Meshtastic Range Testing Guide

Overview 
 Systematic range testing goes beyond "does it connect?" - it quantifies signal quality, identifies path bottlenecks, and produces evidence you can use to justify infrastructure decisions. This guide covers the four primary tools available in Meshtastic and a recommended workflow for comprehensive coverage analysis. 

 Understanding Signal Quality Metrics 
 
 Metric Excellent Good Marginal Likely Failure 
 
 SNR > +10 dB +5 to +10 dB 0 to +5 dB < −5 dB 
 RSSI > −90 dBm −90 to −110 dBm −110 to −120 dBm < −125 dBm 
 
 
 Key point: SNR matters more than RSSI. LoRa can decode signals well below the noise floor - a weak signal in a quiet RF environment (high SNR) will decode reliably even at very low RSSI. Focus on SNR first. 

 Tool 1 - Built-In Range Test Module 
 The range test module sends periodic test packets and logs which nodes receive them, along with signal metrics. It is the most systematic way to characterize coverage from a fixed location. 

 CLI Setup 
 meshtastic --set range_test.enabled true
meshtastic --set range_test.sender 30 
 The second command sets sender interval to 30 seconds. The node will transmit a test packet every 30 seconds. 

 App Setup 
 
 Settings > Modules > Range Test 
 Enable the module 
 Set sender interval 
 Activate Sender mode on the mobile node 
 

 Procedure 
 
 Configure one node as the receiver (range_test enabled, sender off) at a fixed location - typically a repeater or infrastructure node. 
 Configure a second node as the sender (range_test enabled, sender on) carried by a person or vehicle. 
 Walk or drive away from the receiver. The receiver logs each packet with SNR and RSSI. 
 Export logs to CSV for analysis. 
 

 Tool 2 - Trace Route 
 Trace Route reveals the actual path packets take through the mesh and reports per-hop signal quality. Use it to identify which routers packets are traversing and where bottlenecks are. 

 CLI 
 meshtastic --traceroute !nodeId 

 App 
 Long-press a node in the node list → select Trace Route . 

 Output 
 Trace Route shows each hop in the path, with SNR and RSSI for each segment. Use this to: 
 
 Confirm which repeaters are actually routing your traffic 
 Identify weak links in multi-hop paths 
 Verify that a new repeater is being used as expected 
 

 Tool 3 - Signal Metrics in Node List 
 The node list provides a quick snapshot of signal quality for all recently heard nodes - useful for baseline assessment without active testing. 

 CLI 
 meshtastic --nodes 

 Shows 
 
 SNR and RSSI for the last received packet from each node 
 Hop count 
 Time since last activity 
 GPS distance (if both nodes have GPS) 
 Battery percentage 
 

 Tool 4 - MeshMapper Wardriving 
 MeshMapper is an Android app that combines GPS-tagged signal data into a visual coverage heatmap - ideal for documenting coverage of an entire neighborhood, event venue, or service area. 

 Setup 
 
 Install MeshMapper on an Android device. 
 Connect a Meshtastic device via Bluetooth. 
 Drive, walk, or cycle through the area you want to map. 
 MeshMapper logs GPS coordinates with signal strength for each received packet. 
 Upload to generate a coverage heatmap. 
 

 Heatmap Colors 
 
 Color Meaning 
 
 Green Strong signal 
 Yellow Marginal signal 
 Red Weak signal 
 Blank No coverage detected 
 
 

 Recommended Testing Workflow 
 
 Baseline: Check node list (Tool 3) for current signal quality across known nodes. 
 Path analysis: Run trace routes (Tool 2) to all infrastructure nodes - confirm expected routing, identify weak hops. 
 Coverage measurement: Deploy range test module (Tool 1) for systematic point-to-area coverage data from each infrastructure node. 
 Area mapping: Conduct MeshMapper wardriving (Tool 4) for a comprehensive geographic coverage picture. 
 Ongoing monitoring: Establish MQTT monitoring to continuously log SNR/RSSI from infrastructure nodes - enables detection of degraded links before users report problems.