¶ 🔥 Burning Mesh 2026 — Quick Start
Get your radio onto Burning Mesh in three steps.
Don’t have a node yet? Check out our recommended radios →
You need: your radio, a USB data cable, a computer with Chrome or Firefox, an internet connection, and the Meshtastic iOS or Android app.
⚠️ Required: Flash the 2026 firmware
You must install this year’s Burning Mesh firmware to participate in the 2026 mesh. Firmware from previous years is not compatible and will not connect to this year’s mesh—even if your radio worked at a previous event.
⚠️ United States only: Do not flash this firmware onto a radio or power on a radio running it outside the United States. This firmware is configured to use radio frequencies that are legal in the United States and may not be legal in other countries.
¶ 1. Flash the 2026 Burning Mesh firmware
- Connect the radio to your computer with the USB data cable.
- Open burn.meshtastic.org in Chrome or Firefox.
- Select your device and the current Burning Mesh 2.8.x firmware.
- Select Flash and follow the instructions shown by the flasher.
If the radio is not detected: confirm that the cable supports data, then put the radio into its bootloader or DFU mode.
SenseCAP T1000-E: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFL0ff76Os4
Factory reset when needed: After flashing, perform a factory reset before configuring the radio if you updated from a previous version, installed a UF2 on an nRF52 device, or the radio has not been updated in about a year. This activates Burning Man mode and clears potentially stale configuration.
¶ 2. Connect and configure the radio
- Open the Meshtastic app and connect to the radio over Bluetooth.
- For the T1000-E and most other radios without a screen, the default Bluetooth PIN is
123456. - Open Settings → LoRa and verify that the firmware installed the correct settings:
- Region: United States
- Preset: Short Turbo
- Frequency slot: 33
- Open Settings → User and set:
- Long name: the name shown in the node list.
- Short name: up to four characters, shown in chats.
- Save the user settings.
¶ 3. Keep Everyone, then add your camp
Confirm that Everyone is channel 0. Everyone is public: messages sent there can be read across the event mesh.
Next: create your private camp channel
You are ready when: the app connects to your radio, the LoRa settings show United States, Short Turbo, and frequency slot 33, your names appear correctly, and Everyone is channel 0.