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🖧 Virtual Node – connect phone apps through the PC

← Handbook home · 🇩🇪 Deutsche Version

  • TCP proxy server – connect Meshtastic apps (Android/iOS) to the Meshhessen Client as if it were a real Meshtastic device
  • Configurable in the Tools tab: port (default: 4404), enable/disable, "Block admin commands from clients"
  • Auto-start: the "Enable Virtual Node" checkbox is persisted — the server then starts automatically as soon as a connection to the physical node is established
  • Config replay: connecting apps receive all channels, node list and device config immediately
  • Bidirectional visibility: messages sent in the app appear in connected apps – and vice versa
  • Multi-client: multiple apps can connect simultaneously; status and connected IPs are shown in the Tools tab

How-to: connect your phone app through the PC

Goal: the Meshtastic app on your phone shares the node attached to the PC — as if the client were a device of its own on the Wi-Fi.

  1. Prerequisite: the client is connected to the physical node; phone and PC are on the same network (Wi-Fi)
  2. Enable: Tools tab → tick "Enable Virtual Node" (default port 4404). The setting is persisted — from now on the server starts automatically whenever the client connects to the node. Optional: "Block admin commands from clients"
  3. Connect the phone: Meshtastic app → device selection → Network/TCP → enter the PC's IP address + port 4404 (find the IP via ipconfig; connected clients are listed in the Tools tab)
  4. Success check: the app immediately loads channels, node list and configuration; a test message from the phone shows up in the client — and vice versa
  5. Multiple devices: more apps can connect in parallel; the Tools tab shows status and IPs

Typical pitfalls:

  • App can't find the PC → Windows Firewall asks for permission on first start — allow it (or add an inbound rule for port 4404); also verify phone and PC really share the same Wi-Fi/subnet
  • Connected but no data → the client itself is not connected to the node right now; the order is client ↔ node, then phone ↔ client
  • Admin changes from the app don't apply → "Block admin commands from clients" is active (a locked kiosk mode blocks them additionally)