MeshCore Low-Power

Capabilities

Node roles

Features

• Deep power optimisation with idle current profiling
• Unified BLE + USB + WiFi companion build (single binary)
• Browser-based configuration portal (backup, restore, flash, reboot)
• Companion backup/restore (preferences, WiFi credentials, presets)
• Adaptive Rx boosted gain on Heltec V4.2
• GPS constellation selection and runtime GPS update interval
• Low-battery protection and voltage reading
• Native multilingual display on Heltec T096 colour TFT
• KCT8103L FEM auto-detection on Heltec V4.3

1. v1.16.dev_0621 # Latest 3 hours ago · 2026-06-21 07:24 UTC

   View release ↗

   v1.16_0621

   • Configuration portal for Companion, Repeater, and Room Server — configure, back up, restore, and update firmware without the CLI. (ESP32 devices only)

     Open it the same way as before — start ota in the CLI, or Start OTA from the companion Settings menu. Previously this landed on a firmware-only upload page; it now opens the full configuration portal where you can configure, back up, restore, flash firmware, and reboot — all from one page in the browser.

     The companion backup covers custom preferences (Quick Send presets, saved locations, channel hop limits, display settings, WiFi credentials,...) that upstream MeshCore doesn't have — handy when moving to a new device. For the Repeater and Room Server, this is the first time backup and restore are available at all — no more re-entering everything from scratch after a node failure or hardware swap.

     The portal is password-protected. Companion: set one with set portal.password in the CLI. Repeater / Room Server: the existing admin password is used automatically.

     The backup format is compatible with the official MeshCore app — upstream preferences in the backup can be restored by the app. Passwords are never written to backup files.

   • Config portal AP: open network, login page, 1-client limit, 10-minute idle auto-shutdown.

     The WiFi AP is open (no AP password); access is gated by a browser login page using the portal password described above. Only one device can associate with the AP at a time. If no device connects within 10 minutes of the AP opening, it shuts down automatically.

     

   • Fix: full-flash (_merged.bin) images for Vision Master E213 and E290 were built with the wrong flash size.

     Both boards have 16 MB of flash, but their merged full-flash images were generated with an 8 MB flash-size header. The pre-merged images are now built with the correct 16 MB size. If you previously flashed an E213 or E290 using a _merged.bin, re-flash with the corrected image. OTA (.bin) updates were not affected.

2. v1.16.dev_0614 # 7 days ago · 2026-06-14 04:15 UTC

   View release ↗

   v1.16_0614

   • New devices: Heltec Vision Master E213, Wireless Paper, and Vision Master E290 — full e-ink companion support (Companion, Repeater, Room Server).

     Three e-ink boards are now fully supported with the complete companion UI — Quick Send, Contacts, Settings, Saved Locations, GPS Trace, and message preview. Repeater and Room Server firmware are provided for all three.

     • Heltec Vision Master E213 (author-tested, v1.1.1) — ESP32-S3 with a 2.13" e-ink display (250×122 px), SX1262 LoRa, and a QuickLink I2C port. Has a second user button (GPIO21): press to scroll up in any list, or to go back — faster than double clicking the main button.
     • Heltec Wireless Paper — ESP32-S3 with the same 2.13" e-ink panel as the E213 in a more compact form factor. Shares the same companion UI and firmware variants as the E213. Single button only.
     • Heltec Vision Master E290 — ESP32-S3R8 with a larger 2.9" e-ink display (296×128 px), SX1262 LoRa, and a QuickLink I2C port. Also has a second button (GPIO21) like the E213. The companion UI adapts automatically to the wider panel — more message lines and a larger clock on the Home screen.

     Common characteristics across all three e-ink boards:

     • Always-on display — e-ink retains content indefinitely without power; no screen timeout.
     • Native multilingual text — Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts render natively.
     • Font Weight setting — choose between Thin and Bold via Settings → Font Weight. Preference is saved to flash.
     • I2C sensor support — environment sensors can be connected via the QuickLink I2C port.

   • Companion: unified BLE / USB / WiFi connection mode for all ESP32-S3 boards.

     All ESP32-S3 companion builds (Heltec V3, V4, E213, Wireless Paper, E290, XIAO S3) now ship as a single unified firmware image that supports all three connection transports: BLE, USB serial, and WiFi TCP. The active mode is saved to flash and selected at boot — no per-mode build is needed.

     Switching is done via Settings → Connection Mode, which opens a direct selection screen listing all three modes with the current one marked *. Navigate to the desired mode and confirm — the device reboots into the new mode.

     Alternatively, switch via TerminalCLI: set conn.mode wifi|ble|usb. WiFi credentials are configured with set wifi.ssid / set wifi.password, or from the OTA update page which now includes a WiFi credentials form alongside the firmware upload button.

     In WiFi mode, the node connects as a STA to your router and the Home screen shows the IP address and port. All three modes meet the low-power criteria of this repo.

   • Companion UI: Home screen always shows a large clock; message count shown in the header.

     The center of the Home screen now always shows the current time (HH:MM) in a large font — MSG: N is gone. If there are messages stored in memory, their count and a small envelope icon appear in the header (where the small clock used to be); the header is left empty when count is zero. The header clock is visible again on all other pages as before.

     On e-ink displays (E213, Wireless Paper, E290), the clock is rendered in a large font; pairing pin or connection status appears at the bottom-left, and the date at the bottom-right. On OLED and T096, the layout is: large clock → date → connection status, stacked top to bottom.

     Before the clock is synchronized with the app or GPS, the display shows uptime counting up from 00:00 since boot, consistent with the small header clock.

   • Repeater/Room Server: flood hop limits now correctly ignore leading-zero path padding.

     Some senders limit how far a packet propagates by pre-filling the path with zero entries — a TTL trick used by custom firmware, and by companions in this firmware via ch.hops. Previously, repeaters counted these zeros as real relay hops, causi …

3. pre-release-Heltec-E213-Wireless-Paper-E290 # Pre-release 10 days ago · 2026-06-11 11:45 UTC

   View release ↗

   v1.16_0611 pre-release for Heltec E213, Wireless Paper and E290

   • New device: Heltec Vision Master E213 — full support (Companion, Repeater, Room Server).

     The Heltec Vision Master E213 is now fully supported. It is an ESP32-S3 based board with a 2.13" e-ink display, SX1262 LoRa radio, and a USB-C port. The complete companion UI runs on the e-ink display — Quick Send, Contacts, Settings, Saved Locations, GPS Trace, and message preview. Repeater and Room Server firmware are also provided.

     Notable characteristics:

     • Always-on e-ink display — no screen timeout; the display retains its content indefinitely without power.
     • Native multilingual text — Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts render natively.
     • I2C sensor support — environment sensors (temperature, humidity, pressure...) can be connected via the QuickLink I2C port.
     • Two user buttons — the second button (GPIO21) makes navigation faster: press it to scroll up in any list, or to go back/exit any menu.

   • New devices: Heltec Wireless Paper and Heltec Vision Master E290 — full support (Companion, Repeater, Room Server).

     Two new e-ink boards are now supported:

     • Heltec Wireless Paper — ESP32-S3 with a 2.13" e-ink display (same resolution as E213), SX1262 LoRa radio, and a compact form factor. Shares the same companion UI and firmware variants as E213.

     • Heltec Vision Master E290 — ESP32-S3R8 with a larger 2.9" e-ink display (296×128), SX1262 LoRa radio, and a QuickLink I2C port for external sensors. The companion UI adapts automatically to the wider, taller display — showing more message lines and better-spaced layouts compared to the 2.13" boards.