Skip to main content

Connecting Your Meshtastic Device

Before you can use an off-grid group, you need to pair your Meshtastic device with Flaresat over Bluetooth.

Prerequisites​

  1. A Meshtastic device — any supported hardware
  2. Meshtastic firmware flashed on the device
  3. Bluetooth enabled on your phone

If you haven't set up your device yet, follow the Meshtastic getting started guide first — it covers flashing firmware and basic configuration.

Connect from Flaresat​

  1. Open any off-grid group (or create one first — see Create an Off-Grid Group)
  2. Tap the radio icon in the map header
  3. The Device Controls panel opens — tap Scan for devices
  4. Make sure your Meshtastic device is powered on and in range
  5. Your device appears in the list — tap it to connect
  6. If prompted, confirm the Bluetooth pairing

Once connected, you'll see the device name and node ID in the controls panel.

Connection status​

IndicatorMeaning
Green dotConnected and ready
Orange dotScanning for devices
Gray dotReady but not connected
Red dotBluetooth unavailable or error

Troubleshooting​

Device doesn't appear in scan:

  • Make sure Bluetooth is on your phone
  • Power cycle the Meshtastic device
  • Grant Flaresat Bluetooth and Nearby Devices permissions in your device settings
  • Move closer to the device (BLE range is typically 10–30 meters)

Connection drops:

  • Keep your phone within ~10 meters of the device for reliable BLE
  • Some devices go into deep sleep — check your Meshtastic firmware settings and disable aggressive sleep if needed

Wrong device connecting:

  • Multiple Meshtastic devices in range? The list shows all discovered devices — make sure you tap the correct one (device name is set in Meshtastic config)

Device won't reconnect:

  • Tap Forget device in the Device Controls panel to clear the pairing, then scan and connect again

Disconnect​

To disconnect from a device:

  1. Open the Device Controls panel
  2. Tap Disconnect

You can reconnect at any time. To switch to a different device, use Forget device first, then scan again.

Bluetooth permissions​

Flaresat requires Bluetooth permissions to communicate with your device. If you previously denied permission:

iOS: Settings → Flaresat → Enable Bluetooth

Android: Settings → Apps → Flaresat → Permissions → Enable Nearby devices (or Bluetooth)