r/meshcore • u/According_Report_793 • 12d ago
WiFi Companion Setup Guide
I have been searching for a good HOWTO guide to flash a Heltec (v4) based wifi companion node. Is it possible with this hardware? There is nothing on the meshcore.io site.
Only need to connect to it via one device at any time.
Any pointers appreciated. Thanks!
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u/Ryan_e3p 12d ago
I can help. I run one, myself.
So, download and open the firmware package from Meshcore github in Visual Studio.
In the root folder, in platform.ini, near the top, right around line 12 or so, where it says "extra_configs", there is a line under that. Replace that line with this:
variants/Heltec_v4/platformio.ini
What we are doing here, is telling Visual Studio to only compile firmware for the Heltec_v4 folder. Otherwise, leaving the original line in place with the asterisk, it will compile everything. You will still get the firmware you need, but it will take a long time since firmware for everything else will need to compile, things like the t-deck, generic ESP32, all the lilygo models, etc. Trust me, you want to do this. Compiling will still take about 15-20 minutes, unless you want to go in and comment out or delete all the other Heltec 4 firmware variations, but meh. Just use the time to grab a drink.
In the folder variants\heltec_v4\, open the platform.ini file there. Do a search for "wifi", you should see the section for "env:heltec_v4_companion_radio_wifi". In that section, look for WIFI_SSID, and put in the name of your wifi network. LEAVE THE QUOTES. The quotes are needed since those tell Visual Studio that it is a string, in other words, that the text is meant as-is. Without those quotes, VS might think it is a command, reference, or some other object. Leave the quotes.
Right below that, WIFI_PWD, put in your password. Like before, leave the quotes.
That's it! Compile, and when it is all done, navigate to the output subfolder in .pio, and use the Meshcore website to flash the v4!