I was duped into purchasing two Mesh radios from an eBay seller.
He failed to mention these were FW 0.13.35 and too old to be updated via app.
I see that, in 2018, there was a workaround for updating devices with FW 0.13.48.
Is there any hope that the workaround is still available? and compatible with my version?
@anon62894636
Also, if I am stuck with these old units, what are they capable of?
Clearly they donāt have Relay-mode, but can they still relay (albeit with the LED still flashing) with brand new (just got from Amazon from goTenna) radios?
If they are goTenna Mesh units. they will work with present generation devices. If theyāre the old VHF band goTenna devices, they are an entirely different radio band.
Iām fairly certain that none of the FW updates have been extended back in time since that announcement.
Have you tried contacting CS at support@gotenna.com yet? They can answer questions about your units and any relevant updates.
Yes, Support confirmed the old unitsā FW can not be updated via the current app; this is the correct ācompany lineā.
I am reaching out here in case others know of alternatives.
Note: I can ātalkā directly between my new device and an old device, so the radios are compatible. However, I cannot detect if the communications will āhopā through the old device.
Because I am so new at this I am uncertain if this lack is my inexperience (Iām not doing it right, or not assessing it right), or if there is a device limit.
Anybody out there still have old firmware used as a relay?
Yeah, if Support confirmed that, it is what it is.
If the decices are talking with each other, itās likely fine. The older units were limited to 3 hops max IIRC. This does not affect their use as a relay. The relay merely forwards the message if it hasnāt reached the max hop count available to the message (so based on the senderās unitās characteristics not those of the relay.)
When your devices are close enough for the message to go direct just the icon appears to show a message sent. Once it needs a relay to get there it will say something like āvia 2 hops.ā
You need at least 3 devices to test relaying. One to act as a relay between two other devices that are on opposite sides of the relay and far enough apart they canāt receive each other directly. You will see āvia 1 hopā if the message goes through the relay.
Well, I can get my 2 new GTMs far enough apart that I see the message about delivery over 1 hop. I sure hope it is my old GTM that it is hoping through.
@MikeL thanks for confirming what to expect.
Check the node map to see if anyone else is around. Itās posted by users, but only relatively few people post their locations. So itās possible youāre hopping through another userās relay, although not likely, that it is not through the relay you set up.
Thatās one of the beauties of mesh. What any user does to improve their own reception, it automatically helps others who happen to come along since there is nothing you need do other than put up a relay - no extra passwords or sign-ins required. It just starts working as soon as youāre in range of a relay.
Do you have an older phone laying around? Or perhaps an Android device? If so, you might be able to download an older version of the goTenna app at apkpure and then do a sequential update to your Mesh units.