MeshCore-HA (Home Assistant)

Add the MeshCore.ca broker pair to your Home Assistant MeshCore integration. This connects your HA instance to the Canadian mesh telemetry network.

Prerequisites

Requirement	Details
Home Assistant	With the MeshCore integration installed
MeshCore Node	Connected to HA via USB, BLE, or TCP
IATA Code	The same real 3-letter IATA airport code used by your observer (e.g. YOW for Ottawa)
Mesh Settings	Connected node uses USA/Canada (Recommended) and 3-byte path hashes

Setup

Known-good setup

A Home Assistant observer needs three things to line up: both brokers connected, Payload Mode set to packet (or Packets (Lets Mesh) enabled on older screens), and the same real IATA code on both broker entries.

The connected MeshCore node must also be on the MeshCore Canada network settings: USA/Canada (Recommended), or raw radio values 910.525 MHz / 62.5 kHz / SF7 / CR5, with 3-byte path hashes.

1. Open Broker Settings

Navigate to:

Settings > Devices & Services > MeshCore > Configure > Manage MQTT Brokers

2. Configure the Primary Broker

Field	Value
Server	mqtt1.meshcore.ca
Port	443
Transport	websockets
Use TLS	Enabled
TLS Verify	Enabled
Username / Password	Leave blank
Use MeshCore Auth Token	Enabled
Token Audience	mqtt1.meshcore.ca
Auth Token TTL	Leave default
Payload Mode	packet
Status Topic	meshcore/{IATA}/{PUBLIC_KEY}/status
Packets Topic	meshcore/{IATA}/{PUBLIC_KEY}/packets
Client ID Prefix	Optional
Owner Public Key	Optional (TLS verified only)
Owner Email	Optional (TLS verified only)

3. Configure the Backup Broker

Add a second broker with the same settings, changing only:

Field	Value
Server	mqtt2.meshcore.ca
Token Audience	mqtt2.meshcore.ca

All other fields remain the same as the primary broker.

Packet mode is required

If your Home Assistant version shows a checkbox or option named Packets (Lets Mesh), enable it. In newer versions this is the Payload Mode setting and it must be packet. If this is missed, the broker can appear connected while no packet data shows up.

4. Set Your Region

Make sure your IATA code is set in the integration. The {IATA} placeholder in the topic templates will be replaced with your code (e.g. YOW).

The Home Assistant integration must use the same IATA code as the observer that is publishing packets. If Home Assistant is set to YOW but the observer publishes under YKF, Home Assistant will subscribe to the wrong topics and look empty.

Current MeshCore-HA versions use a free-text Broker IATA Code field, so you can type a real code such as YTR even if it is missing from a quick list. If your Home Assistant screen only offers a picker and does not let you enter the code manually, update the MeshCore integration before using a neighboring airport code as a workaround.

Tip

You can find common Canadian IATA codes on the IATA Region Codes page. If your nearest real airport code is missing from that quick list, you can still use it.

Common HA Symptoms

Symptom	Most likely fix
Brokers show connected but no packets appear	Enable Packets (Lets Mesh) or set Payload Mode to packet
YTR or another code is not selectable	Update MeshCore-HA, then type the code in Broker IATA Code
One broker works and the backup does not	Check the second broker's Token Audience is mqtt2.meshcore.ca
Packets appear under the wrong city	Set both broker IATA fields to the nearest real airport code

Quick Reference

Setting	Primary	Backup
Server	mqtt1.meshcore.ca	mqtt2.meshcore.ca
Port	443	443
Transport	websockets	websockets
TLS	Enabled + Verified	Enabled + Verified
Auth	MeshCore JWT Token	MeshCore JWT Token
Audience	mqtt1.meshcore.ca	mqtt2.meshcore.ca
Payload Mode	packet	packet

Verify

After saving, head to Check Your Observer to confirm it's reporting correctly.