MeshCore Firmware v1.15: Repeater and Companion Notes

MeshCore v1.15.0 dropped on April 19, 2026. All three firmware variants (Room Server, Repeater, and Companion) released together, with a shared changelog focused on new hardware support, OTA updates for nRF boards, a new binary packet type for group data, and a couple of behavior changes worth reading before you flash.

We haven’t rolled v1.15 across our production mesh yet. Notes below come from the official release changelog and the v1.15.0 announcement. If you’ve already updated, we’re curious how the new defaults are behaving on your nodes.

The two sections below cover the release from the repeater operator’s perspective and the companion (personal node) operator’s perspective. A lot of the changelog is shared because the underlying firmware moved together.

Repeater Firmware v1.15.0

New hardware support

Heltec V4.3. Support for the latest Heltec V4 revision. The V4.3 exposes controllable FEM hardware, which is what lets EasySkyMesh 14.1 push that board down to 5.5 mA idle. With v1.15, V4.3 support is now in upstream MeshCore too.

Heltec nRF Tracker (T096). The Heltec T096 is now an official MeshCore repeater target. This matters because the T096 pairs an nRF52840 with an amplified SX1262 and onboard GPS, which makes it a strong solar repeater candidate. Seeing it land upstream this quickly is a good sign for Heltec’s support cadence.

GAT562 Mesh EVB Pro repeater and room server support. The GAT562 EVB Pro joins the GAT562 30S Mesh Kit and Mesh Tracker Pro as supported GAT562 repeater targets.

Muzi Works R1 Neo. New target added. If you’re running Muzi Works hardware, v1.15 is the firmware.

Routing and protocol

Default Scope support. Part of a broader framework for scoping messages to specific subsets of the network. Behavior mostly internal for now, but worth knowing about as it evolves.

GROUP_DATA (binary) packets. A new packet type for group-targeted binary data. The groundwork for richer group-channel features without bloating the existing text-packet path.

Radio frequency range extended to 150 MHz. MeshCore can now tune down to 150 MHz on supported radios. This opens the door to sub-GHz bands outside the usual 433/868/915 allocations, though you’re on your own for regulatory compliance in whichever band you pick.

Behavior change to watch

Radio rxgain is now ON by default.

This is the one change in v1.15 that might bite solar repeater operators. radio.rxgain on enables the SX1262’s internal LNA, which improves receive sensitivity but adds a small amount of idle current. On most boards the overhead is around 0.5 mA. On 1W boards with a discrete FEM LNA, the delta is bigger, which is why EasySkyMesh ships with the FEM LNA off by default for power savings.

If you care about the lowest possible idle current on a solar repeater, check your radio.rxgain setting after upgrading. You can turn it off with:

set radio.rxgain off

For full power tuning on 1W boards, including the separate radio.fem.rxgain toggle, see the EasySkyMesh 14.1 notes.

Worth noting: Meshtastic 2.7.21 made the same decision in the same month, enabling LNA by default on the Heltec V4.3. Two different mesh firmwares independently concluded that receive sensitivity should be on by default and let operators opt out for power savings.

New CLI command

get|set dutycycle. Adds a direct CLI command for reading and configuring duty cycle behavior. Previously configurable only through the token-bucket parameters added in v1.14.1. Useful for regions with strict duty cycle limits who want a simpler knob.

Companion Firmware v1.15.0

The companion side of the release shares all the changes above (new hardware, GROUP_DATA, extended frequency range, rxgain default, duty cycle CLI) and adds a few that matter specifically to personal-node operators.

nRF companion OTA updates

Over-the-air firmware updates now work on nRF companion devices.

This is the headline companion change. Previously, OTA was ESP32-only in MeshCore. ESP32 boards could run start ota, spin up a Wi-Fi hotspot, and take a firmware update over HTTP without a USB cable. nRF52-based boards (RAK4631, RAK3401, WisMesh Tag, T-Echo, T1000-E, Xiao nRF52) had to come back to the bench.

In v1.15, nRF companion devices accept OTA updates through the nRF Device Firmware Update app on Android or iOS. For a RAK4631 solar repeater on a rooftop, the nRF DFU path turns a physical service trip into a 10-minute phone session.

The MeshCore explained guide has the full OTA procedure. The short version: log in with admin access, start ota, open the nRF DFU app, upload the ZIP.

Heltec Wireless Paper companion target

A companion build for the Heltec Wireless Paper has been added. If you’ve been eyeing an e-ink companion that isn’t a T-Echo, this unlocks a new option.

Wi-Fi companion fixes

Heltec V4 and LilyGo TBeam 1W get Wi-Fi companion fixes in v1.15. If you were running either of those as a Wi-Fi companion and hitting instability, this release should clean it up.

Bug fixes worth noting

• Xiao C3 bootloop fix. Xiao C3 boards that were stuck in boot loops on recent firmware should behave again.
• Heltec Wireless Paper battery read fix. Battery voltage now reads correctly on Wireless Paper boards.
• Waveshare RP2040 RXEN fix. Resolves a hardware control issue on Waveshare RP2040 LoRa boards.
• BME680 sensor init fix. Cleaner initialization for BME680 environmental sensors on devices that have them.
• GPS preference persistence fix. GPS settings now survive reboots instead of silently reverting.

Full Firmware Variant Breakdown

Should You Update

Yes for most deployments. The nRF OTA support alone is worth it for anyone running nRF52-based companion devices in places that aren’t convenient to reach. The Heltec V4.3 and T096 targets bring two of the more interesting new boards into upstream support. And the duty cycle CLI is a cleaner path to the same regulatory compliance work the token bucket handled in v1.14.1.

The one caveat is the radio.rxgain default change. If you’re running a solar repeater tuned for absolute minimum current draw, verify your rxgain setting after the update and flip it off if that matches your previous config. Otherwise idle current may creep up 0.5 mA or so, which matters for tight power budgets in winter.

As always, upgrade your easy-to-access devices first. Wait on the rooftop repeaters until you’ve seen a round of real-world reports from whatever board family you run.

How to Update

Flash through the MeshCore Flasher, or pull binaries directly from the GitHub releases.

• Room Server v1.15.0
• Repeater v1.15.0
• Companion v1.15.0

For step-by-step flashing and troubleshooting, see the MeshCore firmware guide. For the full OTA walkthrough on nRF devices now that it’s supported, the how MeshCore works guide covers the nRF DFU process end to end.

If you’re comparing MeshCore against Meshtastic or just getting started, our MeshCore vs Meshtastic comparison covers the decision, and the MeshCore getting started guide walks through setting up your first node.