Path Hash Modes (MeshCore)

Path Hash Modes (MeshCore)

Path hash modes control how repeaters identify themselves in routing path headers within MeshCore packets. This feature is available in MeshCore firmware v1.14.0+ and requires companion app v1.41.0+.

Mode Comparison

Recommendation

Use 2-byte mode (set path.hash.mode 1) for most North American community meshes.

• 1-byte mode supports up to 254 unique IDs. With more than ~30 repeaters in range, hash collisions become likely, causing routing errors and ambiguous path attribution.
• 2-byte mode supports 65,536 unique IDs, eliminating collision risk for any realistic community mesh while keeping per-hop overhead to 2 bytes.
• 3-byte mode is future-proof but reduces maximum hop count to 21, which may be limiting in networks with long routing chains.

Configuration Steps

1. Connect to the repeater via USB serial (115200 baud) or Bluetooth
2. Set the desired mode:

   set path.hash.mode 1

3. Broadcast updated hash to the network:

   advert

App Access

Path hash mode can also be adjusted in the companion app (v1.41.0+) under:

Settings → Experimental Settings

Note that “Experimental Settings” must be enabled in the app before this option appears.

Network-Wide Consistency

All repeaters and nodes on the same network segment do not need to use the same path hash mode — mode is a per-device setting affecting how that device encodes its own ID in path headers. However, for consistent diagnostics and network analysis, aligning all devices to the same mode simplifies troubleshooting.