gives you complete flexibility to use any short MP3 as a notification sound.

4G variant (A7682E modem): Seven bundled notification tones are embedded in the firmware as 8kHz mono WAV files and transferred to the modem's internal filesystem on boot. Playback goes through the modem's own speaker amplifier via AT+CCMXPLAY. Custom user-supplied tones are not supported on the 4G variant -- only the bundled set is available.

Available bundled tones: Bell, Ding, High Trill, Low Soft Ding (x2), Mid Trill, and Soft Notif. All are short, 1-2 second alert sounds.

T-Deck Max -- Buzzer (vibrate): On the MAX, the tone picker includes an extra Buzzer (vibrate) option above the sound files. When selected, an incoming message on that channel pulses the MAX's DRV2605 haptic motor instead of playing a tone or the RTTTL buzzer -- useful for silent alerts. Because the MAX has its own ES8311 audio codec, it also supports custom MP3 tones from the /alarms/ folder, exactly like the T-Deck Pro audio variant (and unlike the T-Deck Pro 4G variant). See Buzzer (Vibrate) Notifications.

Press J from the home screen (or tap the Games tile) to open the games menu. Two classic games are included on every build, and the T-Deck Max adds a Game Boy emulator (see below):

Snake -- the Nokia classic. Guide the snake around the screen to eat food and grow longer without crashing into the walls or your own tail. The game runs on the e-ink display at a pace suited to the refresh rate.

Minesweeper -- clear the board without hitting a mine. Numbers reveal how many adjacent cells contain mines. Flag cells you suspect are mines to keep track.

On the T-Deck Max the board is larger, with a 15x20 grid and 50 mines.

The third entry on the games menu is Game Boy: an emulator built on the Peanut-GB core that runs original Game Boy (.gb) and Game Boy Color (.gbc) games at their real speed. Game Boy Advance (.gba) is a different machine and is not supported. It runs on the T-Deck Pro and the T-Deck Max. Sound is T-Deck Max only in this release; the Pro's audio variants can do sound but it is not yet wired up, and the Pro 4G variants have no audio hardware.

Getting games. No game is bundled -- you supply your own ROM files. Two free homebrew titles that run well: uCity (GPL-3.0, a Game Boy Color city builder; the .gbc is on its Releases page) and Halo: Combat Devolved (a free 2 MB Game Boy Color demake; download the ROM from the page). Anything else is up to you and your own copies.

Storing games. Put ROM files in a folder named roms at the top level of the SD card. The list shows .gb and .gbc files in that folder only (no subfolders), up to 32 of them, with filenames under 48 characters; longer names are skipped without a message, and the ._ metadata files macOS leaves on FAT cards are ignored.

Running a game. Open the games menu, choose Game Boy, move to a ROM with W / S and press Enter. A "Loading..." box shows while the ROM is read from the card (a second or two for a large game). The mesh keeps running while you play -- messages still arrive, the header shows the unread count -- but notification tones and the "new message" pop-ups are held back so they do not interrupt the game. The CPU is held at 240 MHz for the duration, so expect higher battery drain than normal use.

Keys are held-to-hold, so walking and holding a button together work as they would on the real thing. In-game button meanings are the game's own; on the Game Boy convention A confirms, so K selects on most menus. Press Q again on the ROM list to return to the games menu.

Sound (T-Deck Max). Games start muted; press the Mic key to unmute, and again to mute. The footer shows which the key will do. Sound is Game Boy Color chiptune only, at a level well below the notification tones.

What the picture looks like. The game is drawn at 1.5x (240x216, the full width of the panel) in black and white, with an ordered dither standing in for the Game Boy's shades, so lighter colours read as fine stipple. Because e-ink can only redraw about once every 0.7 seconds, the picture updates roughly 1.4 times a second while the game itself runs at the full 59.7 frames per second underneath -- fast animation is shown as a series of snapshots, but timing, gameplay and text boxes are unaffected. When you quit, the screen does a full black-and-white flash to clear the ghosting that partial updates leave behind. Games with a lot of moving sprites (Pokemon Gold's overworld, say) show some ghosting of the moving parts while you play; this is a limit of e-ink at this speed, not a fault. In dark mode the picture is inverted along with everything else.

Saves. Games that save to cartridge RAM keep their saves: a .sav file is written next to the ROM (game.gbc becomes game.sav) and loaded on the next launch. It is the standard raw cart-RAM format desktop emulators use, so saves can be copied between the device and a PC in either direction. The file is written in the background a short while after you save in the game (and again on quit if anything is still unsaved), so you normally do not need to quit to preserve progress; but the write only happens once the game has been idle for a moment, so it is safest to pause before powering off. Real-time-clock state (the day/night cycle in Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal) is not persisted; the in-game clock restarts each time.

