Skip to main content

Built-in Telemetry Types

Built-in Telemetry Types

Meshtastic nodes broadcast telemetry data alongside messages. Understanding what each telemetry type reports helps you configure nodes correctly and interpret network monitoring data.

Device Metrics

Broadcast by all nodes automatically. Includes:

  • Battery voltage —- raw voltage of the battery pack
  • Battery percentage —- estimated state of charge
  • Air utilization —- percentage of time the node’node's radio was transmitting (TX duty cycle)
  • Channel utilization —- percentage of time the channel was occupied by any transmission heard by this node (includes all other nodes’nodes' traffic)

Environment Telemetry (requires I2C sensor)

Available when a supported sensor board is connected via I2C:

  • Temperature (°C or °F)
  • Humidity (relative humidity %)
  • Barometric pressure (hPa)
  • Gas resistance —- BME680 only; proxy for air quality / VOC concentration

Supported sensors include BME280, BME680, SHT31, and others. Enable in app: Radio Config → Telemetry → Environment Telemetry.

Position

  • GPS coordinates (latitude, longitude)
  • Altitude (metres MSL)
  • Speed (km/h)
  • Heading (degrees true)

Position is broadcast on the primary channel. Disable or reduce frequency for privacy or power savings: Radio Config → Position → Position Broadcast Interval.

Power Metrics

For nodes with external power monitoring hardware:

  • Voltage on external rails
  • Current draw

Useful for solar-powered nodes where you want to monitor panel output and battery charge current over the mesh.

Configuring Telemetry Intervals via CLI

Set the device telemetry broadcast interval (in seconds):

meshtastic --set telemetry.device_update_interval 3600

3600 seconds = 1 hour. Reduce to 900 (15 min) for more frequent updates; increase to 7200 (2 hr) or more to reduce channel load on congested networks.

Set environment telemetry interval:

meshtastic --set telemetry.environment_update_interval 1800

Enable/Disable via App

In the Meshtastic app: Radio Config → Telemetry. Each telemetry type (device, environment, power) can be independently enabled or disabled and its interval set.

Back to top