Questions, answered plainly
MeshCore without the jargon.
You do not need to understand radio technology to understand what this community network can—and cannot—do. Start with any question below.
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Getting started
What the radio does, what equipment you need and how messages move without normal internet or mobile coverage.
Does MeshCore need the internet?
No — the radios can talk to each other without Telstra, NBN, Wi-Fi or a cloud service.
MeshCore creates its own small radio network. Your phone is mainly the screen and keyboard: it gives the message to a nearby companion radio using Bluetooth or USB. That radio then sends the message through the air using LoRa radio, not through a mobile tower.
If another radio is too far away to hear you directly, one or more repeaters may pass the message along. This is why it is called a mesh. The local radio path can keep working even when the normal internet path into the valley has failed.
Some extra services are different. A public web dashboard, a newly issued weather warning or information collected from an online source still needs an internet connection somewhere in the system. Losing that connection does not switch off the radio mesh; it only means new online information may not arrive until a connection returns.
- Phone to companion: Bluetooth or USB.
- Companion to other radios: LoRa radio.
- Online information: needs a working internet connection somewhere to stay current.
Imagine Telstra and the NBN are both down. Two neighbours with charged MeshCore radios may still exchange short local messages through a working repeater. They may not receive a brand-new online weather update until one of the connected systems gets back online.
What do I need to use MeshCore?
Usually, you need a phone, a compatible MeshCore companion radio and the MeshCore app.
The phone does not send the long-range radio signal by itself. It connects to the companion radio, which is the small device that actually talks to the mesh. Both devices need to be charged and the radio needs to be set up for the same community network as the people you want to reach.
You do not need a mobile phone plan for the radio part to work. You also do not need to put a SIM card in the companion. Once the app and radio are configured, short messages can move directly between nearby radios or through repeaters that are available at the time.
The exact equipment and setup can vary, so joining a community network is easier when somebody already involved can help confirm that the device, frequency and settings are suitable before you rely on it.
- A phone or supported computer to write and read messages.
- A compatible MeshCore radio to send and receive them over the air.
- Correct network settings and enough battery power in both devices.
Think of the phone as the keyboard and the companion as the walkie-talkie. The phone makes everything easy to read, while the companion does the actual radio work.
What does a repeater actually do?
A repeater hears an eligible radio message and passes it on so the message can travel farther.
Small radios cannot always reach from one end of the valley to the other in a single jump. A repeater is another MeshCore radio placed where it can hear a useful part of the area. When it receives a message that should be forwarded, it transmits that message again for radios farther away to hear.
A message may travel through more than one repeater. This is called hopping. The sender does not have to choose every tower by hand; the network uses the compatible radios it can reach at that moment.
A repeater does not create guaranteed coverage. If terrain blocks the signal, a battery is flat, equipment is damaged or the next radio is out of range, that possible path disappears until conditions improve or another route is available.
- It listens for suitable MeshCore messages.
- It sends them again to extend the possible radio path.
- Several working repeaters can carry a message over several hops.
If your radio can reach a repeater on a nearby hill but cannot reach a friend on the other side, the hill repeater may bridge the gap. It is similar to asking someone in the middle of a crowd to pass a short note along.
Why radio instead of just an app?
Because most apps stop working when your phone cannot reach the internet or mobile network.
WhatsApp, Messenger, email and most other phone apps send your information through a mobile tower or Wi-Fi connection to an internet service somewhere else. If your phone cannot reach that service, the app may still open but it cannot deliver a new message.
MeshCore uses an app for the familiar typing and reading part, then hands the message to a separate companion radio. That device sends a very small amount of text directly over LoRa radio to other participating devices. A working mobile tower or home internet connection is not part of that local trip.
The trade-off is capacity. LoRa is useful because it can move small messages using little power, but it is not designed to carry normal internet traffic. It cannot provide a phone call, video stream, photo sharing or ordinary web browsing through the mesh.
- Good for short check-ins, small local updates and compact alerts.
- Designed to use little power and work independently of mobile coverage.
- Not suitable for calls, photos, video or general internet access.
A normal app is like sending a parcel through a large delivery depot: if the depot is closed, the parcel stops. MeshCore is more like passing a short written note directly between nearby people until it reaches the other side of the neighbourhood.