Limits in this release. Sound on the T-Deck Max only; one ROM folder, 32 ROMs, no subfolders; a 2 MB game needs a 2 MB block of PSRAM, which is reserved on the first launch after boot and kept, so launching any game early guarantees the big ones work later. The emulator needs 240 MHz to run at full speed and is omitted from the games menu on the 40 MHz battery-saver builds.

Meck supports both public hashtag channels and private channels. The difference is in how the channel secret is generated:

• Public (hashtag) channels — type a name starting with # (e.g. #camping). The 16-byte secret is derived deterministically from the name via SHA-256, so anyone on any MeshCore device who creates the same hashtag name gets the same key and can communicate on that channel.
• Private channels — type a name without the # prefix (e.g. team-alpha). A cryptographically random 16-byte secret is generated, meaning only devices that have been explicitly given the key can participate.

How to create a private channel:

1. From the home screen, press S to open settings
2. Scroll down to the Channels >> section and press Enter to open it
3. Navigate to + Add Channel (# = public) and press Enter
4. Type the channel name without a # prefix, then press Enter

The channel is created with a random secret. To let other Meck users join, use channel sharing (see below).

You can share any channel — public or private — with another Meck user by sending them the channel name and secret as an encrypted direct message. This is particularly useful for private channels, where sharing the secret manually would mean typing 32 hex characters.

How to share a channel:

1. From the home screen, press S to open settings
2. Scroll down to the Channels >> section and press Enter to open it
3. Navigate to the channel you want to share
4. Press C to open the contact picker
5. Select a contact and press Enter to send

The recipient's device automatically adds the channel to their channel list (if it doesn't already exist and there's an empty slot). An alert confirms the channel was added. In the DM conversation, both sender and recipient see a sanitised message ("Shared channel: name") rather than the raw protocol data.

The Export/Import >> sub-screen in Settings lets you back up and restore your device configuration via JSON files on the SD card. This is useful for migrating settings to a new board, keeping a backup before reflashing, or cloning a configuration across multiple devices.

Exporting:

1. From the home screen, press S to open settings
2. Scroll down to Export/Import >> and press Enter
3. Select Export to SD >> and press Enter
4. Toggle which sections to include using Enter on each checkbox:
   • Identity — public and private key (full identity backup)
   • Radio Settings — frequency, bandwidth, spreading factor, coding rate, TX power, and GPS position
   • Channels — all channel names and secrets
   • Contacts — all contacts with public keys, type, flags, position, and timestamps
   • Auto-Add Prefs — contact auto-add mode and per-type toggles
5. Navigate to >> Export Now and press Enter
6. A Compiling... Please Wait... popup shows while the export runs, followed by Exported to and the file name, or Export failed (SD?) (v1.15+)

The config is saved as a timestamped JSON file in /meshcore/ on the SD card (e.g. meshcore_config_20260523_1430.json). The format is compatible with the MeshCore companion app config export.

Importing:

Place a file named import.json in the /meshcore/ folder on your SD card. Then either:

• From settings: go to Export/Import >> → Import from SD and press Enter
• On boot: the firmware automatically checks for /meshcore/import.json at startup and imports it if found

Importing from Settings shows an Importing... Please Wait... popup while the import runs, followed by Config imported!, No import.json found or Import failed (v1.15+).

If the import includes a different identity (private key), the device reboots after applying the new identity. Channels and contacts are merged into the existing configuration.

Press S from the home screen to open settings. On first boot (when the device name is still the default hex ID), the settings screen launches automatically as an onboarding wizard to set your device name and radio preset.

Available settings:

Contacts sub-screen — press Enter on the Contacts >> row to open. Contains the contact auto-add mode picker and, when set to Custom, per-type toggles:

Press Q to return to the top-level settings list.

Channels sub-screen -- press Enter on the Channels >> row to open. Lists all current channels with their region scope tags (e.g. [au-nsw] or [*] for device default). The hint line for each channel shows its current notification preference (N:All, N:@, or N:Off) and available actions.

When the highlighted channel's name, region tag and hint are too long for one line, the row shows the start of the line and then the end, switching every 2 seconds (v1.15+).

The top-level settings screen also displays your node ID and firmware version. On the 4G variant, IMEI, carrier name, and APN details are shown here as well.

When adding a channel, type the channel name and press Enter. Names starting with # create a public hashtag channel (secret derived from the name via SHA-256, matching the standard MeshCore convention). Names without a # prefix create a private channel with a random secret — see Private Channels.

If you've changed radio parameters, pressing Q will prompt you to apply changes before exiting.

Tip: All device settings (plus mesh tuning parameters not available on-screen) can also be configured via USB serial. See the Serial Settings Guide for complete documentation.

