[DOC] Companion - Overview

Overview

Companions are nodes flashed with either BLE or USB companion firmware, and are used to access the mesh as a user. All messages between users are ultimately sent and received via Companion node. At minimum, you will require at least one radio running the companion firmware to get started with using MeshCore.

For more information, see [DOC] Overview in the Getting Started section.

Initial Setup

Before you begin, you will need:

• A supported device to run the companion firmware - If you don't have one yet the [DOC] Choosing a Node page has some good options to choose from
• A mobile device or computer with one of the MeshCore apps instlaled (see the Apps heading below)
• A computer with Internet access to flash the firmware

Once you have your device, follow the below steps to get started.

1. Select an app from the Apps list below, and install it on the device you will use to connect to the companion node. To keep things simple, this guide will use the official mobile (iOS/Android) app, however the official web app is identical.
2. Use the web flasher to flash the Bluetooth or USB companion firmware - Guide: [HTG] Flashing Firmware

   Bluetooth companions require a PIN to pair your node. For nodes with a display, this will be displayed when the node boots. For nodes without a display, the default PIN is 123456 which can be changed from the app

3. Launch the MeshCore app and select the Connect button
   

4. Once your device is discovered, tap on it to connect
   

   

5. The app will sync with your node and retrieve any known contacts, channels and messages (Note: on a new node, this will initially be blank)
   

   

   
   
6. Once the sync completes, tap the settings cog in the top-right to open the node's settings. Then, scroll down to the Radio Settings heading and click Choose Preset (Note: if your local mesh uses custom radio settings, you will need to manually enter those and skip this)
   

   

   
   
7. From the presets list, select your region to apply the correct radio settings
   

   

   
   
8. After selecting the preset, tap on the tick in the top-right corner to save the settings. You should receive a confirmation that this was successful.

   
   

   

   
   
9. Finally, scroll down to the Extra Tools section and tap Reboot to apply the radio configuration.
   

   

   
   
10. Once the node boots back up it is now configured and ready to start sending and receiving messages. If your device doesn't have a screen and is using the default PIN, we strongly advise returning to the settings menu, going to Bluetooth Settings and changing the PIN to something else.

Apps

The companion firmware allows the user to connect to the node via Bluetooth (BLE) or USB and use either a mobile app, web app, or CLI-based tool to interact with the mesh.

Official

Below are considered "Official" apps created by members of the MeshCore developer team.