Meshtastic is one of those projects that sounds too good to be true. It's an open-source mesh network that lets you send encrypted text messages and share GPS locations over LoRa radio, with no cell towers, no Wi-Fi, and no subscription, and all you need is a cheap device to join. I'd been watching it gain traction for a while, especially as more cities started building out their own community mesh networks, and I figured it was time to try it for myself. The Elecrow Thinknode M5 seemed like the perfect entry point, arriving pre-flashed with Meshtastic firmware and ready to go out of the box.

I've been carrying it around for a while now, testing it in different environments and seeing what it's actually capable of. It can be a little slow to update on account of the e-ink display, and the ESP32-S3 inside is thirstier than I'd like, but it works. And it does a lot more than just send messages.

About this article: Elecrow sent us the Thinknode M5 for the purposes of this article. The company had no input into its contents.

The Thinknode M5 is a capable little communicator

Meshtastic has lots of uses

The Thinknode M5 is built around an ESP32-S3 paired with an SX1262 LoRa transceiver, a 1.54-inch ePaper display, a built-in GPS module, and a 1200mAh battery. It comes in a compact ABS plastic shell that fits easily in a pocket, and Elecrow ships it with Meshtastic already installed. You pair it to your phone over Bluetooth, open the Meshtastic app, and you're on the mesh.

I didn't expect how much you can do once it's connected to your phone. Beyond basic text messaging, I was able to use my phone as a compass pointing directly toward the device's GPS coordinates, share my location with others on the mesh, and even use it for rudimentary navigation. The Meshtastic app handles all of the configuration, from channel settings to network monitoring, and it's more approachable than you'd think. The buttons on the side of the M5 lets you scroll through different screens on the e-paper display, showing signal strength, nearby nodes, and your current GPS position.

For around $54, you're getting a self-contained LoRa communicator with GPS and a display that you need to charge rouhgly once a day. That's hard to argue with, even with some rough edges that we'll get to.

One of the most interesting things happening with Meshtastic right now is its adoption at music festivals and large outdoor events. If you've ever been at a festival and tried to text a friend, you know the frustration. Cell towers get absolutely hammered when tens of thousands of people descend on an area, and messages either take forever to send or just don't go through at all.

Meshtastic sidesteps this entirely. It doesn't rely on cell infrastructure, so it doesn't matter how congested the local network is. Festival-goers have been using Meshtastic nodes to coordinate meetup spots, share GPS locations across sprawling campgrounds, and keep groups connected when phone service falls apart. At Burning Man back in 2023, around 70 participants ran Meshtastic radios at the event. The mesh got congested at scale, sure, but it worked when nothing else would.

On top of that, it's not just festivals. Community groups in cities like Washington DC have started building solar-powered Meshtastic networks, creating city-wide text messaging systems that don't depend on any telecom provider, and there are numerous hiking groups employing the tech as well. You can check public node maps and see just how much these networks are growing, with thousands of nodes online globally. What started as a niche hobby is quietly turning into something that looks a lot like independent city-wide communication. And the Thinknode M5 is one of many devices that can enable you to join one of those networks.

There are some rough edges worth knowing about

It's not protected against what it's best at

I should be clear about where the Thinknode M5 falls short, because there are a few things that bothered me. First, there's no clip or mounting option on the device. If you want to attach it to a bag or a belt loop, you're out of luck unless you get creative with a case or a lanyard. For something marketed toward outdoor use, that feels like an oversight.

The bigger headache for me was flashing firmware. The Meshtastic web flasher offers an InkHUD option for e-ink devices, and I naturally assumed the M5 would support it given its e-paper display. It doesn't. Selecting InkHUD when flashing essentially bricked my unit, leaving it completely unresponsive until I figured out the issue and re-flashed without it. The fix isn't complicated, as I could just flash it again, but it's the kind of thing that would send a less experienced user into a panic. The M5 isn't listed in the official InkHUD compatibility documentation, and that really should be made clearer on the flashing page. Especially given that InkHUD is designed to be used for ePaper displays.

There's also no IP rating on the Thinknode M5, as it's just ABS plastic with no water resistance to speak of. This also feels like an oversight, as if you're out hiking in the rain or at a muddy festival, you'll want to keep it protected. And given that part of Meshtastic's appeal is its usage in rougher environments, it feels quite odd that the Thinknode M5 isn't actually capable of withstanding them. Plus, when it comes to the ePaper display, it's noticeably slow to refresh. It's great for battery life and outdoor readability, and you do get used to it, but if you're used to the snappiness of an OLED or LCD, it can feel a bit sluggish.

Then there's battery life. The ESP32-S3 draws considerably more power than the nRF52840 chips found in alternatives like the Thinknode M1. With the 1200mAh battery, I found myself reaching for a charger more often than I'd expect from an e-ink device. WhisperOS support would be a welcome addition here, potentially improving ESP32 power management significantly, but for now, you're working with what the stock Meshtastic firmware provides. If battery longevity is your top priority, an nRF52-based device is the better bet.

Meshtastic is quietly building something bigger than texting

This is a great first-entry device

With all of that said, I'm excited for the concept of what Meshtastic actually is, and what the Thinknode M5 enables you to do. It's an encrypted, decentralized communication network that anyone can join and extend. Every node you add makes the mesh stronger and pushes its reach further. In cities with growing Meshtastic communities, your device becomes part of the network itself, allowing you to communicate with friends while enabling wider communication, too.

The Thinknode M5 isn't a perfect device. The lack of a clip, no water resistance, and the ESP32-S3's battery appetite are all real drawbacks. But it's a $54 communicator that arrives ready to use, with GPS, a sunlight-readable display, and access to a mesh network that's growing faster than most people realize. Whether it's festivals, hiking, emergency prep, or just the appeal of off-grid communication, there's a lot to like here.

And in my case, this little device had me considering builting out my own Meshtastic network. There actually isn't one in my area, but there are some in Dublin, and it would be pretty neat to grow it in other regions of Ireland, too. That's the thing about Meshtastic that I quickly realized; once I started, I immediately began thinking about how to make the mesh bigger. And it seems, judging from the Meshtastic maps of different areas, I'm not the only one.