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Compiling MeshCore Firmware with Wi-Fi Enabled

Device: Heltec V3
OS: Red Hat 9.6

Note:
Wi-Fi support in MeshCore is experimental.
Your SSID and password are embedded at compile time, so do not share compiled binaries that contain your real credentials.

Install PlatformIO

  1. Change to your home directory:

    cd ~

  2. Download the PlatformIO installer:

    curl -fsSL -o get-platformio.py https://raw.githubusercontent.com/platformio/platformio-core-installer/master/get-platformio.py

  3. Run the installer:

    python3 get-platformio.py

  4. Add PlatformIO to your PATH (adjust the path if your username is different):

    export PATH=$PATH:/home/linuxuser/.platformio/penv/bin

Clone the MeshCore Repository

  1. Clone the MeshCore repo:

    git clone https://github.com/ripplebiz/MeshCore.git

  2. Change into the project directory:

    cd MeshCore/

Configure Wi-Fi Credentials

  1. Open the PlatformIO configuration for the Heltec V3 Wi-Fi build:

    vi variants/heltec_v3/platformio.ini

  2. Locate the env:Heltec_v3_companion_radio_wifi section and update it with your SSID and password:

[env:Heltec_v3_companion_radio_wifi]
extends = Heltec_lora32_v3
build_flags =
    ${Heltec_lora32_v3.build_flags}
    -D MAX_CONTACTS=100
    -D MAX_GROUP_CHANNELS=8
    -D DISPLAY_CLASS=SSD1306Display
    -D WIFI_DEBUG_LOGGING=1
    -D WIFI_SSID="<<SSID>>"
    -D WIFI_PWD="<<WIFI-PASS>>"
  1. Save and exit the editor.

Compile and Prepare Firmware

  1. Set the firmware version environment variable:

    set FIRMWARE_VERSION=1.7.3

    (Or use export FIRMWARE_VERSION=1.7.3 if you are using a pure Linux shell and not a mixed environment.)

  2. Build the Wi-Fi firmware target:

    ./build.sh build-firmware Heltec_v3_companion_radio_wifi

  3. Change into the build output directory:

    cd .pio/build/Heltec_v3_companion_radio_wifi/

  4. Rename the output binaries:

    mv firmware-merged.bin Heltec_v3_companion_radio_wifi_1.7.3-merged.bin
mv firmware.bin Heltec_v3_companion_radio_wifi_1.7.3.bin

  5. Move the generated firmware files to a convenient location (example):

    mv Heltec_v3_companion_radio_wifi* /home/linuxuser/

Next Steps

  1. Flash one of the compiled firmware files onto your Heltec V3:

    • Heltec_v3_companion_radio_wifi_1.7.3.bin
    • or Heltec_v3_companion_radio_wifi_1.7.3-merged.bin

  2. Connect to the device over serial and monitor logs to confirm:

    • Wi-Fi is enabled
    • The device is attempting to associate with your SSID

  3. Remember that Wi-Fi support in MeshCore is experimental:

    • Expect instability
    • Features may be incomplete
    • Do not deploy this build as a critical node on the mesh