Map & Waypoints

The Map tab shows all nodes that have shared a position, overlaid on an Apple Maps base layer.

The map reopens where you last left it — your last-viewed area and zoom are remembered between launches, so you don't have to pan back after every relaunch. On a fresh install (before you've moved the map) it frames your current location, then your connected radio, then the center of your nodes.

Node Pins

Each node that has reported a GPS position appears as a colored circle pin on the map. The green solid line shows a directly connected node; orange dashed lines show nodes reached via the mesh. A purple star marks a waypoint. Tap a pin to see the node name, last heard time, signal info, and a shortcut to send a direct message.

Pins update automatically when a new position packet is received from the mesh.

Overlapping nodes at the same spot

When several nodes report the same (or nearly the same) location — for example radios sitting on one desk, or nodes broadcasting a reduced-precision position — their pins stack on top of each other and can't be pulled apart by zooming. Tapping the stack (or the numbered count badge, when node clustering is on) opens a Select a Node list of every node at that spot. Pick one to open its detail view. This works whether or not clustering is enabled, so an occluded node is always reachable.

Filtering Nodes on the Map

Tap the filter button (funnel icon, line.3.horizontal.decrease.circle) in the bottom-right toolbar to open the Map Filters sheet. When any filter is active, the icon appears filled to indicate filtering is in effect.

Filter Description
Via LoRa Show only nodes heard directly over LoRa radio
Via MQTT Show only nodes bridged through MQTT
Online Show only nodes heard within the last 2 hours
Encrypted Show only nodes using PKI encryption
Favorites Show only nodes you have starred as favorites
Distance Limit to nodes within a chosen radius of your current location
Hops Away Slider from All to 7 — restricts by hop count (0 = direct only)
Roles Filter by one or more device roles (e.g. Router, Client, Repeater)
Tip — Checking LoRa range Enable the Via LoRa filter and disable Via MQTT to see only nodes reachable directly over radio, which is useful for assessing whether a direct LoRa link is feasible.

Map Layers

Tap the layer icon (top-right) to switch between:

Layer Description
Standard Default Apple Maps street/satellite hybrid
Satellite Aerial imagery
GeoJSON Overlays Custom map layers loaded from .geojson files in the app's file storage

Map Options

Tap the info button (info.circle) in the bottom-right toolbar to open the Map Options sheet. Alongside the base layer picker it offers:

Option Description
Waypoints Show or hide waypoint markers on the map
Precise Locations Only Hide nodes that broadcast an approximate (reduced-precision) location. Imprecise nodes are normally drawn with a translucent circle showing how large the possible area is; turn this on to show only nodes reporting an exact position. Both the imprecise pins and their precision circles are hidden.
Cluster Nodes Group nearby nodes into one numbered pin; tap it to zoom in. Turn off to always show every node individually.
My Location Show or hide your own position (the blue dot) on the map
Convex Hull Draw an outline around the outermost LoRa nodes to visualize mesh coverage
Traffic Show Apple Maps live traffic
Points of Interest Show Apple Maps points of interest

Offline Maps

A dedicated section of the sheet for working without a connection: a link opens the list of downloaded map regions to manage them or download new ones, and the Offline Tiles toggle overlays a downloaded region on the base map so it keeps rendering with no internet connection.

Map Overlays

Custom GeoJSON overlays you've uploaded are listed here, each with its own toggle and file details (format, feature count, size, upload date). Swipe a file left to delete it, or tap Upload Map Data to add another. The section's master toggle turns uploaded overlays on the map on or off as a group.

Coverage Estimate (Site Planner)

Estimate the radio coverage of a transmitter site without leaving the app. The app drives the hosted Meshtastic Site Planner — a SPLAT!/ITM propagation simulator — and imports the resulting coverage map as a styled GeoJSON overlay.

Starting an estimate

You can open the estimate form two ways:

The estimate form

The form mirrors the Site Planner's own panels. The Transmitter and Display sections are open by default; Receiver and Simulation Options are collapsed.

