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title: Units, Measurement & Locale

parent: User Guide

nav_order: 16

last_updated: 2026-08-19

description: How the app formats temperature, distance, speed, and other measurements based on your device locale.

The Meshtastic app automatically displays temperatures, distances, speeds, and times in the units your device is configured to use — no settings to change inside the app.

Meshtastic radios always transmit data in metric units (meters, °C, m/s, hPa, etc.). When the app receives this data, it converts and displays values in whatever unit system your device's locale specifies.

On Android, your measurement preferences are determined by your system Language & Region settings. On Desktop (JVM), the app uses the JVM's default T383838Locale.

│ 💡 Tip: You never need to toggle units inside the app. Change your system measurement preferences

│ and every screen in Meshtastic updates automatically — node details, telemetry charts, weather,

│ altitude, and more.

Temperature values from environment sensors are transmitted as °C and displayed based on your device's temperature unit preference.

!Environment metrics with temperature

This affects all temperature displays throughout the app: node environment telemetry, soil temperature, dew point, and telemetry chart axes.

Temperature follows your locale's temperature preference, independent of the distance system. Locales that mix systems work correctly — a UK phone shows miles for distance but °C for temperature. On Android 14+, the Temperature regional preference (Settings → System → Languages → Regional preferences) overrides the locale default.

Distances between nodes and GPS altitudes are transmitted as meters and automatically scaled and converted.

!Distance info display

The app uses natural scaling — short distances stay in meters or feet, while longer distances switch to kilometres or miles automatically.

• Node list — distance and bearing to each node

• Node detail — altitude, distance from your position

• Map — waypoint distances, traceroute hop distances

• Compass — distance to selected node

GPS ground speed is displayed in your locale's preferred speed unit.

Wind speed and gust data from environment sensors are transmitted as m/s and converted for display.

Wind readings appear in the Node Detail environment section and the Environment Telemetry charts.

Rainfall measurements (1-hour and 24-hour totals) are transmitted as mm and converted for display.

Some units are international standards and are displayed the same way regardless of your locale:

All timestamps throughout the app — last heard, message times, telemetry logs, chart axes — follow your device's date and time preferences.

The app also uses relative time where it makes sense — for example, "5 min ago" or "2 hours ago" in the node list — which is automatically localised into your device language.

On Android, your measurement system (metric vs imperial) is tied to your region setting:

1. Open Android Settings → System → Language & Region

2. Change your Region or Measurement units preference

3. On Android 14+, temperature can be overridden on its own under Regional preferences → Temperature

4. Return to Meshtastic — values update immediately

│ 💡 Tip: All measurement formatting is handled centrally and respects your platform's locale, so

│ units stay consistent everywhere in the app.

• Node Metrics — where temperature, distance, and sensor values are displayed

• Telemetry & Sensors — the sensors that produce these measurements

• Measurement & Formatting — developer reference for the formatting utilities

• Settings — Radio & User — region setting that drives unit selection