Settings → Experimental Features >> (below Rx Log) holds settings that are still being tried out. Press Enter on a row to change it and Q to go back.

Meck supports three font styles across the entire UI: Classic (the original FreeSans look), Noto Sans (clean, excellent Latin Extended coverage), and Montserrat (geometric, distinctive).

Change the font in Settings → Font — use A/D to cycle with a live preview, then Enter to apply. Press Q to cancel and revert. The selected style applies to all screens including channel messages, contacts, settings, and the e-reader.

Font styles are available in both Tiny and Larger text size modes. Custom fonts at Tiny size use 7pt glyphs; at Larger size, 9pt — matching the existing FreeSans layout. The font preference is saved and persists across reboots.

Accented character support (v1.8+, extended in v1.15): All three font styles display accented and diacritical characters (Czech, Polish, French, German, etc.) instead of dropping them. Noto Sans renders diacritical marks natively (carons, accents, cedillas) at every size. Montserrat renders them in Tiny-size text and in titles, but text drawn at the 9pt size folds accented characters to their ASCII base letter (ě→e, ž→z, ñ→n), as Classic always does: the letter is always visible, just without the diacritic mark. The 9pt size is used at the Larger text size, and also for some text whatever the setting, such as the status lines on the WiFi home page.

Press the Sym key then the letter key to enter numbers and symbols:

Exit key: on the T-Deck Pro and Max, Q is the back/exit key across the interface. The exception is text entry -- while typing, Q is a normal character, so Shift+Backspace exits instead.

While in compose mode, press the $ key to open the emoji picker. A scrollable grid of 79 emoji is displayed in a 5-column layout, with faces and emotions grouped first. Scrolling wraps around — pressing W on the first row goes to the last row and vice versa.

Press T from the home screen to open the SMS & Phone app. The app opens to a menu screen with four entries:

Two of the rows carry a count in brackets. Call Log [n] shows missed calls you have not looked at yet, and SMS Inbox [n] shows unread received messages. Each badge clears when you open that screen, and both persist across a reboot.

The Call Log stores the 32 most recent calls with the number, the contact name where known, the call type and the duration. Enter dials the highlighted entry back, and D deletes it. Calls that arrive without caller ID are still logged, shown as Unknown.

The Contacts screen lists saved contacts, with A to add a new one and M to send an SMS. Opening a contact gives a page with editable Name and Number fields and a Save row, plus F to dial and D to delete. Contacts are stored on the SD card in /sms/contacts.txt.

Note for US users: the A7682E modem in the T-Deck Pro and T-Deck Pro Max supports very limited US cellular bands, so 4G is almost entirely unusable with US SIMs. For example, the 4G is wholly unusable on T-Mobile and may have very limited use on AT&T, due to the nature of the A7682E and the bands used by it.

For full documentation including key mappings, dialpad usage, contacts management, and troubleshooting, see the SMS & Phone App Guide.

Press B from the home screen to open the web reader. This is available on the BLE, WiFi, and 4G variants (not the standalone audio variant, which excludes WiFi to preserve lowest-battery-usage design).

The web reader home screen provides access to the IRC client, the URL bar, and your bookmarks and history. Select IRC Chat and press Enter to configure and connect to an IRC server. Select the URL bar to enter a web address, or scroll down to open a bookmark or history entry.

The browser is a text-centric reader best suited to text-heavy websites. It also includes basic web search via DuckDuckGo Lite, and can download EPUB files — follow a link to an .epub and it will be saved to the books folder on your SD card for reading later in the e-book reader.

For full documentation including key mappings, WiFi setup, bookmarks, IRC configuration, and SD card structure, see the Web App Guide.

Press K from the home screen to open the alarm clock. This is available on the T-Deck Pro Audio variant (PCM5102A DAC) and on the T-Deck Max (ES8311 codec). Set up to five daily alarms that play custom MP3 files through the headphone jack.

Setup:

1. Place MP3 files (44100 Hz sample rate) in /alarms/ on the SD card
2. Press K to open the alarm clock
3. Select an alarm slot (1–5) with W / S and press Enter to edit
4. Set the hour and minute, then choose an MP3 file from the list
5. Press Enter to save the alarm

When an alarm fires:

The selected MP3 plays through the headphone jack, even if you're on another screen or playing an audiobook.

Alarm configuration is stored in /alarms/.alarmcfg on the SD card. Alarms persist across reboots — if the RTC has valid time (via GPS or companion app sync), alarms fire at the correct time after a restart.

Note: MP3 files should be encoded at 44100 Hz sample rate. Lower sample rates may cause distortion due to ESP32-S3 I2S hardware limitations (same requirement as the audiobook player).

