Room Server Setup & Configuration

Step 1 - Flash Room Server Firmware

Use the MeshCore web flasher at flasher.meshcore.io. Select your hardware (e.g., Heltec V3) and choose the Room Server firmware variant.

Step 2 - Connect via Serial or Bluetooth

Connect via USB serial at 115200 baud using a terminal emulator (PuTTY, screen, minicom) or via Bluetooth using the MeshCore companion app.

Step 3 - Immediate Security: Change Default Passwords

Before anything else, change both default passwords. The defaults are publicly documented and must not remain in production:

password yourSecureAdminPassword
set guest.password yourSecureGuestPassword

These are the two passwords a room server uses (admin and guest). For finer control you can also assign per-companion permissions with setperm <pubkey> <level> (Guest / Read-only / Read-write / Admin), and enable unauthenticated read-only access with set allow.read.only on (default off). This is a two-password-plus-ACL model, not a single three-tier password ladder.

Step 4 - Set Node Identity and Location

set name MyRoomServer
set lat 46.879682
set lon -96.789803

Accurate coordinates allow the room server to appear correctly on network maps and help users gauge how far they are from it.

Step 5 - Verify Radio Preset

The room server's radio settings must match the network. The MeshCore USA/Canada preset (as of 2026-06-08) for most North American MeshCore networks (NoDakMesh, RegionMesh, etc.) is:

• Frequency: 910.525 MHz
• Bandwidth: 62.5 kHz
• Spreading Factor: SF7
• Coding Rate: CR5

Prefer applying the named USA/Canada preset from the firmware menu or companion app rather than hand-entering these values - that sets them automatically and avoids landing off the network if the preset has changed. Verify against the current MeshCore preset for your region before relying on the numbers above.

Step 6 - Optional: Enable Repeat Mode

If there is no separate repeater at this location, you can enable packet relay on the room server:

set repeat on

See Dual Deployment: Repeater + Room Server for why a dedicated repeater device is preferred over this option.

Step 7 - Broadcast Presence

Trigger an immediate advertisement so other nodes discover the room server without waiting for the next scheduled broadcast:

advert

Complete Configuration Reference

set guest.password yourGuestPassword
password yourAdminPassword
set name MyRoomServer
set lat 46.879682
set lon -96.789803
set repeat on # optional: also relay packets
advert # broadcast presence immediately