Set up MeshSat Android
Setup is a short list: install the app, pair your node, and optionally connect the Hub and allow SMS. Each line in Setup shows where that link stands, and Home says what to do when one is not working.
Setup: node, satellite, Hub and SMS, each with where it stands.
Install
- Download the APK from the latest release.
- Let your browser or file manager install unknown apps. Android asks the first time.
- Open the APK and tap Install. Play Protect may warn about an unknown developer, because the app is not on the Play Store: tap More details, then Install anyway.
- Open MeshSat and allow Bluetooth, location, SMS and notifications. Android needs location for Bluetooth scanning.
You need Android 8.0 or later.
Check the signature first
Releases are built and signed in CI. Before you install an APK you can check it with apksigner verify --print-certs meshsat-android-<version>-release.apk. Every release since 2.8.0 shows the certificate SHA-256 digest 8ca78b6c33bd9796bb05f40fec2a0ab801e0297e7565960d42f5e6af821c9f66.
Coming from 2.8 or older? Since 2.9.0 the app is net.meshsat.android (it was com.cubeos.meshsat), so Android installs it as a separate app and nothing carries over. Uninstall the old one, install the new one, and provision it with the Hub again.
Pair your node
In Setup, open Your MeshSat node, tap Scan for Meshtastic devices, then Connect next to your node and enter its Bluetooth PIN. The scan lists every Meshtastic device in range, so pick the node by its name: a v0 node advertises as MSIR_ plus four hex digits. A plain Meshtastic radio pairs the same way. Node pairing needs version 2.9.10 or later.
After a restart the app reconnects to the same node by itself.
Your MeshSat node: connected over Bluetooth, with its id and its own radio.
Satellite: the node's modem, with Poll Signal and Check Mailbox.
Satellite
With Use the node's modem on, which is the default, the app uses the node's RockBLOCK while the node is connected. Setup > Satellite shows the modem, its signal, and two buttons: Poll Signal and Check Mailbox. Each satellite session costs a credit, so read Satellite before you press them often.
The RockBLOCK 9704 is reached through an HC-05 or HC-06 Bluetooth serial adapter paired in Android's Bluetooth settings first. That code is in the app, but it has not been tested on hardware.
Hub (optional)
The Hub is where the phone reports and where satellite messages land. In Setup > Hub, tap Scan Hub Provision QR and scan the QR code from the Hub (see Connect a bridge). That sets the Hub address, the credentials and the client certificate in one go, and the phone appears in the Hub's fleet like a field kit.
Hub: connected, provisioned from the Hub's QR code.
Hub relay to a kit is a fallback: when a field kit cannot be reached directly, the app reaches it through the Hub.
SMS
In Setup > SMS, tap Allow SMS and fill in the Kit phone number. SOS texts go to that number too.
Send something
In Messages, tap New message and pick who it is for: a node, everyone on the mesh, a phone number or the satellite. For a satellite message the compose bar shows the bytes and credits before you send. Home shows each way out: a solid line works, a dotted line is not available, and an orange dot is a message on its way. A message shows a clock while it waits and a tick once it is sent; red means it failed.
When something does not work
The scan does not find my radio. Location must be allowed, Bluetooth must be on, and the radio must not be connected to another phone.
The app stops in the background. Some phone makers kill background services. Set MeshSat's battery use to Unrestricted, and see dontkillmyapp.com for your brand.
"App not installed". Usually a signature mismatch with a copy that is already installed, or the old com.cubeos.meshsat app from before 2.9. Uninstall it first.
The map only shows countries. Detailed tiles come from the internet. Offline, the map falls back to the world overview built into the app, which stops at country level.