SD Card Folder Structure:

SD Card
├── alarms/
│   ├── .alarmcfg             (auto-created, stores alarm slot config)
│   ├── morning-chime.mp3
│   ├── rooster.mp3
│   └── gentle-bells.mp3
├── audiobooks/               (existing — audiobook player)
│   └── ...
├── books/                    (existing — text reader)
│   └── ...
└── ...

Press the Microphone key (the zero key on the keyboard) to open the Voice Messages screen. This is available on the T-Deck Pro Audio variant (PCM5102A DAC) and on the T-Deck Max (ES8311 codec).

Record and send voice messages of up to 12 seconds over LoRa. Audio is encoded on-device using Codec2 at 1200 bps, compressing each second of speech into a single 150-byte LoRa packet. Voice notes use very little airtime relative to what they deliver — a 5-second message is just 5 packets.

Voice notes can be sent to another T-Deck Pro Audio device (plays automatically through the headphone jack), to a T-Deck Max (plays automatically), or to any MeshCore companion device connected to the Meck-Mycelium web app (plays through your phone's speaker as a tappable bubble in the DM view).

Sending a voice note:

1. Press the Microphone key to open the Voice Messages screen
2. Press and hold the Microphone key to record — release to stop (max 12 seconds)
3. Press S to open the contact picker — contacts with a direct path appear at the top
4. Scroll to your contact and press Enter to send

Packets are sent with staggered 3-second delays to avoid congesting the channel. On a 62.5 kHz / SF7 radio preset (e.g. Australia Narrow), a 5-second voice note arrives in roughly 20 seconds and a 12-second recording in about 42 seconds.

Receiving voice notes:

• On a T-Deck Pro Audio device: the voice message screen opens automatically and the message plays through the headphone jack. Headphones are recommended — the built-in speaker is very quiet.
• On a T-Deck Max: the voice message screen opens automatically and the message plays.
• Via Meck-Mycelium: voice messages appear as "🎙️ Voice message" bubbles in the DM view. Tap to play. Codec2 decoding happens entirely in the browser via WebAssembly.

Note: Voice recording and sending requires the T-Deck Pro Audio variant hardware (PCM5102A DAC) or a T-Deck Max (ES8311 codec). Receiving and playback works on all Audio variants and on the T-Deck Max. Non-audio Meck devices can receive and relay voice packets but cannot play them locally — use the Meck-Mycelium web app for playback on those devices.

Double-click the Boot button to lock the screen. The lock screen shows the current time, battery percentage, and unread message count. The CPU drops to 40 MHz while locked to reduce power consumption. On the MAX, the e-ink frontlight switches off when the lock screen activates, and is not restored automatically on unlock -- press the Heart button to turn it back on.

On Pro 4G and Max builds the lock screen also shows outstanding unread SMS and missed calls. These counts are read from the SMS inbox and call log rather than counted while locked, so they survive locking, unlocking and a reboot, and clear only when you open that conversation or the Call Log.

Double-click the Boot button again to unlock and return to whatever screen you were on.

An auto-lock timer can be configured in Settings → Auto Lock (None / 2 / 5 / 10 / 15 / 30 minutes of idle time).

The home screen includes a Shutdown page. Selecting it powers the device off completely — the ESP32-S3 enters deep sleep with no wake sources, peripheral power is cut, and the LoRa module is powered down. Only a hardware reset (reset button) or USB power-on will wake the device. This is distinct from the auto-lock hibernate, which maintains wake-on-LoRa capability.

The LilyGo T-Deck Max is a close relative of the T-Deck Pro: same 240×320 e-ink panel and TCA8418 keyboard, same ESP32-S3, and the same on-device UI. All the T-Deck Pro keyboard controls and screens apply unchanged — this section only covers what's different on the MAX.

The Max is also, as of v1.14, the only Meck device that plays Game Boy emulator sound (the emulator itself also runs on the T-Deck Pro).

The headline difference is that the MAX carries both an A7682E 4G modem and an ES8311 audio codec, wired through an XL9555 I/O expander so they can run at the same time. On the T-Deck Pro the audio DAC and the 4G modem share one hardware slot and are mutually exclusive; on the MAX you get the SMS & phone app, the audiobook player, the alarm clock, and cellular data on a single device. The MAX also adds a CST328 capacitive touchscreen, three capacitive front buttons, a DRV2605 haptic motor for vibrate alerts, an e-ink frontlight, and a 1400 mAh battery.

Unlike the T-Deck Pro, every MAX variant includes both the 4G modem and the audio codec — there is no separate "audio" vs "4G" split because the MAX runs both. The web reader is available on every variant except the 40 MHz build (it has a data path via the 4G modem, plus WiFi on the WiFi build), and all of them support up to 2,000 contacts in PSRAM. For what the 40 MHz build leaves out, see 40 MHz battery-saver builds. The combined meck_max_ble_wifi build is described in Combined Bluetooth + WiFi builds.

