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Hardware & IoT · A few weeksAnywhere· Source · Jun 2026

Meshtastic radio owners can't stop the GPS draining the battery while the device sits still.

Hikers and others who carry battery-powered Meshtastic radios

Where it stands

  1. Sourced (done)
  2. Kit (done)
  3. Wanted (next)
  4. Building
  5. Solved

How this problem came to be

  1. Found2 sourcesgithub.com/meshtastic
  2. Quoted3 claimseach checked against its page
  3. BriefWrittenand what solved looks like
  4. Market1 signals7 reactions on the issue
  5. Kit5 steps21 tools · 6 routes
  6. People0 want0 live it · 0 would test

The problem, broken down

Who it hurts
People who carry Meshtastic nodes with GPS and an accelerometer on hikes or leave them at a cabin.
The moment
When the node is in a backpack on a rock, or on a table overnight, still fixing its position.
What people do today
The GPS keeps updating even when the device has not moved.
Why it's unsolved
Indoors, GPS position drifts even when still, and some devices can only put the GPS in low-power mode, not cut its power.
What solved looks like
A firmware option that puts the GPS into low-power mode after a set time with no motion and wakes it on movement. On a bench test with an accelerometer-equipped node, current draw measured with a USB power meter drops while still and position updates resume within a minute of moving.

Evidence

Every claim is tied to the source it comes from
Meshtastic firmware issue #8383: turn GPS off when the accelerometer shows no movement ↗
  1. 1The issue says GPS is one of the main reasons Meshtastic nodes use a lot of battery, and asks for nodes to turn GPS off when the accelerometer shows they are not moving.
  2. 2A commenter noted that inside buildings position can drift a lot, so switching off should depend on both the accelerometer and the position.
  3. 3A comment says the T1000-E has no hardware switch to cut GPS power, so firmware can only put the module into a low-power state.

Written from the cited sources. Anything they don't say is left as a question, not a guess.

Sources

From a public page with a citation.

  1. [1]Meshtastic docs: position configuration
  2. [2]Meshtastic firmware issue #8383: turn GPS off when the accelerometer shows no movement
What the source says, in short

The issue says GPS is one of the main reasons Meshtastic nodes use a lot of battery, and asks for nodes to turn GPS off when the accelerometer shows they are not moving. A commenter noted that inside buildings position can drift a lot, so switching off should depend on both the accelerometer and the position. A comment says the T1000-E has no hardware switch to cut GPS power, so firmware can only put the module into a low-power state.

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Market read

How big this is, from the evidence

  • GitHub ↗Builders' pull · Medium confidence7 reactions on the issue

How these were measured: Total reactions on the GitHub issue, read from its API.

For whoever takes this up

The builder's path for this problem

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