hub MODE-X MESH settings

Getting Started

Getting a node on the air takes about five minutes. You'll flash the firmware from your browser, then pair the node with the app.

1. Flash your node

  1. Open the Web Flasher in Chrome or Edge on a computer. (Flashing uses Web Serial, which Firefox and Safari don't support.)
  2. Connect your node to the computer with a USB data cable.
  3. Choose Mode-X Mesh only and click Install. If your board needs it, hold the BOOT button while it connects.
  4. Wait for the progress bar to finish. The node restarts into Mode-X Mesh, ready to pair.

That's it - no toolchain, no drivers beyond the USB serial port your board already uses.

Roadmap: alternate firmware

If you'd like to run Mode-X Mesh and Meshtastic on the same device and switch between them at boot, use the Dual-boot option on the flasher page. You supply the Meshtastic firmware file; everything is flashed locally in your browser and your file never leaves your machine. Hold the USER button while powering on to switch which system the node boots into.

2. Pair with the app

  1. Install the Mode-X Mesh app on your Android phone.
  2. Open the app and tap Pair. It will scan for nearby nodes over Bluetooth.
  3. Select your node and follow the short setup: give it a name, choose how it should handle your location, and pick a role (or leave it on Smart Auto, which is right for most people).

When setup finishes, your node is live. You'll see it on the app's dashboard with its battery level, signal and current status.

3. Say hello

Open the Messages screen, make sure you're on the General channel, and send ping. Within a few seconds the network bot replies with a pong and a quick summary of how many nodes are active. That round-trip confirms your node has a working path into the wider mesh.

What happens automatically

Once you're set up, the node looks after itself:

  • It joins your local channels - your town, your region, and the network-wide General channel - based on where it is.
  • It picks the most useful role for its situation if you left it on Smart Auto.
  • It finds the best path for your messages through whichever neighbours it can hear.
  • It shares telemetry (battery, signal, sensors) so you and others can see network health - without ever sharing your location unless you turned that on.

Connecting to the wider world

A node on its own, or a cluster of nodes, works completely off-grid. If you want messages and the live map to reach the internet, you have two easy options:

  • Wi-Fi or phone tether on a node - it uploads directly.
  • A local gateway - a small always-on device (such as a Raspberry Pi) on your network that collects from every nearby node and forwards on their behalf. Your nodes find it automatically and prefer it when it's available, falling back to the public server if it isn't.

You never have to choose manually - the node uses whatever path is alive.