Bluetooth transmit power (v1.15+): meck_max_ble and meck_max_ble_wifi set the Bluetooth transmit power to +15 dBm. The other Bluetooth builds, including the T-Deck Pro ones, use +9 dBm.

Because the modem and codec are independently powered via the XL9555 expander, the MAX home screen exposes the full set of apps that are otherwise split across the T-Deck Pro's audio and 4G variants:

• [P] Audiobooks / Audio — the audiobook player (also plays music from /audiobooks/music)
• [K] Alarm — the alarm clock with custom MP3 sounds
• [T] Phone — the SMS & Phone app for calls and texts over the 4G modem
• [B] Browser — the web reader & IRC client (BLE / WiFi builds)
• [F] Discover — node discovery
• Mic — the voice messages screen (record and play on the MAX — see note below)

Audio output is routed through a shared speaker mux: when a call, ringtone, or modem notification tone plays, the MAX switches the speaker to the modem; for audiobooks, alarms, and notification MP3s it switches to the ES8311 codec.

Voice-note recording and playback both work on the MAX. Capture runs through the ES8311's ADC and playback through the ES8311 output (the same path that drives audiobooks and alarms). Sending recorded notes over the mesh is implemented but has not yet been verified end to end on the MAX.

The MAX has both an on-board internal antenna and an external MMCX antenna connector, with a switch in Settings to select between them. Internal is the default — if you want to use an external MMCX antenna, change the switch in Settings first.

The MAX has a DRV2605 haptic motor, so each channel (and the DM inbox) can be set to vibrate instead of playing a tone. In Settings → Channels, highlight a channel and press T to open the notification tone picker — on the MAX, a Buzzer (vibrate) entry appears just below "Default (silent)". Selecting it makes incoming messages on that channel pulse the motor rather than sounding the buzzer or a tone. See Custom Notification Tones.

Both the MAX and the T-Deck Pro have a capacitive touchscreen. The MAX uses a CST328 touch chip with the Hynitron touch driver. T-Deck Pro v1.1 units came with a CST328 too, but some later units still labelled v1.1 have a CST3530 and need the HYN builds (see Touch chips and the HYN builds). What the MAX adds is three capacitive buttons along the bottom of the front bezel, which the T-Deck Pro does not have:

Save up to ten ready-made messages and send one with a single tap.

Setting them up: open Settings → Canned Messages >> to see the ten slots. Select a slot and press Enter to edit it, type the message (up to 133 characters; a counter shows how many you have used) and press Enter to save. Saving an empty slot clears it, and Shift+Backspace cancels without saving.

Sending: with a channel or a DM conversation open, press the speech bubble button. A list of your saved messages appears; tap one to send it to that channel or contact. Tapping anywhere else, or pressing any key, closes the list. If every slot is empty, No canned messages shows instead.

The MAX has an e-ink frontlight. The brightness it turns on to is set in Settings → Backlight Brightness, adjustable from 5% to 100% in 5% steps (default 100%). The Heart capacitive button toggles the frontlight at that level. This setting only appears on the MAX.

Alt+B also turns the frontlight on and off. By default Alt+B turns it on at its lowest level. With Settings → Experimental Features → Change Backlight to Alt+B on, Alt+B uses the Backlight Brightness level instead and the Heart button no longer toggles the frontlight (see Experimental Features).

Press both Shift keys together to toggle the keyboard backlight on and off.

The brightness is set in Settings -> Keyboard LED, directly below Backlight Brightness, adjustable from 5% to 100% in 5% steps (default 50%). Before v1.12.3 the keyboard backlight was fixed at a very dim level. A change to the setting takes effect the next time you toggle the backlight on.

The MAX's GPS is configured for multi-constellation positioning (GPS, Galileo, and BeiDou) via the $PCAS04,7 command, for faster fixes and better coverage than single-constellation GPS.

TODO — This section needs full documentation. The feature is implemented and shipping. Draft outline below.

The remote repeater variant (meck_remote_repeater) turns a T-Deck Pro 4G board into a dedicated MeshCore repeater with cellular MQTT remote management. The repeater functions as a normal MeshCore repeater on the mesh — it forwards packets and responds to guest logins — but admin management (clock sync, send advert, reboot, get status, configuration) is performed remotely via MQTT through the Meck-Mycelium dashboard, not via the standard mesh admin password login. The device connects to an MQTT broker (HiveMQ Cloud recommended — free tier available) over cellular data, publishing telemetry (uptime, battery, signal strength, temperature, neighbour count) and subscribing to admin commands.

