Feature switches by role — 1.17.1.5 USA Cascade
Use these settings with the exact board's canonical release image. Former
logging, power-saving, FEM-gain, and rotated-display variants are now runtime
choices where the hardware supports them. A setting cannot add missing radio
hardware, MQTT code, storage, or an OTA partition. Check the download's
.capabilities.json and the firmware picker.
For exact old device/variant names, search the
1.17.1.5 variant map: it maps all 1,361
previous release entries to 1,325 covered choices or 36 excluded entries.
Many old choices share one current image; the command tables below explain
how to select their former behavior. Excluded entries have no download.
Search terms are alternative wording for finding these instructions, not CLI aliases. Use the commands in the role-specific tables and examples.
Open the USB web console
Search terms: USB terminal, serial console, ASCII terminal, browser terminal, web serial.
Open the MeshCore USB web console in
Chrome or Edge, connect a data-capable USB cable, close other applications
using that port, and select the device. Use 115200 baud when prompted.
Full Companion, Repeater, Room Server, and Sensor start with an ASCII USB
terminal. Run board, then ver on any role.
If a Companion app has already switched USB to its binary protocol, send:
+++MESHCORE-TERM-START
To hand the port back to a Companion app or USB MOTA host, send
+++MESHCORE-TERM-STOP, close the console, and connect the app/tool. Dedicated
USB/BLE/WiFi Companion images can start in binary mode; use the start token
there too. KISS firmware uses its modem protocol and is outside this release.
The linked console runs in your computer's browser over USB. It does not
need node WiFi or set webui on. WebConfig is a separate settings website
served by supported ESP32 images. Both infrastructure and WiFi Companion
WebConfig include a browser command terminal (set wifi.cli on), enabled by
default on the LAN. The Companion browser CLI uses the same terminal commands
as USB, including contact import, chat, recipient selection, and streaming
replies. Full ESP32 Companion also exposes this terminal at TCP port 5002.
See the terminal command guide.
Which old variant setting should I use?
Search terms: old firmware variants, restore features, turn features on or off, enable MQTT, disable MQTT.
These controls apply to every board with the corresponding compiled feature; check the hardware requirements below.
| Former choice | Current image / runtime control |
|---|---|
| USB logging or Station G2/G3 logging variant | Same role's canonical image; set usb.logging on / off |
| USB logging, WiFi MQTT, or both | MQTT-capable image with USB logging; set logging.output usb, wifi, both, or off |
| Companion WiFi-MQTT variant | set mqtt.enabled on / off; configure broker slots through the CLI or WebConfig |
_ps power-saving variant |
set powersaving on / off; check get powersaving on every role |
_femoff / FEM-gain variant |
set radio.fem.rxgain on / off; separate TX switch where controllable |
| RX boost variant | set radio.rxgain on / off on a supported radio |
| iKOKA rotated-display variant | Full Companion: set display.rotation 180; 0 restores the board default |
| Separate USB, BLE, WiFi, Ethernet, or Terminal Chat Companion | Exact board's Full Companion where listed; supported transports are included, with SenseCAP selection below |
| RS232 repeater variant consolidated into the ordinary repeater | set bridge.enabled on / off on a build containing the RS232 bridge |
| ESP-NOW bridge or primary ESP-NOW radio | Select the matching hardware/role image first; bridge and primary-radio channel commands differ |
| LoRa OTA / external-storage variant | Still choose the exact receiver/storage image and matching bootloader; this is not a software on/off switch |
Companion, Repeater, Room Server, and Sensor use the same command names for
shared settings. Use get <setting> to check and set <setting> <value> to
change them. A command requires its feature to be compiled into the build.
set usb.logging on|off changes only USB logging. On MQTT-capable builds,
set mqtt.enabled on|off changes only MQTT and keeps broker settings;
set logging.output off|usb|wifi|both selects both outputs together.
