📖 Start Here — Meshtastic Repeaters Guide

This book covers Meshtastic infrastructure nodes - the ROUTER and REPEATER roles (and ROUTER_LATE) - from site selection through deployment, configuration, monitoring, and maintenance. (Note: the older ROUTER_CLIENT role was deprecated and removed in firmware 2.3.15 — use ROUTER or ROUTER_LATE instead. As of firmware ~2.7.x the REPEATER role is also deprecated; for most infrastructure the current recommendation is ROUTER. See the role pages for details.)
🚀 Where to Start
 
What is a Meshtastic Repeater?
 
ROUTER vs REPEATER vs ROUTER_LATE: When to Use Each - Critical decision before you configure anything. This is the canonical role-decision page; start here for which role to pick.
 
Choosing a Repeater Location
A note on the role pages: several pages in this book discuss role selection (Device Roles Explained, the Deep Dive, and Router vs. Repeater: Which to Choose). Treat "ROUTER vs REPEATER vs ROUTER_LATE: When to Use Each" above as the authoritative, current-firmware reference; the other role pages provide background but predate the ROUTER_CLIENT removal (2.3.15) and REPEATER deprecation (~2.7.x), so where they disagree, follow the canonical page.
📚 What's In This Book
Roles and Role Configuration
 
Device Roles Explained
 
Router & Repeater Roles: Deep Dive
 
Rebroadcast Mode: ALL_SKIP_DECODING
 
Hop Limit Configuration for Repeaters
 
Fixed Position for Repeater Nodes
Site Planning and Setup
 
Choosing a Repeater Location
 
Antenna and Signal Range Factors
 
Initial Setup Walkthrough
 
Channel Configuration for Infrastructure Nodes
 
Legal Considerations - FCC power and antenna rules before you transmit
Advanced Features
 
Store and Forward - Message persistence for offline nodes
 
Position and Telemetry for Infrastructure Nodes
Network Reliability and Redundancy
 
Designing for Reliability: N+1 Redundancy
 
Planned Maintenance Procedures for Live Networks
 
Channel Utilization Management
Monitoring and Maintenance
 
Remote Monitoring a Meshtastic Repeater
 
Firmware Updates on Deployed Repeaters
 
Troubleshooting a Misbehaving Repeater
➡️ Related Books
 
Meshtastic - Protocol, configuration, and app guide
 
Room Servers & Gateways - MQTT gateways
 
Solar & Power Systems - Powering outdoor repeaters
 
Network Planning - Coverage planning and topology design