Sections to write:

• Requirements — T-Deck Pro 4G (A7682E), active SIM with data plan, SD card, MQTT broker account
• Setting up HiveMQ Cloud — step-by-step free account creation, cluster setup, credentials
• SD card configuration — /remote/mqtt.cfg (broker, port, username, password, device ID) and optional /remote/apn.cfg
• Deploying — flash meck_remote_repeater, insert SIM and SD, boot sequence, display status indicators
• Dashboard usage — connecting Meck-Mycelium to your MQTT broker, available commands (clock sync, send advert, reboot, get status), telemetry display
• Troubleshooting — common issues (SIM not registering, MQTT auth failures, APN auto-detection)

TODO — This section needs full documentation. The feature is implemented. Draft outline below.

The WiFi repeater variants turn a device into a dedicated MeshCore repeater with WiFi MQTT remote management — similar to the cellular remote repeater but using WiFi instead of 4G. The repeater forwards mesh traffic and responds to guest logins as normal, but admin management is performed remotely via MQTT through the Meck-Mycelium dashboard, not via the standard mesh admin password login. Available for the following platforms:

Sections to write:

• Requirements — device, WiFi network, MQTT broker account, SD card (T-Deck Pro) or SPIFFS config (Heltec V4)
• SD card configuration — /remote/wifi.cfg (supports multiple SSIDs) and /remote/mqtt.cfg
• Heltec V4 specifics — no SD card slot, config stored in SPIFFS, headless vs display variant
• OTA updates — NTP time sync, HTTP firmware download over WiFi
• Dashboard — same Meck-Mycelium dashboard as the cellular remote repeater

The Meck-Mycelium web app is a browser-based companion that connects to your MeshCore device via BLE (using WebBLE in Chrome) or to your MQTT broker for remote repeater management.

Features:

• Voice message playback — voice notes sent from a Meck Audio device appear as tappable playback bubbles in the DM view. Codec2 decoding happens entirely in the browser via WebAssembly — no app install or audio hardware needed on the receiving end.
• Remote repeater dashboard — connect to your MQTT broker to administer remote repeater devices (cellular or WiFi). View live telemetry, send admin commands (clock sync, send advert, reboot, get status), and manage repeaters that are out of LoRa range. This replaces the standard mesh admin password login for remote repeater variants.
• Standard companion features — messaging, contacts, channel messages via BLE.

Open https://pelgraine.github.io/Meck-Mycelium in Chrome on your phone or computer.

Note: WebBLE requires Chrome (or a Chromium-based browser). Safari and Firefox do not support WebBLE.

MeshCore is a lightweight, portable C++ library that enables multi-hop packet routing for embedded projects using LoRa and other packet radios. It is designed for developers who want to create resilient, decentralized communication networks that work without the internet.

MeshCore now supports a range of LoRa devices, allowing for easy flashing without the need to compile firmware manually. Users can flash a pre-built binary using tools like esptool.py and interact with the network through a serial console. MeshCore provides the ability to create wireless mesh networks, similar to Meshtastic and Reticulum but with a focus on lightweight multi-hop packet routing for embedded projects. Unlike Meshtastic, which is tailored for casual LoRa communication, or Reticulum, which offers advanced networking, MeshCore balances simplicity with scalability, making it ideal for custom embedded solutions, where devices (nodes) can communicate over long distances by relaying messages through intermediate nodes. This is especially useful in off-grid, emergency, or tactical situations where traditional communication infrastructure is unavailable.

• Multi-Hop Packet Routing
  • Devices can forward messages across multiple nodes, extending range beyond a single radio's reach.
  • Supports up to a configurable number of hops to balance network efficiency and prevent excessive traffic.
  • Nodes use fixed roles where "Companion" nodes are not repeating messages at all to prevent adverse routing paths from being used.
• Supports LoRa Radios — Works with Heltec, RAK Wireless, and other LoRa-based hardware.
• Decentralized & Resilient — No central server or internet required; the network is self-healing.
• Low Power Consumption — Ideal for battery-powered or solar-powered devices.
• Simple to Deploy — Pre-built example applications make it easy to get started.

• Off-Grid Communication: Stay connected even in remote areas.
• Emergency Response & Disaster Recovery: Set up instant networks where infrastructure is down.
• Outdoor Activities: Hiking, camping, and adventure racing communication.
• Tactical & Security Applications: Military, law enforcement, and private security use cases.
• IoT & Sensor Networks: Collect data from remote sensors and relay it back to a central location.

• Watch the MeshCore Intro Video by Andy Kirby.
• Read through our Frequently Asked Questions section.
• Download firmware from the Releases page and flash it using the instructions above.
• Connect with a supported client.