Full Companion commands
| Setting | Enable / select | Disable / restore | Read back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Device power saving | set powersaving on |
set powersaving off |
get powersaving |
| LoRa RX power saving | set radio.rxps on |
set radio.rxps off |
get radio.rxps |
| Radio RX boost | set radio.rxgain on |
set radio.rxgain off |
get radio.rxgain |
| External FEM RX gain | set radio.fem.rxgain on |
set radio.fem.rxgain off |
get radio.fem.rxgain |
| External FEM TX gain | set radio.fem.txgain on |
set radio.fem.txgain off |
get radio.fem.txgain |
| ESP32 USB logging | set powersaving off, then set usb.logging on |
set usb.logging off |
get powersaving, get usb.logging |
| nRF52 second USB logging port | set usb.logging on reboot |
set usb.logging off reboot |
get usb.logging |
| MQTT master | set mqtt.enabled on |
set mqtt.enabled off |
get mqtt.enabled, get mqtt.running, get mqtt.status |
| ESP32 persistent WebConfig | set webui on |
set webui off |
get webui |
| ESP32 WebConfig browser console | set wifi.cli on |
set wifi.cli off |
get wifi.cli |
| ESP32 temporary setup AP | start webconfig ap |
stop webconfig |
get webui |
| Display rotation | set display.rotation 90, 180, or 270 |
set display.rotation 0 |
get display.rotation |
| Temporary MOTA radio window | tempradio 910.525,250,5,5,120 |
normalradio |
tempradio |
Saved settings apply immediately unless noted. Rotation and gain controls report unsupported hardware instead of creating that feature. Fresh Full Companion preferences enable device power saving and leave USB logging off; existing saved preferences win after an update.
ESP32: logging and binary Companion traffic share one USB port. Turn logging off before handing USB to an app/MOTA host. nRF52: the optional second CDC port is for logs; use the primary port for Companion/MOTA. Adding/removing the second port requires a reboot; the optional suffix shown above requests it.
MQTT controls shared by Companion and infrastructure
Search terms: Companion MQTT settings, MQTT on, MQTT off, broker configuration.
Configure a broker through the MQTT tab or with the same commands on either role. For example:
set mqtt.iata SEA
set mqtt1.preset custom
set mqtt1.server broker.example.com
set mqtt1.port 1883
set mqtt.enabled on
get mqtt.enabled
get mqtt.running
get mqtt.status
set mqtt.enabled off disconnects brokers while preserving their settings.
set mqtt.enabled on allows configured brokers to reconnect. An enabled switch
is separate from a running connection: check get mqtt.running and
get mqtt.status. The MQTT tab's Enable MQTT checkbox controls this same
saved switch. Slot credentials and presets are available through get/set
mqtt1.*, mqtt2.*, and the remaining supported slots; secrets stay masked in
the browser. WiFi Companion accepts these commands through its USB terminal
and browser CLI; Full Companion also accepts TCP port 5002.
set mqtt1.preset none disables just that slot. Publication controls such as
set mqtt.status off do not disconnect brokers. USB logging is independent.
Images without MQTT code do not show MQTT cards or accept MQTT controls.
Companion WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and board exceptions
Configure ESP32 WiFi with:
set wifi.ssid MyNetwork
set wifi.pwd my-password
get wifi.status
set wifi.powersave min enables WiFi modem sleep; none disables it. max
is accepted only where the BLE/WiFi coexistence policy allows it. Read back
with get wifi.powersave. This is separate from device power saving and RXPS.
The assigned WiFi button/display switch controls WiFi services on supported
boards. stop webconfig closes only the portal; it is not a WiFi master switch.
There is no universal Bluetooth-off or Ethernet-off text command.
SenseCAP Indicator Full only: set companion.transport wifi followed by
reboot selects WiFi; set companion.transport ble followed by reboot
selects Bluetooth. Check get companion.transport. USB remains available.
Primary ESP-NOW Indicator images keep their mesh radio in either selection.
GPS-equipped builds: use get gps, set gps on, and set gps off on
Companion and infrastructure. The Companion app's gps=1 / gps=0 custom
setting controls the same GPS. See GPS tracking for
location-sharing settings.
