Node / meshtastic / Meshtastic-Android / files / docs / srp / user / settings-radio-user.md

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title: Settings — Radio & User

parent: User Guide

nav_order: 7

last_updated: 2026-09-04

description: Configure your radio hardware, LoRa presets, user profile, position sharing, power management, and security.

aliases:

• подешавања

• radio-config

• user-config

• lora

Configure your radio's user identity, region and LoRa parameters, position and power behavior, network and Bluetooth connectivity, and security settings.

Everything here is on the Settings screen. User, LoRa, Channels and Security are

listed there directly. Device, Position, Power, Network, Display and

Bluetooth are one level down, under Settings → Device configuration. Network appears

only on radios with Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and Bluetooth only on radios with Bluetooth.

Settings use standard preference controls — dropdowns, toggles, and sliders:

On Settings → LoRa.

Some regions are amateur-radio allocations whose presets only licensed operators may use. On firmware 2.8 or newer the app knows which regions those are and grays the whole Presets list out until Licensed amateur radio (Ham) is turned on for the node you are configuring; the text under the field says so while it is grayed out.

│ ⚠️ Important: Operating without the correct region may violate local radio regulations. See the

│ region configuration guide on

│ meshtastic.org for details.

The Lite, Narrow, Medium Turbo, and Tiny presets need firmware 2.8 or newer — the app hides them on older radios.

│ 💡 Tip: The SNR Limit values are negative on purpose. LoRa can decode signals below the noise

│ floor, so a more-negative limit means the preset tolerates a weaker, noisier signal (more range).

│ See How the Signal Meter │ Works

│ for the full explanation.

│ ℹ️ Note: This table uses the common short names. The app's Presets dropdown lists the raw

│ firmware names instead — T383838SHORT_FAST, T383838LONG_FAST, T383838LITE_FAST, T383838NARROW_FAST, and so on. Local Mesh

│ Discovery shows the same presets as Long Fast and Short Turbo.

The modem preset controls the fundamental tradeoff between range and data rate:

• Slower presets use more spreading, making signals decodable at weaker signal levels (lower SNR limit). This means longer range but fewer bytes per second.

• Faster presets pack more data per transmission but require a stronger signal to decode.

• Urban mesh (many nodes, short distances): Use Long Fast (default) or Short Fast. Higher speed means less airtime congestion when many nodes share the channel.

• Rural/sparse mesh (few nodes, long distances): Use Long Moderate. Range matters more than speed when nodes are far apart.

• EU 866/868 MHz regulatory compliance: Use Lite Fast, Lite Slow, Narrow Fast, or Narrow Slow — these are optimized for the EU SRD/868 MHz bands with narrower bandwidths.

• Fixed infrastructure links: Use Short Turbo or Long Turbo for dedicated point-to-point links with good antennas and line-of-sight.

• Mixed environments: Stick with Long Fast — it's the community default and ensures compatibility with others in your area.

All nodes on the same channel must use the same modem preset. Nodes with mismatched presets cannot communicate even if they share the same frequency and encryption key.

The range estimates in the Modem Presets table assume flat terrain and modest antennas. Elevation advantage (hilltop, rooftop) dramatically increases effective range. A well-placed Router with Long Fast can often outperform a ground-level node with Long Slow.

On Settings → Device configuration → Display. These control the radio's own screen, not the app's.

On Settings → Device configuration → Position.

│ ⚠️ Important: Saving this screen always reboots the radio.

On Settings → Device configuration → Power.

On Settings → Device configuration → Network, on radios with Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

│ ⚠️ Warning: Turning on Wi-Fi enabled or Ethernet enabled ends the Bluetooth connection between

│ your phone and the radio. Reconnect over the network afterwards from the

│ Connections

│ screen, or turn Wi-Fi off again from the radio's own screen or over USB. Saving this screen also

│ always reboots the radio.

!Network Config with a static IPv4 address entered

On Settings → Device configuration → Bluetooth, on radios with Bluetooth.

│ ⚠️ Important: Saving this screen always reboots the radio.

On Settings → Security. The screen is grouped into cards: Packet authenticity, Direct Message Key (your node's key pair), Admin Keys, Logs, and Administration.

│ ⚠️ Important: Saving this screen always reboots the radio.

Lockdown encrypts the device's storage and requires a passphrase for each connection. It needs

supporting firmware; the row does not appear otherwise.

Enabling it asks you to set and confirm a passphrase, and to acknowledge that **it locks the debug

(SWD) port on hardware that supports locking**. You can turn lockdown off again at any time with

the passphrase, and a full device erase restores the hardware regardless.

Alongside the passphrase you set the limits that end a session automatically:

Once active, the row reads Active — storage encrypted, this connection authenticated when

unlocked, or Active — enter your passphrase to unlock this connection when not. Lock Now

ends the current session immediately. Repeated wrong passphrases are rate-limited with a

back-off before you can try again.

│ ⚠️ Warning: There is no passphrase recovery. Losing it means erasing the device to get it back,

│ which destroys its keys, channels and settings.

• Settings — Modules & Admin — optional feature modules and device administration

• Signal Meter — how modem presets affect signal quality thresholds

• LoRa configuration — detailed LoRa settings reference on meshtastic.org

• Initial configuration — region setup guide on meshtastic.org