Migrating Your Node from LONG_FAST (“LongFast”) to MEDIUM_FAST (“MediumFast”)

This guide will walk you through updating your Meshtastic node’s modem preset from LONG_FAST (often called “LongFast”) to MEDIUM_FAST (“MediumFast”) on both iOS and Android. These steps ensure a smooth transition and prevent channel name conflicts.

Why Migrate?

Network Update: The community is moving to MEDIUM_FAST for improved balance between range and speed.
Compatibility: Ensures your node stays in sync with the rest of the mesh.

iOS Instructions

1. Change the Primary Channel Name

Go to Settings.
Then select Channels.
Tap your Primary Channel (Channel ID: 0, typically the name is blank, unless you have changed it in the past, then it would be “LongFast”).
Change the Channel Name to “Freq51” (without quotes) then adjust the key size to 1byte, and lastly set the key to “1A==” (without quotes).
Save and confirm the change.

Please note that the channel name has to match exactly, it will not work if it is incorrect.

This step allows us to set a private channel for all the other meshtastic features to function correctly.

iOS: Change primary channel name

2. Change the Modem Preset

Go to Settings.
Find LoRa.
Find presets and select Medium Fast (sometimes shown as MEDIUM_FAST or MediumFast).
Save your changes.

iOS: Change modem preset to MediumFast

3. Reset Your Node Database (nodedb)

In Settings, go to Device.
Locate Reset NodeDB, and click it.
Your node will restart and rebuild its database for the new modem preset.

iOS: Reset node database

Android Instructions

1. Change the Primary Channel Name

Go to Settings.
Then go to Channels.
Tap your Primary Channel (Channel ID: 0, typically the name is blank, unless you have changed it in the past, then it would be “LongFast”).
Change the Channel Name to Freq51 then set the key to “1A==” without quotes.
Save and confirm the change.

Please note that the channel name has to match exactly, it will not work if it is incorrect.

Android: Change primary channel name

2. Change the Modem Preset

Go to Settings.
Go to LoRa.
Find presets and select Medium Fast (may be listed as MEDIUM_FAST or MediumFast).
Save your changes.

Android: Change modem preset to MediumFast

3. Reset Your Node Database (nodedb)

In Settings, under Administration find and select NodeDB Reset.
Your node will reboot and rebuild its network database.

Android: Reset node database

CLI instructions

This configuration can be made with the Meshtastic Python CLI. Using the following commands:

meshtastic --set lora.modemPreset MEDIUM_FAST --set lora.channelNum 51
meshtastic --ch-set name "Freq51" --ch-set psk "base64:1A==" --ch-index 0
meshtastic --reset-nodedb

Troubleshooting

If your node does not appear on the mesh after migration, double-check that the preset is MediumFast and that the primary channel name is Freq51 with the key size as 1byte and Key set to “1A==” No quotes.
Reboot your node if changes do not appear to take effect.

Need Help?

If you get stuck, please reach out in the community Discord.

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