Repeater, Room Server, and Sensor commands
These roles use CommonCLI. Feature-dependent commands require the relevant hardware/build; MQTT is present in observer builds, and WebConfig is absent from some portable builds. The USB browser console still works without it.
| Setting | Enable | Disable | Read back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live USB logging | ESP32 1.17.1.5: set powersaving off, then set usb.logging on; other platforms: set usb.logging on |
set usb.logging off |
get powersaving, get usb.logging |
| Capture RX log to node storage | log start |
log stop |
log prints the capture locally |
| RS232 / ESP-NOW bridge master | set bridge.enabled on |
set bridge.enabled off |
get bridge.enabled, get bridge.running, get bridge.type |
| MQTT periodic status publication | set mqtt.status on |
set mqtt.status off |
get mqtt.status shows connection status |
| MQTT packet publication | set mqtt.packets on |
set mqtt.packets off |
get mqtt.packets |
| SNMP on supported MQTT infrastructure | set snmp on, then reboot |
set snmp off, then reboot |
get snmp |
| MQTT raw packet publication | set mqtt.raw on |
set mqtt.raw off |
get mqtt.raw |
| MQTT receive capture | set mqtt.rx on |
set mqtt.rx off |
get mqtt.rx |
| MQTT transmit capture | set mqtt.tx on (or advert) |
set mqtt.tx off |
get mqtt.tx |
| MQTT master | set mqtt.enabled on |
set mqtt.enabled off |
get mqtt.enabled, get mqtt.running, get mqtt.status |
| ESP32 persistent WebConfig | set webui on |
set webui off |
get webui |
| WebConfig browser command terminal | set wifi.cli on |
set wifi.cli off |
get wifi.cli |
| LoRa RX power saving | set radio.rxps on |
set radio.rxps off |
get radio.rxps |
| Radio RX boost | set radio.rxgain on |
set radio.rxgain off |
get radio.rxgain |
| Controllable FEM RX / TX gain | set radio.fem.rxgain on / set radio.fem.txgain on |
set radio.fem.rxgain off / set radio.fem.txgain off |
Corresponding get radio.fem.rxgain / get radio.fem.txgain |
| GPS, when compiled | set gps on |
set gps off |
get gps |
Use set usb.logging on|off on every role. Adding the optional reboot suffix
requests a reboot only when changing the USB interfaces requires it, as on
nRF52 Full Companion. log start/stop records to storage independently of live
USB logging. Use
log erase to delete that capture.
For ESP32 1.17.1.5 USB logging, run these as separate commands in the role's text terminal (or remote admin CLI on infrastructure):
set powersaving off
set usb.logging on
get powersaving
get usb.logging
Check for power saving off and USB logging on. This avoids the released
ESP32 USB sleep bug, including the G3 report. Both settings are saved; turning
logging off later does not automatically restore power saving. LoRa RXPS is
independent. nRF52 logging does not need this ESP32 workaround.
With the G3 sleep correction,
enabled live USB logging keeps ESP32 USB serviced and blocks light sleep,
including when a host closes the port or disconnects. CPU idle/yield remains
available. set usb.logging off removes that blocker; an attached native USB
host still prevents sleep. On Full infrastructure, set logging.output usb
and both enable the same USB blocker; wifi and off remove it. File capture
with log start is independent. The original 1.17.1.5 binaries require the
set powersaving off workaround described in the release note.
Shared MQTT and logging output
Search terms: MQTT settings, MQTT on, MQTT off, logging output, USB and WiFi logging.
On any Companion or infrastructure build with both MQTT and USB logging compiled:
| Command | USB logs | MQTT bridge |
|---|---|---|
set logging.output off |
Off | Off |
set powersaving off, then set logging.output usb |
On | Off |
set logging.output wifi |
Off | On |
set powersaving off, then set logging.output both |
On | On |
get logging.output reports the selection. Fresh unified Full infrastructure
preferences select both; Full Companion starts with USB logging off. Saved
settings override these defaults. To toggle only MQTT while keeping
USB logging unchanged, use set mqtt.enabled off / on. Neither setting
turns LoRa repeating off. Repeater forwarding uses set repeat off / on
and get repeat separately.
