Channel Configuration for Infrastructure Nodes

What Are Channels?

Meshtastic supports up to 8 simultaneous channels (numbered 0–0 - 7). Channel 0 is the primary channel used for most mesh traffic. Channels 1–1 - 7 can carry separately encrypted traffic for specific groups or purposes.

PSK —- Pre-Shared Key

Each channel has a name and a 32-byte encryption key (PSK). Two nodes can communicate on a channel only if they share the same name and the same PSK. The PSK is used for AES-256 encryption of all payloads on that channel.

The Default Public Key

The Default channel uses a well-known, publicly published key (effectively no private encryption). Any node running Meshtastic with the default channel can participate in the public mesh. Using a custom PSK creates a private channel readable only by nodes that hold that key.

Channel Strategy for Community Infrastructure Nodes

• Channel 0 —- Default PSK: Keep the primary channel on the public Default key so all community users benefit from your repeater's coverage.
• Channel 1 —- Private PSK: Adding a secondary channel with a private key for your personal use or club coordination is acceptable. The repeater will relay packets on both channels.

Admin Channel

Meshtastic can designate any channel as the Admin channel. Nodes that share the admin channel with your repeater can send remote configuration commands —- changing settings without physical access to the device.

This is strongly recommended for unattended permanent deployments.

1. Navigate to Config → Channels and add a new channel (e.g. channel 1).
2. Enable the Is Admin toggle for that channel.
3. Save the channel configuration as a QR code and store it securely —- anyone with this QR code can reconfigure your node remotely.

Channel Propagation

Your repeater only relays channels it has configured. If a node on the mesh is using a custom channel that your repeater does not know about, those packets will not be relayed. For a public community repeater, keeping only the public Default channel is the standard approach.

Changing Channels on a Deployed Node

Options for modifying channel config after deployment:

• Via admin channel (preferred for remote nodes) —- send a channel update from another device that shares the admin channel.
• Via serial/USB —- connect a laptop directly to the node.
• Via Bluetooth —- only if Bluetooth was left enabled.

Common pitfall: losing the admin channel config (or disabling Bluetooth and having no USB access) leaves a remote node inaccessible without a physical site visit. Always save admin channel QR codes before deployment.