Section Fields
Site / Transmitter Site name, latitude/longitude, transmit power (W), frequency (MHz), antenna height (m), antenna gain (dBi). Location shortcuts fill the coordinates from My Location, the selected Node, or the Map Center.
Receiver Receiver sensitivity (dBm) — the coverage threshold.
Simulation Options Maximum range (km) and a high-resolution terrain toggle (which caps the range at 70 km).
Display Colour palette for the coverage map (Plasma, Viridis, CMRmap, Cool, Turbo, Jet).

Prefill from the connected radio: frequency is computed from the radio's region, modem preset, and channel; transmit power is converted from the device's dBm setting; and receiver sensitivity is mapped from the modem preset (for example LongFast → −139 dBm). Antenna gain and height aren't part of the device config, so they keep the planner's defaults. You can edit any value before running.

Running it

Tap Estimate. A progress indicator appears while the planner computes the coverage; you can Cancel at any time. When it finishes, the styled coverage map is added as a map overlay (in its dBm colours), the GeoJSON overlays layer is enabled, and the map recenters on the transmitter. The imported layer is managed like any other GeoJSON overlay in Map Options.

Note — Requires a network connection The coverage simulation runs in the hosted Site Planner, so an internet connection is needed. Estimates time out after 45 seconds; on failure the flow ends cleanly without leaving a stuck spinner.

Waypoints

Waypoints are named points of interest you can share across the mesh.

Creating a Waypoint

  1. Long press anywhere on the map.
  2. Enter a name, optional description, and lock icon (to limit editing to the creator).
  3. Tap Save — the waypoint broadcasts to all nodes on the primary channel.

Editing a Waypoint

Tap an existing waypoint pin, then tap Edit. Changes broadcast to the mesh immediately.

Deleting a Waypoint

Tap the waypoint, then tap Delete. The deletion broadcasts to all nodes.

Geofences

A geofence turns a waypoint into a watched area: when a node's reported position crosses into or out of it, your device raises a local notification. Open a waypoint, tap Edit, and use the Geofence section.

Control Description
Radius A circular geofence centered on the waypoint, from 0.1 to 10 miles. Choose Off for no circle.
Bounding Box A rectangular geofence. Tap Set Bounding Box to draw one on the map, Edit Bounding Box to adjust it, or Remove Bounding Box to clear it.

You can use a radius, a bounding box, or both — a node counts as inside if it falls within either shape.

Once a radius or bounding box is set, notification options appear:

Option Description
Notify on Enter Alert when a node moves into the geofence.
Notify on Exit Alert when a node leaves the geofence.
Favorites Only Shown when Enter or Exit is on. Limits alerts to nodes you have starred as favorites.
Note Geofences are evaluated on your own device as position packets arrive from the mesh, so alerts reflect what your radio has heard rather than live tracking. Tapping an alert opens the waypoint on the map. Favorites Only uses the favorite status set on this device, so each receiver decides which nodes are worth an alert.

Trace Routes on the Map

A trace route can be drawn on the map to show the path a packet took through the mesh. Open Settings → Logging → Trace Routes (or a node's Trace Route log), select a route, and tap Show on Map.

Reading the Route

3D Flyover

Tap in the route banner for a guided 3D flythrough over satellite imagery: it flies the outbound path, lands at the target, then flies the return path and eases back to the map. Tap the speed control to cycle the pace from 1× up to 5× (1×, 1.5×, 2×, 2.5×, 3×, 4×, 5×) — adjustable mid-flight — and to stop.

Tap the legend button (map icon, bottom-right) for a key to the colors and markers.

Node Trail

When a node has reported multiple positions over time, a trail line connects the historical positions on the map, showing the node's path.

Your Location

Your current GPS position appears as a blue dot (standard iOS location indicator). Enable position broadcasting in Settings → Position to share your location with the mesh.