For developers:

• Install PlatformIO in Visual Studio Code.
• Clone and open the Meck repository in Visual Studio Code.
• Build for your target device using the environment names listed in the build variant tables above.

Companion Firmware

The companion firmware can be connected to via BLE (T-Deck Pro and T-Deck Max BLE variants) or WiFi (T-Deck Pro and T-Deck Max WiFi variants, TCP port 5000).

Note: On the T-Deck Pro and T-Deck Max, Bluetooth is off at boot: navigate to the Bluetooth home page and press Enter to turn it on. The WiFi builds turn WiFi on at boot and try to join your saved network (see WiFi Companion). On the combined builds (meck_max_ble_wifi, meck_audio_ble_wifi and meck_4g_ble_wifi), Bluetooth and WiFi are both off at boot (see Combined Bluetooth + WiFi builds).

• Web: https://app.meshcore.nz
• Meck-Mycelium: https://pelgraine.github.io/Meck-Mycelium (voice playback, remote repeater dashboard)
• Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.liamcottle.meshcore.android
• iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/meshcore/id6742354151?platform=iphone
• NodeJS: https://github.com/liamcottle/meshcore.js
• Python: https://github.com/fdlamotte/meshcore-cli

Channel data (v1.15+): companion apps that support it can send and receive channel data packets (MeshCore's PAYLOAD_TYPE_GRP_DATA) on your channels. Received channel data is queued for the app to collect. It is not shown on the device.

MeshCore is designed for devices listed in the MeshCore Flasher. Meck specifically targets the LilyGo T-Deck Pro, LilyGo T-Deck Max, Heltec V3 (remote repeater only), and Heltec V4 (remote repeater only).

Please submit PR's using 'dev' as the base branch! For minor changes just submit your PR and I'll try to review it, but for anything more 'impactful' please open an Issue first and start a discussion. Is better to sound out what it is you want to achieve first, and try to come to a consensus on what the best approach is, especially when it impacts the structure or architecture of this codebase.

Here are some general principals you should try to adhere to:

• Keep it simple. Please, don't think like a high-level lang programmer. Think embedded, and keep code concise, without any unnecessary layers.
• No dynamic memory allocation, except during setup/begin functions.
• Use the same brace and indenting style that's in the core source modules. (A .clang-format is prob going to be added soon, but please do NOT retroactively re-format existing code. This just creates unnecessary diffs that make finding problems harder)

There are a number of fairly major features in the pipeline, with no particular time-frames attached yet. In partly chronological order:

T-Deck Pro:

• Companion radio: BLE
• Text entry for Public channel messages Companion BLE firmware
• View and compose all channel messages Companion BLE firmware
• Standalone DM functionality for Companion BLE firmware
• Contacts list with filtering for Companion BLE firmware
• Standalone repeater admin access for Companion BLE firmware
• GPS time sync with on-device timezone setting
• Settings screen with radio presets, channel management, and first-boot onboarding
• Expand SMS app to enable phone calls
• Basic web reader app with IRC client
• Lock screen with auto-lock timer and low-power standby
• Last heard passive advert list
• Touch-to-select on contacts, discovery, settings, text reader, notes screens
• Map screen with GPS tile rendering
• WiFi companion environment
• OTA firmware update via phone
• DM inbox with per-contact unread indicators
• Roomserver message handling and mark-read on login
• Alarm clock with custom MP3 sounds (audio variant)
• Customised user option for larger-font mode
• Voice notes over LoRa (Codec2, audio variant)
• Contact select mode with batch favourite, export, import, and delete
• Path editor for manual contact route management
• Remote repeater with cellular MQTT admin management (4G variant)
• WiFi remote repeater with MQTT admin management
• SD File Manager via OTA Tools
• 2,000 contact support (PSRAM, all variants)
• Channel picker screen with unread badges
• Region scope (MeshCore v1.15+ compatibility)
• Selectable font styles (Classic, Noto Sans, Montserrat)
• Expanded emoji picker (79 emoji, reordered, wrap scrolling)
• 1,000-entry advert path cache (PSRAM)
• Accented character / diacritics support (Czech, Polish, French, German, Latin Extended)
• Page scroll (Shift+W/S) on all list screens
• True power off (deep sleep, no wake sources)
• BLE 2M PHY, DLE, and faster write interval
• Trace route screen with contact picker and typed-path entry (v1.9)
• DM message persistence across reboots (v1.9)
• Per-channel message history deletion (v1.10)
• Per-channel notification preferences with @mention support (v1.10)
• Custom notification tones per channel -- audio variant (MP3) and 4G variant (WAV via modem) (v1.10)
• Games menu with Snake and Minesweeper (v1.10)
• Game Boy / Game Boy Color emulator, T-Deck Max (v1.14) -- see Games
• Game Boy emulator on the T-Deck Pro (v1.14; sound not yet on the Pro)
• Game Boy emulator sound on the T-Deck Max, through the ES8311, mic key to mute (v1.14)
• Game Boy emulator sound on the T-Deck Pro audio variants (PCM5102A)
• Emulator omitted from the games menu on the 40 MHz battery-saver builds (v1.14)
• Game Boy real-time-clock state in save files
• MAX_GROUP_CHANNELS expanded to 40 for all builds (v1.10)
• Private channel support with random secret generation (v1.11)
• Channel sharing via encrypted DM with auto-add on receive (v1.11)
• Config export/import to SD card with selectable sections (v1.11)
• Contact recency fix for nodes with stuck/behind clocks (v1.11)
• Expanded emoji picker (79 emoji) (v1.11)
• Timezones world clock home page, Home plus two zones (v1.15)
• Experimental Features: French interface, RX boosted gain, AGC reset interval, delete all contacts (v1.15)
• Accented Noto Sans and Montserrat fonts at Tiny size (v1.15)
• WiFi connect popups with the failure reason; WiFi on/off from the WiFi home page (v1.15)
• Export and import progress popups (v1.15)
• Settings channel rows: long rows switch between start and end (v1.15)
• Channel data packets for the companion app (v1.15)
• DMs follow the companion app's chosen region (v1.15)
• MeshCore v1.18 fixes (v1.15)
• Combined Bluetooth + WiFi builds for the T-Deck Pro Audio and 4G, switching restarts the device (meck_audio_ble_wifi / meck_4g_ble_wifi) (v1.15.1)
• Fix M4B rendering to enable chaptered audiobook playback
• Better JPEG and PNG decoding
• Improve EPUB rendering and EPUB format handling
• Incoming call ringer silence (hardware limitation -- A7682E drives speaker autonomously on RING, no software mute path available)