When things go down
During outages
What backup power can keep running, why the network can change during a storm and why delivery cannot be guaranteed.
Does it work during a blackout?
It can, because MeshCore equipment can run from batteries or solar power.
The radio signal does not need the electricity grid, but every physical device still needs energy. Your phone needs charge, your companion radio needs charge, and any repeater carrying the message needs a working battery, solar supply or other backup power.
A blackout may therefore shrink the network rather than stop everything at once. Battery-backed sites can remain available while unprotected or damaged sites disappear from the route. Messages may find another working path, but that depends on which radios can still hear one another.
Backup runtime is not unlimited. Long outages, storm damage, poor solar conditions and heavy use can eventually flatten batteries. The dashboard helps people understand which monitored sites are operating and what their reported power condition is, but it cannot make a failed site work.
- The grid can be off while battery-backed radios continue operating.
- Every phone, companion and repeater still needs its own usable power source.
- The network changes as individual sites lose or regain power.
Your house may be dark, but a charged companion could still reach a solar or battery-backed repeater. That repeater may pass your message onwards. If its battery later runs flat, a message will need another working path—or may need to be sent again after a path returns.
Does everyone receive every message?
No. Think of it more like a network of walkie-talkies than a guaranteed messaging service.
For a message to arrive, the sender and receiver must be set up to communicate and there must be a usable chain of radio links between them. Sometimes that chain is one direct signal. At other times it includes several repeaters passing the message across the area.
Radio conditions are not fixed. Hills, valleys, thick buildings, wet vegetation, distance and other radio activity can all change what can be heard. Equipment may also be offline because of a flat battery, maintenance, storm damage or a local power failure.
Adding repeaters in useful locations can improve the chances of delivery, but it cannot remove every weak spot. A message that worked yesterday may take a different path today—or may not have a complete path at all.
- The radios must have compatible network settings.
- At least one complete radio path must exist at that moment.
- Terrain, interference, equipment condition and power all affect delivery.
You may be able to message a neighbour on the next street while somebody behind a ridge hears nothing. A repeater in a better position may help, but MeshCore cannot promise that every person receives every message every time.
Know the limits
Safety and official information
Where warning information comes from and why the community mesh never replaces Triple Zero or official instructions.
Is this an emergency service?
No. MeshCore is an extra community communication path, not an emergency service.
MeshCore may be useful when neighbours want to share a brief check-in, report a local problem or pass along a clearly sourced public update. That can be valuable during a communications outage, but it does not turn volunteers or radio owners into emergency operators.
There is no guaranteed delivery time, no guaranteed coverage and no promise that somebody is watching every channel. A message may be delayed, missed, misunderstood or based on old information. For that reason, the mesh must never be treated as a replacement for Triple Zero, emergency services or official warnings.
If you receive urgent information through MeshCore, check it against an official source whenever that is possible. If there is immediate danger, act on the instructions of emergency authorities rather than waiting for confirmation from the community network.
- Use Triple Zero (000) for danger to life whenever a telephone service is available.
- Follow emergency services, official warning apps and ABC Local Radio.
- Treat community mesh messages as helpful extra information, not official directions.
A neighbour might use MeshCore to say that a tree is across a local road. That warning may help somebody avoid the area, but it is not the same as a verified road closure or an instruction from police, council or emergency services.
Where does the weather information come from?
The warning information comes from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology — not from Blinky or Linkify.
Where this feature is configured, the network operations system checks selected information published by the Bureau of Meteorology. It does not invent a forecast or decide that a new official warning should exist. Blinky and Linkify are passing on a shortened version of source material published by the responsible authority.
Radio messages have very little room, so a long warning has to be reduced to the most useful facts, such as the warning type, affected area and an official link. That short version cannot contain every location, timing detail, map, update or safety instruction in the original notice.
Fresh warning information also has to reach the system before it can be sent over radio. If all internet connections feeding that information are down, an older message may remain visible while new online updates are unavailable. The time and source therefore matter.
- The Bureau of Meteorology remains the source of the weather warning.
- The mesh carries a compact summary because radio space is limited.
- Always check the full official warning when another service is available.
A mesh message might tell you that a severe thunderstorm warning includes the local area. Treat that as a prompt to check the full Bureau warning, emergency services or ABC Local Radio—not as the complete warning itself.