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Connecting Your Radio Device

Before you can use a Radio group, you need to pair your LoRa radio device with Flaresat over Bluetooth.

Flaresat supports devices running Meshtastic or MeshCore firmware, the pairing steps are identical for both.

What you need​

  1. A LoRa radio device, see compatible hardware below
  2. Meshtastic or MeshCore firmware flashed on the device
  3. Bluetooth enabled on your phone

Compatible hardware​

Any device running Meshtastic or MeshCore firmware with Bluetooth works. Popular options:

DeviceNotes
RAK WisMesh TagCompact EDC device, IP66, built-in GPS, 5–6 day battery, ships pre-flashed with Meshtastic
Heltec V3Budget-friendly, small display
LilyGO T-BeamBuilt-in GPS and 18650 battery slot
RAK WisBlockModular, customizable

New to this? Start with the RAK WisMesh Tag, it ships pre-flashed with Meshtastic and is ready to pair out of the box.

Firmware setup​

Web Bluetooth compatibility​

On the web/PWA version, Flaresat uses the Web Bluetooth API to connect to devices. Web Bluetooth is only supported in:

  • Chrome (desktop and Android)
  • Edge (desktop)

It is not supported in Firefox or Safari. If you're on web and need to connect a radio device, use Chrome or Edge.

Connect from Flaresat​

1
Open a Radio group

Open any Radio group (or create one first, see Create a Radio Group).

2
Open the Radio panel

Tap the Bluetooth icon in the map header. The Radio panel opens.

3
Select your firmware

Tap Meshtastic or MeshCore to match the firmware running on your device.

4
Scan for devices

Tap Scan for devices.

5
Power on your device

Make sure your radio device is powered on and in range.

6
Connect

Your device appears in the list, tap it to connect.

7
Confirm pairing

If prompted, confirm the Bluetooth pairing.

Once connected, you'll see the device's node ID and battery level in the controls panel (e.g., "Node A3F2 Β· 84%").

Channel encryption (optional)​

Pairing alone is all you need, every Radio group works out of the box on your device's public channel slot, no configuration required.

If you want private, encrypted traffic, that's a setting on the device itself, not on the group. Open Radio Settings (tap β‹― in a group's map header, then RADIO) and set a passphrase on one of the 7 private channel slots. See Radio Settings β†’ for the full walkthrough.

This is different from older versions of Flaresat, where the channel was tied to the group and stored inside the invite code. It no longer is, an invite code only carries the group's name, subcode, color, and icon. Your device's channel slot is shared across every Radio group you use, switching groups never changes it.

Connection status​

The Radio group header shows a badge indicating device status:

BadgeMeaning
84% (or battery level)Connected, shows device battery level when available
PAIREDConnected, device does not report battery
NOT PAIREDNo device connected

The Radio panel (tap the Bluetooth icon) uses color indicators while scanning:

  • Green, connected
  • Orange, scanning
  • Gray, idle, not connected
  • Red, Bluetooth unavailable or error

Troubleshooting​

Device doesn't appear in scan:

  • Make sure Bluetooth is on your phone
  • Power cycle the radio 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 firmware settings and disable aggressive sleep if needed

Wrong device connecting:

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

Device won't reconnect:

  • If a connection drops, Flaresat automatically retries up to 3 times (after 2 s, 4 s, and 6 s). If all retries fail, tap Scan for devices again to reconnect manually.
  • Tap Forget in the Radio panel to clear the pairing, then scan and connect again

Disconnect​

To disconnect from a device:

1
Open the Radio panel

Tap the Bluetooth icon in the map header.

2
Disconnect

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 β†’ Flaresat β†’ Enable Bluetooth

Android Settings β†’ Apps β†’ Flaresat β†’ Permissions β†’ Enable Nearby devices (or Bluetooth)