Meshtastic LoRa Settings Reference

The LoRa settings control every aspect of your radio's physical layer configuration. These are the settings that determine whether your node can communicate with the rest of the network — get them right and everything works; get them wrong and you're invisible.

The Golden Rule

All nodes on a channel must use identical LoRa settings: same modem preset (or same SF/BW/CR), same frequency (derived from channel name hash or explicitly set), and same region. One misconfigured node silently disappears from the network.

Accessing LoRa Settings

In app: Radio Config → LoRa
Via CLI: meshtastic --get lora

Region

meshtastic --set lora.region US

Region sets the legal frequency range and power limits. Always set this correctly for your country. Options: US (902-928 MHz), EU_868 (863-870 MHz), EU_433, AU, NZ, KR, TW, RU, IN, JP, ANZ, LORA_24 (2.4 GHz), UA, MY_919, MY_433, SG, UNSET.

If you see "please set region" on your node's display, this is the setting to configure first.

Modem Preset

meshtastic --set lora.modem_preset LONG_FAST

The most important LoRa setting. Match whatever preset your local community uses. Do not change this without coordinating with your network. Valid values: SHORT_TURBO, SHORT_FAST, SHORT_SLOW, MEDIUM_FAST, MEDIUM_SLOW, LONG_TURBO, LONG_FAST (default), LONG_MODERATE, LONG_SLOW.

Hop Limit

meshtastic --set lora.hop_limit 3

Maximum relay hops before a packet is discarded. Default 3. Increase to 4-5 for larger networks where edge nodes aren't reliably reached. Never increase beyond 5 without understanding the implications for network load.

Transmit Power

meshtastic --set lora.tx_power 30

Power in dBm. Maximum legal value varies by region: US/Canada = 30 dBm conducted (but EIRP limit of 36 dBm applies). If you have a high-gain antenna, reduce TX power to stay within EIRP limits. The firmware enforces the maximum for your region; setting higher than the max is silently clamped.

Channel Number and Frequency Override

# Set to channel 7 (specific frequency slot)
meshtastic --set lora.channel_num 7

# Override frequency directly (advanced users only)
meshtastic --set lora.override_frequency 906.875

By default, Meshtastic derives the frequency from a hash of your channel name, automatically aligning nodes on the same channel. Channel 0 (default hash-based slot) is correct for most deployments. Only change channel_num or override_frequency if your community has standardized on a specific slot.

Bandwidth, Spreading Factor, Coding Rate (Advanced)

When modem preset is set to UNSET, these can be set individually for full custom configuration. Not recommended unless you are an RF engineer or are matching a specific non-standard deployment:

meshtastic --set lora.bandwidth 250
meshtastic --set lora.spread_factor 11
meshtastic --set lora.coding_rate 5

Bandwidth in kHz (options: 62.5, 125, 250, 500). Spreading Factor 7-12. Coding Rate 5-8 (represents 4/5 through 4/8).

Use Preset vs Ignore MQTT

# Ignore incoming packets from MQTT downlink
meshtastic --set lora.ignore_mqtt true

When downlink is enabled, nodes rebroadcast packets received via MQTT. In a large network with many MQTT-connected nodes, this can cause significant packet amplification. Setting ignore_mqtt true on repeaters that don't need to rebroadcast MQTT traffic reduces this load.