From zero to your first off-grid check-in.
Three things to get, one radio to flash, one form to fill. Allow about 30 minutes of set-up (plus the postie delivering your radio) and roughly $100, once. Already set up? Register a walk and go.
What you need
Three things. Two of them are free, and you probably own the third's charger already.
Your phone
Any reasonably recent iPhone or Android. It talks to the radio over Bluetooth — it does not need mobile signal for MeshSafe to work.
You have thisThe MeshCore app
Free on the App Store and Google Play. It's the messaging app you'll use to talk to MeshSafe (and to other people on the mesh).
Free — meshcore.ioA small LoRa radio
The card-sized gadget that does the long-range talking. Clips to your pack, weeks of standby battery, has its own GPS.
≈ AU$100 once, no ongoing costsOur pick: Seeed Studio SenseCAP Card Tracker T1000-E
Credit-card sized, built-in GPS, IP65 water resistance, USB-C charging, and it hangs off a lanyard. The killer feature for MeshSafe: double-press its button and it sends an advert — a full check-in with your position, phone still in your pocket.
Buy in Australia — IoT Store ↗
Make sure you get the 915 MHz version, and select the Australia Mid preset in the app. The listing says "Meshtastic" — same device, we just install MeshCore on it (step 1 below). Other MeshCore-compatible radios work fine too; this is simply the easiest to recommend.
Get started — link your radio
Your details live here on the website — never on the public radio channel. Fill this in, then press the Advert button on your radio so we know which radio is yours. Your email becomes your key: use it when you register a walk online and the trip links to your radio automatically. (No radio yet? Set one up first ↓ — or register walks radio-free on the walks page.)
Set-up guide (iPhone & Android)
Allow about 30 minutes end to end. Steps 1–2 need a computer with Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge (the firmware installer runs in the browser). Everything after that is on your phone.
Put MeshCore software on your radio
Your T1000-E arrives with different software installed. You'll replace it with MeshCore — done in the browser, no technical skills needed.
- On a computer (not your phone), open Chrome or Edge and go to meshcore.io/flasher.
- Plug the T1000-E into the computer with a USB-C data cable (the cable that came with it works), and turn it on (hold the button ~3 s).
- Type t1000 in the Filter box and click Seeed Studio SenseCAP T1000-E.
- On the "Choose role" screen, click Companion Bluetooth — the one that chats with your phone app.
- Leave the version on the newest. Click Enter DFU mode and pick the serial port that pops up (named "nRF…" or "TinyUSB").
- Click Erase Flash (clears the factory software), then Flash! — pick the port again and watch the bar fill. The device reboots itself — done.
1 · Type “t1000” in the Filter and pick your device
Install the MeshCore app & connect your radio
- On your phone, open the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android) and search MeshCore — or go to meshcore.io and tap your store's link. Install the free app.
- Turn the T1000-E on (hold its button ~3 seconds until it beeps/flashes).
- Open the app and tap Connect in the top-right. Tap the MeshCore-XXXX device that appears.
- When asked for a PIN, type 123456 — the default for radios without a screen, like the T1000-E.
- Give yourself a name when asked — this is what MeshSafe and other mesh users will see. First name or nickname is perfect.
1 · Tap Connect in the top right
Turn on location sharing
This is the setting that lets MeshSafe log where you are when you check in. Without it the service still works — it just won't have a position to give your emergency contact.
- In the MeshCore app, open your device Settings.
- Find Share Location (location in adverts) and turn it on.
- Allow the app to use your phone's location when it asks.
1 · Open Settings (the gear, top right)
Join the #meshsafe channel
All trip talk happens on one public channel. MeshCore hashtag channels configure themselves from the name — no keys, no invites, nothing to get wrong.
- In the app, open Channels and tap add / +.
- Name it exactly #meshsafe (with the hash). The encryption key sets itself.
- That's it — you'll see MeshSafe's replies and other walkers' trips there.
- Try it: post test on the channel. MeshSafe answers with how well it hears you — do this at a trailhead before relying on coverage!
1 · Channels tab → tap the + button
Register on this page
Your name, mobile and emergency contact are entered up here on the website — typed on a real keyboard, stored off-air, never posted to the public channel.
- Fill in the Register form (name, mobile, contact email, ping preference).
- When the site says so, tap the ((·)) signal icon (top right) in the MeshCore app, then Advert · Flood Routed.
- Your radio pops up on the page — tap "this is me". Done: radio linked to profile.
1 · Fill in your details — typed on a real keyboard, stored off-air
Your first trip — all on #meshsafe
- Before you set off, post: out 5pm mt keira loop — your return time plus an optional note. (Add 30m/1h/2h anywhere to override your usual pings, e.g. out 5pm 1h mt keira.)
- MeshSafe asks you to send an advert — that's your signature. Press it; your trip starts and your starting position is logged.
- While walking: when MeshSafe pings you on the channel, send an advert — double-press the button on the T1000-E itself, or use the app's Advert button. That's the whole check-in, and you can do it anytime to leave a position breadcrumb.
- Running late? Post extend 7pm. Back safe? Post back — always close your trip!
A whole trip, start to finish, on the channel.