Rebroadcast Mode & Broadcast Interval
The other two options on the Device settings screen
Information
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Alongside the Role, the Device settings screen has two more options that trip people up: Rebroadcast Mode and Node Info Broadcast Interval. Here's what they do.
Short version
Leave both on their defaults unless you know why you're changing them. Default Rebroadcast Mode is ALL, and the default Node Info Broadcast Interval is 3 hours. For most nodes on the Welsh Mesh, that's exactly right.
Rebroadcast Mode
This controls which messages your node will relay for other people. Your Role decides whether you relay at all; Rebroadcast Mode decides which packets count.
Names and availability vary by version
Not every mode shows up on every firmware version, and some are only available with certain roles. If you don't see one listed here, update your firmware to get the current set.
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| ALL (default) | Relays everything it hears on your modem settings, even from other meshes and even when encryption differs. |
| ALL_SKIP_DECODING | Same as ALL but doesn't bother decoding first, it just relays. Only works with the REPEATER role. |
| LOCAL_ONLY | Ignores traffic from foreign meshes it can't decrypt. Only relays on your own primary and secondary channels. |
| KNOWN_ONLY | Like LOCAL_ONLY, but stricter: also ignores nodes that aren't already in its known-nodes list. |
| CORE_PORTNUMS_ONLY | Only relays standard traffic (messages, positions, node info, telemetry, routing). Ignores non-standard stuff like TAK, Range Test and PaxCounter. |
| NONE | Relays nothing. Only allowed on the SENSOR, TRACKER and TAK_TRACKER roles. |
For the Welsh Mesh: the default ALL is fine for a normal node. If you're running infrastructure and want to keep junk traffic off the mesh, CORE_PORTNUMS_ONLY or LOCAL_ONLY are reasonable choices. Don't set NONE unless you specifically want a node that never relays.
Node Info Broadcast Interval
Every so often your node announces itself, its long name and short name, so other people's apps can show who you are instead of a string of hex characters. This setting controls how often that announcement goes out.
- Default: 3 hours. Some versions show this as
10800seconds, and older ones call it "Node Info Broadcast Seconds", same thing. - Your node also sends its info automatically whenever it hears a new node it doesn't recognise, and whenever someone asks. So you don't need frequent broadcasts for people to learn your name.
Don't set this too low
Turning this down to a few minutes doesn't help anyone, it just eats shared airtime repeating information the mesh already has. The 3 hour default is sensible. Leave it unless you've got a specific reason.
This isn't your position interval
Node Info is your name and identity. How often you broadcast your GPS position is a separate setting. For guidance on that, see Mesh Etiquette.
To find these settings, go to Settings → Radio Configuration → Device in the Meshtastic app. For the full official detail, see the Meshtastic device config docs.