The set powersaving off step above is the 1.17.1.5 ESP32 USB workaround.
WiFi/MQTT-only logging does not need it while the Repeater/Room Server MQTT
bridge is running: that sleep guard already exists in the released firmware.
Use get mqtt.running to check that MQTT is running; an enabled
preference alone is not the running state. set logging.output wifi keeps
USB logging off and uses that MQTT guard.
For a custom broker on an MQTT-capable Companion, Repeater, or Room Server:
set wifi.ssid MyNetwork
set wifi.pwd my-password
set mqtt.iata SEA
set mqtt1.preset custom
set mqtt1.server broker.example.com
set mqtt1.port 1883
set mqtt.enabled on
get mqtt.status
Set mqtt1.username / mqtt1.password if required by that broker. Configure only
as many slots as the board supports. set mqtt1.preset none disables slot 1;
other configured slots remain enabled, within the build's supported slot count.
Disabled and partially configured slots remain saved across reboot. For a custom
server URL, set mqtt1.port 0 clears the port override so the URI supplies it.
set mqtt.status off disables status
messages, not MQTT itself. See the MQTT reference
for presets, TLS, credentials, and slot limits.
Infrastructure power saving and bridges
Use get powersaving, set powersaving on, and set powersaving off on every
role. The preference is saved. Hardware and active USB/network services decide
when sleeping is possible; the command names do not change between roles.
Device power saving is separate from WiFi modem sleep and LoRa RXPS.
On RS232-capable repeater images, stop the bridge before changing its serial port or baud rate, then restart it:
set bridge.enabled off
set bridge.baud 115200
set bridge.enabled on
RAK4631: set bridge.uart 2 selects UART2 while the bridge is stopped.
Canonical GPS-enabled builds reserve UART1 for GPS; UART1 requires a dedicated
GPS-free image. ESP-NOW bridge: use set bridge.channel <1..13> and
set bridge.format wrapped / raw where supported. Primary ESP-NOW mesh:
use set espnow.channel <1..13> and reboot; this is a different radio setting.
For infrastructure WebConfig on the LAN, use start webconfig /
stop webconfig. To force a setup AP on an observer, first run
set mqtt.enabled off, then start webconfig ap. When finished, run
stop webconfig and restore set mqtt.enabled on if you did not reboot.
Updating and sending MOTA
Search terms: mOTA, LoRa OTA, update over LoRa, wireless firmware transfer.
All released Full Companions can serve MOTA to other nodes. Close the console
and run motatool serve --serial /dev/ttyACM0 --dir ./motas -v on the USB host.
See Full Companion instructions for WiFi/BLE
source commands and the bounded temporary radio setup.
| Role / hardware | Start self-update | Stop / requirement |
|---|---|---|
| ESP32 Repeater, Room Server, Sensor with WiFi updater | start ota or start ota ap; open the returned URL (normally port 80, /update) |
stop ota; close WebConfig first if it shares port 80 |
| ESP32 Full Companion with two application slots | start ota or start ota ap; returned URL uses port 8080, /update |
stop ota; single-slot Full builds use USB |
| nRF52 infrastructure with Bluetooth DFU | start ota enters the Bluetooth update flow |
Matching application DFU ZIP and board bootloader required |
| Qualified LoRa OTA receiver | Follow LoRa OTA directions | Exact destination package, storage profile, and overlapping temporary radio windows |
For nRF52 OTAFIX installations use the exact board/storage build from OTAFIX 2.4.6. Its retained-RAM handoff is required by the new internal-flash hybrid receiver images. Full Companions are sources and remain normally USB-updated.
The complete infrastructure CLI, role/build matrix, and Full Companion feature guide provide details.