Meshtastic Power Settings Reference

The Power configuration section in Meshtastic controls sleep modes, charge management, and power-related behavior. These settings are critical for battery and solar-powered deployments.

Accessing Power Settings

In the app: Radio Config → Power
Via CLI: meshtastic --get power

Is Power Saving Enabled

meshtastic --set power.is_power_saving true

When enabled, the node aggressively reduces power consumption by sleepingputting the radioCPU into light sleep between receive windows. In light sleep the CPU is suspended but the LoRa radio stays on, so the node can still hear and respond to traffic. This is appropriate for CLIENT role nodes that send and receive messages periodically but don'twant needlonger tobattery relay for others.life.

For the Do NOT enable for Router/Repeater nodesROUTER -role, power.is_power_saving is force-enabled automatically (on ESP32) and cannot be turned off — you do not set it manually. Even with power saving putson, the LoRa radio toremains sleep,in whichstandby meansand wakes on incoming packets, so the node cannotcontinues relayto packetsrelay; light sleep (radio standby) does not prevent relaying. REPEATER is deprecated as of firmware 2.7.11; for others.infrastructure Routerprefer andROUTER Repeater(or nodes must keep the radio awake continuously.ROUTER_LATE).

On Battery Discharge Values

These settings configureaffect whathow the node reports for battery state-of-charge atfrom differentmeasured voltage levels.voltage. The defaults work for LiPo batteries; theythe ADC multiplier may need adjustment for LiFePO4:LiFePO4 or for boards whose voltage divider reads inaccurately:

Setting	LiPo defaultDefault	LiFePO4 adjustmentNotes

on_battery_shutdown_after_secs0 (disabled)Set to 60-300 for auto-shutdown at critical voltage adc_multiplier_override0 (auto)May need tuning per board for accurate voltage reading, including LiFePO4 voltage readingpacks

Meshtastic does not provide a generic “shut down after N seconds at a critical-voltage threshold” key. (The firmware option power.on_battery_shutdown_after_secs shuts the device down after external power is lost for N seconds — it is a power-loss timer, not a low-voltage cutoff — and defaults to 0 = disabled.) For low-battery protection rely on the firmware’s built-in low-battery handling rather than a fabricated voltage-cutoff timer.

Sleep Configuration

For ESP32-based nodes, Meshtastic canuses use deeplight sleep between transmissionsactivity to dramatically reduce power consumption:consumption. Note that the older super-deep-sleep keys (power.sds_secs and power.mesh_sds_timeout_secs) have been removed/deprecated and are no longer part of the current, documented power config — do not rely on them.

# Enable sleeppower modesaving (CLIENT nodesnodes; only)ROUTER force-enables it automatically)
meshtastic --set power.is_power_saving true

# MeshLight SDSsleep (Superinterval. DeepA Sleep) timeout - secondsvalue of no0 activitymeans beforethe veryfirmware deepdefault sleep(5 minutes).
meshtastic --set power.mesh_sds_timeout_secsls_secs 3600

# SDS sleep duration - how long to stay in super deep sleep
meshtastic --set power.sds_secs 36000

# Minimum wake time - stay awake at least this long after waking
meshtastic --set power.min_wake_secs 10

Screen and BT Power

# Screen timeout (0 = always off)
meshtastic --set display.screen_on_secs 30

# Bluetooth enable/disable
meshtastic --set bluetooth.enabled true

# BLE pairing mode (randomRANDOM_PIN, PINFIXED_PIN, or fixed PIN)NO_PIN)
meshtastic --set bluetooth.mode RANDOM_PIN

Use RANDOM_PIN (the secure default) unless you have a specific reason not to. Setting NO_PIN disables BLE pairing security and lets any nearby device connect without a PIN — only use it on physically secured nodes. (These Bluetooth options live under bluetooth.*, not the Power config, but are included here because they affect power draw.)

Power Consumption by Role

Meshtastic does not publish per-board current-draw figures; actual milliamp draw is highly board-, display-, and firmware-dependent. The official device-role table describes power qualitatively (Regular / Low / High):

Role	SleepPower modesaving	TypicalRelative currentpower (ESP32)	Typical current (nRF52840)level
CLIENT with power saving	YesOptional (user-set)	5-15 mA average	1-3 mA averageRegular
CLIENT without power savingCLIENT_MUTE	NoOptional (user-set)	35-55 mA	8-15 mALow
ROUTER / REPEATER	NoForce-enabled on ESP32 (LoRa radio alwaysin on)standby, wakes on packets)	40-60 mA	10-18 mAHigh
AnyREPEATER role, OLED on(deprecated)	VariesYes	+15-20 mA	+15-20 mA

Any role, WiFi enabledVaries+60-150 mA peakN/AHigh

Peripherals add to whatever the role draws: an OLED/TFT display and WiFi both materially increase ESP32 power (WiFi is ESP32-only and is not available on nRF52). For exact numbers, measure your specific board or consult its datasheet rather than relying on generic figures.

Practical Power Optimization Checklist

• Set role correctly: CLIENT withfor personal nodes (enable power saving for personallonger nodes;battery life); ROUTER for fixed repeatersinfrastructure (power saving is automatic)
• Set screen timeout to 30 seconds or disable (screen_on_secs 0)
• DisableOn BluetoothESP32, whennote usingthat enabling WiFi connection

Disable WiFi when usingdisables Bluetooth (ESP32 only:the WiFi andsetting BTtakes share antenna, simultaneous use increases power)precedence) Set position broadcast to 30+ minutes for fixed nodes Set telemetry broadcast tointerval 15-up (the device telemetry default is 1800 s / 30 minutesmin) Reduce TX power to the minimum needed for coveragecoverage. For the legal transmit-power ceiling (US/Canada: 1 W / 30 dBm conducted, with EIRP limits for high-gain antennas), see the LoRa Settings Reference. Use nRF52840 hardware over ESP32 for 4-5xsubstantially better battery life on the same battery