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Changelog

What changed in each MeshAnd version. The section for a version becomes the description of its GitHub Release, so write it for people using the app, not for developers.

Unreleased

New

  • Use phone GPS for your radio. If your radio's GPS is stuck (indoors, in a car, or broken), MeshAnd can give it your phone's location instead. Tap Use phone GPS on the Radio page, or switch it on in Settings → Phone GPS. Your radio shares the position with the team on its usual schedule, so it uses no extra airtime. It's off until you switch it on, and MeshAnd asks for location permission at that point.
  • Chat. Read and send text messages from MeshAnd: on the Chat tab, every channel on your radio has its own conversation, and direct messages to one person get theirs. Tap Message on someone in the Nodes page or the Team list to write to them directly. You see when your message was delivered (direct) or relayed by a neighbour (channel), and get a notification for new messages. Messages are saved on the phone. A message can be up to 233 bytes: about 230 Latin letters, or about 77 Georgian letters.
  • Radio details. The Radio page shows a "This radio" card with your radio's battery (percent and voltage, or "Plugged in"), how busy the channel is, your own airtime, how long it has been running, its hardware, firmware, role and LoRa region/preset. Battery and airtime refresh every couple of minutes.

Changed

  • MeshAnd now uses version 0.2.0 of the Meshtastic SDK (the library that talks to your radio). Nothing changes in how you use the app.

0.2.0

Trails, shared pins, a GPS check, and a new look.

New

  • Trails. Tap a teammate on the OsmAnd map and choose Trail to see where they've been over the last 30 minutes to 6 hours, drawn in their colour. The track is named after them, a marker shows where and when it started, and you can reset it at any time.
  • Shared pins. Show your team a place: tap it in OsmAnd, then Share → MeshAnd pin. Only the coordinates go out (plus a short description if you tick the box), as a tiny text message: meshand: 41.75002,44.77124. Teammates with MeshAnd get a notification and a map pin in your colour, with Navigate. Everyone else can read it in the Meshtastic app.
  • Is my GPS working? MeshAnd shows when your radio last got a new GPS position and how many satellites it sees, and warns you when the position gets old.
  • How old is that position? Teammates on the map and in the team list show when their position was taken, and "GPS not updating" when their radio keeps re-sending an old one.
  • Update check. When you open MeshAnd it asks GitHub whether a newer version exists and offers the download. You can turn this off in Settings.
  • Trails and pins survive restarts. They're saved on the phone; Settings → Clear saved data removes them.

Improved

  • New logo and a redesigned app. Four pages (Radio, Nodes, Pins, Settings) instead of one long screen, a search box for long node lists, and easier-to-read text outdoors.
  • Light or dark theme, or follow the phone (Settings → Appearance).
  • Team list in OsmAnd has the same new look, with separate Team and Pins pages, distance badges, and one-tap Trail and Alert switches.
  • Pins show the real time as well as how long ago ("14:05 (5 min ago)").
  • Your own radio is hidden on the OsmAnd map by default. Switch it back on in Settings if you need it.

Updating

  • Install the new APK over 0.1.0. Your radio pairing and settings are kept.
  • If you installed MeshAnd from Android Studio, uninstall it first: those builds use a different signing key.
  • MeshAnd now has the Internet permission. It is used only for the update check.
  • Sending a pin is the only time MeshAnd transmits anything to the mesh, and only when you tap Send pin.

0.1.0

First public release.

  • Connects to a Meshtastic radio over Bluetooth with the official Meshtastic SDK. The Meshtastic app isn't needed.
  • Puts every teammate on the OsmAnd map as a coloured point that updates live.
  • "Meshtastic team" list inside OsmAnd (map widget and menu item), nearest first, with Show on map and Navigate.
  • Only shows people heard in the last 24 hours.
  • Optional alerts when a teammate hasn't been heard for a while.
  • Stays connected in the background, reconnects by itself, and remembers your radio.