Personal Device Roles
Personal roles are designed for individual users who want to send and receive messages. They vary in how aggressively the device relays messages for others.
Important: Your role choice affects everyone on the network. The Meshtastic project's guidance is clear: only assign Router or Repeater roles to nodes with genuinely excellent placement and reliable continuous power. Do not assign infrastructure roles to personal devices for convenience.
Client (Default)
Behavior: Sends and receives messages via the app. Rebroadcasts messages when the node determines it is the best-positioned relay for a given packet (smart relay logic).
Use for: Most personal handhelds and portable nodes. This is the correct default for the majority of users.
Client Mute
Behavior: Fully participates in messaging but never relays packets for other nodes.
Use for: Dense environments (city centers, events, conferences) where the channel is congested and adding another relay would make things worse. Client Mute is underappreciated - in a high-density network, switching personal devices to Client Mute can dramatically reduce channel utilization without losing any personal messaging capability.
Client Hidden
Behavior: Minimizes presence broadcasts. The node participates in messaging but does not frequently announce its existence to the network.
Use for: Privacy-conscious users who want to use the mesh without being visible in others' node lists. Useful for covert or sensitive deployments.
Client Base
Behavior: Acts as a personal base station. Rebroadcasts quickly and aggressively, but only for nodes that have been favorited/starred by the user. Ignores relay requests from non-favorited nodes.
Use for: Home base stations that should prioritize relaying for a known group (family, team) without contributing to general network congestion.
Choosing the Right Personal Role
| Situation | Recommended Role |
|---|---|
| Default personal use | Client |
| Dense urban area or event with congestion | Client Mute |
| Privacy-conscious deployment | Client Hidden |
| Home base station for a known group | Client Base |