T-Deck Max:

• Core port: e-ink display, TCA8418 keyboard, LoRa, battery, GPS (decoupled from the T-Deck Pro variant)
• Companion radio: BLE, WiFi, and Standalone variants (meck_max_ble / meck_max_wifi / meck_max_standalone)
• Combined 4G (A7682E) and audio (ES8311) running simultaneously via the XL9555 I/O expander
• ES8311 audio codec init -- audiobooks, music, alarms, and notification MP3s
• Music playback from /audiobooks/music (no bookmarks, WAV duration from header)
• SMS & phone app available alongside the audio apps on the same device
• CST328 capacitive touch support (vendored Hynitron driver)
• Three capacitive front buttons -- Heart (frontlight), speech bubble (channel picker), paper plane (DM inbox)
• E-ink frontlight with configurable brightness (Settings, 5--100%)
• Keyboard backlight toggle (press both Shift keys)
• Buzzer (vibrate) per-channel notification option via DRV2605 haptic motor
• Multi-constellation GPS -- GPS, Galileo, BeiDou ($PCAS04,7)
• Home-screen e-ink X-offset and word-wrap fixes
• Voice-note playback (ES8311 output path)
• Voice-note recording on MAX (ES8311 ADC capture path)
• Combined Bluetooth + WiFi build, switching restarts the device (meck_max_ble_wifi) (v1.15)
• Change Backlight to Alt+B option in Experimental Features (v1.15)
• Bluetooth transmit power +15 dBm on meck_max_ble and meck_max_ble_wifi (v1.15)
• BHI260AP gyroscope / IMU support (0x28) -- new on the MAX, not yet used by Meck

Heltec V4:

• WiFi remote repeater with MQTT admin management
• Headless WiFi repeater variant (no display)

Heltec V3:

• WiFi remote repeater with MQTT admin management

• Join MeshCore Discord to chat with the developers and get help from the community.

The upstream MeshCore library is released under the MIT License (Copyright © 2025 Scott Powell / rippleradios.com). Meck-specific code (UI screens, display helpers, device integration) is also provided under the MIT License.

However, this firmware links against libraries with different license terms. Because some dependencies use the GPL-3.0 copyleft license (GxEPD2, ESP32-audioI2S) and others use LGPL-2.1 (Codec2, ESPAsyncWebServer, Arduino_LPS22HB), the combined firmware binary is effectively subject to GPL-3.0 obligations when distributed. Please review the individual licenses below if you intend to redistribute or modify this firmware.

¹ Includes INA219, INA260, INA3221, AHTX0, BME280, BMP280, BME680, BMP085, SHTC3, MLX90614, VL53L0X — all MIT or BSD licensed. Used via the sensor manager for optional environmental monitoring.

Full license texts for each dependency are available in their respective repositories linked above.

No Game Boy software of any kind is included in Meck; the emulator runs only ROM files the user places on the SD card.