If you're like me, you want to be able to stay in contact with people no matter what the state of the internet or any other telecommunications is. I found a way to do that, and all you need is an affordable ESP32 kit.
Internet and cell service are not guaranteed
The time to get off the grid is before you need to
Steve Heap/Shutterstock.com
In the US, the reliability and availability of the internet and cellular service seems increasingly in question. Monopolies on internet infrastructure have resulted in widespread outages . Public unrest means it may be in authorities' interest to limit or even entirely shut off access to telecoms.
In truth, communications access was never a guarantee. Governments across the globe regularly block access to the internet , either in part or in whole. Countries allowing unfettered access to the internet are the exception, not the norm.
In my view, that means I need to be prepared to find a way to talk with people I care about in an emergency situation where I might not be able to rely on the internet or my phone carrier. That's how I got interested in off-grid mesh communication networks.
Meshtastic requires no internet or cell service
It's decentralized, with no central authority controling yous access
There are long-distance communication technologies that exist outside of Wi-Fi, email, the Internet, or phone service. Meshtastic is one that I've been experimenting a lot with lately.
You may have heard tech like Bitchat and Briar , peer-to-peer messaging services that rely on Bluetooth rather than any kind of internet connection. Meshtastic is sort of similar in that it works offline, and it forms a mesh network of devices that allows for nearby devices to communicate with each other.
Meshtastic though has a more grand scale, in terms of hardware. It's not a brand or an app (though I do use a Meshtastic companion app on my phone). Instead, it's a name for a suite of open source software and firmware using a protocol for low-power, wireless mesh-based communication.
Meshtastic relies on a radio communication technique called LoRa, short for Long-Range. It allows low-power devices (tiny and cheap computers with small antennas) to send small amounts of data to each other over a relatively long range, several miles. Imagine walkie-talkies that send text instead of voice communications. With a Meshtastic device and a companion app for reading and composing texts, you can communicate with people over a mesh of LoRa devices.
This cheap kit is your entry point to Meshtastic
Get off the grid and on the mesh
To actually start using Meshtastic, you need a LoRa radio device that can be flashed (or is already flashed) with Meshtastic firmware. Once you have that, you can connect it to your phone or your computer and use the Meshtastic website or mobile app to start chatting over the mesh .
One of the cheapest methods is to buy a Heltec V3 ESP32 board with a LoRa antenna attached . You can get them pre-flashed with Meshtastic so that setup is minimal. Even if you don't, or if you find out that their firmware is out-of-date, there are tons of guides and videos online that show you how to easily flash the ESP32 board yourself.
A device you flash with Meshtastic is called a "node." Think of the node as your own tiny cell tower. You need to be in close range of the node to use it (typically over Bluetooth or a USB cable). When you are connected to it, you get access to the invisible mesh network around you and can communicate with anyone else nearby who happens to have a node.
These ESP32 boards are some of the most affordable ways to get connected to Meshtastic, but there are many, many other gadgets you can use. Some allow you to chat over Meshtastic without the need for a companion app on your phone. You can see a full list of options in the Meshtastic hardware documentation .
A few words of advice
Jordan Gloor / How-To Geek
If you end up buying a Meshtastic node, I have some wisdom I can share from my experience.
Never power on your radio without the antenna
When you get your LoRa-ready ESP32 board, make sure you connect the antenna to it as soon as possible if it isn't connected already. Do this before you even try turning it on.
These tiny computers have very sensitive instruments. If they try to connect to the network without a proper antenna attached, they can fry themselves in the process, and you'll end up with a defective node.
Manage your expectations
Whether or not you'll actually talk to anyone varies dramatically depending on where you live and what your surroundings are. If there's no one nearby with a node, you won't have anyone to talk to. Even if they are nearby, you need your node, or someone else's node, positioned well enough to maintain a good signal.
I struggled for a long time to talk to anyone from my home because I lived in a valley surrounded by hills. A basic understanding of how LoRa works will tell you that's a problematic situation. There was an active mesh network in my area, but I couldn't plug into it until I placed a remote, solar-powered node at the top of the hill near my home.
Meshtastic is not the only game in town
Also, you should be aware that Meshtastic is not the only form of mesh communication networks. There are alternatives, including MeshCore and Reticulum, and most devices that can be flashed with Meshtastic firmware can be flashed with those protocols too. Some mesh communities have moved on from Meshtastic because competitors offer mesh optimization and expansion benefits.
However, they aren't as popular and well-known as Meshtastic. I tried switching to MeshCore because I heard it was better than Meshtastic, but I could not get connected to anyone. Even when I left the valley I lived in, there was simply no one around using the MeshCore, so I was alone on an empty mesh network.
