Regions and Scoping

Now: step 1, tagging every repeater

Michigan is rolling out regions in steps, and step 1 is giving every repeater its region names. Until the next step is announced, your messages travel just as they always have.

• Companion users: nothing you need to set. Unscoped messages reach everyone. You're welcome to experiment with scoped messages; they only reach as far as repeaters carry their region, so expect gaps while repeaters are still being tagged.
• Repeater operators: define your regions with region def and region save, and change no other region or scope settings. Repeater Setup has the details.

Messages not getting through? Clear your scope: companions, repeaters. The Rollout has what's next.

How Regions Work

Four words do all the work:

• Region: a name for an area, like mi (Michigan), mi-central (Flint, Lansing, the Tri-Cities) or azo (Kalamazoo).
• Carry: the regions a repeater has defined are the ones it carries. "Tagging" a repeater means defining its regions. Repeaters are tagged; messages are scoped.
• Scoped: a message sent with one region attached. The region on a message is its scope. In the MeshCore app that's your Default Region Scope and each channel's Region Scope; other apps label them differently.
• Unscoped: a message with no region attached. That's what you send when those settings are blank, and nearly everything in Michigan today.

What happens to a message depends on whether it has a scope, and on which step of the rollout Michigan is in:

	Today	Once unscoped messages are limited (step 2)
Unscoped message (no region)	Every repeater passes it on	Repeaters pass it on about 3 times, then it stops
Scoped message (one region, like mi)	Only repeaters that carry its region pass it on	Same: only repeaters that carry its region, as far as they reach

Tagging a repeater never costs an unscoped message anything; regions only decide which scoped messages get through. Step 2: What Changes has more on the limit.

The tree is for us, not the radios. Michigan's regions form a tree: midwest › mi › one of five subregions (mi-west, mi-central, mi-east, mi-north, mi-upper) › sometimes a local region like azo. It helps people pick names that fit together. The radios don't use it to decide what to pass on: a repeater with mi-east won't pass a message scoped to mi unless it has mi too. So each repeater is given every level, from midwest down to its own area.

Three more things worth knowing:

• A scope only changes what repeaters pass on. Your radio still hears everything that reaches it.
• A scope isn't privacy. Your channel key is what keeps a message private.
• One gap stops a scoped message. Every repeater that doesn't carry its region drops it, so a scoped message only gets as far as an unbroken line of repeaters that carry it. That's why every repeater gets tagged before scoped messages become the norm.

Why Scoping Matters

What this is really about. MeshCore is growing fast, and in parts of Europe, meshes that filled in with no scoping got so busy that the local mesh stopped working for the people under it. Detroit, Flint, Lansing, the Tri-Cities, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids all have repeaters on the air, and as those networks fill in they grow into each other. The goal is to keep the mesh usable for people in their own area by default, and make reaching far-away areas a deliberate choice.

Where it showed up first. West-side repeaters regularly hear traffic from Chicago, carried across Lake Michigan on days when signals travel unusually far. We hear them but they can't hear us, so it's just noise here, and every repeater that hears it repeats it. Michigan borders Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ontario too, and the same can happen along any of those edges as meshes there grow.

Why regions alone don't fix it. That traffic is unscoped, and every repeater passes unscoped messages. Regions only help once there's also a decision about unscoped traffic.

Why we don't just block it. Every new user starts out unscoped. Blocking unscoped messages would silence them until they set a scope they don't know exists yet. That's the wrong trade for a network that wants to grow.

What other meshes learned. Where some repeaters were tagged and others weren't, scoped messages got lost in the gaps, and several cities in Poland gave up on scoping for that reason. Some communities tag every repeater before anyone scopes, which is what Michigan is doing.

Why the Names Look Like This

Each step down the tree is a smaller area. Once tagging is done, every Michigan repeater carries midwest and mi, but only repeaters around Detroit, Ann Arbor and Port Huron carry mi-east, only Upper Peninsula repeaters carry mi-upper, and only repeaters around Kalamazoo carry azo. So the smaller the region, the fewer repeaters pass the message on and the shorter it spreads:

Scoped to	Passed on by, once tagged	Reaches
midwest	Every Michigan repeater, and neighbors' repeaters that carry it	Across state lines
mi	Every Michigan repeater	The whole state
A subregion: mi-west, mi-central, mi-east, mi-north, mi-upper	Repeaters in that part of the state	That part of Michigan
A local region, like grr (Grand Rapids) or azo (Kalamazoo)	Repeaters serving that area	That metro area

When scoping starts, the idea is to pick the smallest region that still reaches the people you're talking to.

Why mi-west and not just west. A region name means the same thing everywhere. If Michigan's subregions were plain west, east or north, our repeaters would pass messages scoped to those names from any mesh that used them, whether across Lake Michigan, in Ohio or Ontario, or across the UP's border with Wisconsin, and our messages would ride their repeaters too. The mi- prefix makes Michigan's subregions Michigan's alone. Local names need the same care, so check a new one against Michigan's region naming plan (RFC-001) and with nearby operators before using it.

Why midwest sits on top. Some messages are meant to cross state lines. Giving them their own scope, coordinated with neighboring meshes, keeps that traffic from riding mi or going out unscoped.

Where Michigan Stands

Every Michigan repeater should be tagged now, with midwest, mi, its subregion, and a local region if its area uses one. Regions follow the coverage a repeater actually serves, not a county line. Repeaters change no other region settings. Companions stay unscoped by default, and anyone can experiment with scoped messages.

Repeaters need firmware 1.16 or later. For repeaters and companions alike, the latest release is best. Update from the web flasher.

What To Do Now

Companion Users

Nothing you need to set: with no scope, your messages are unscoped and reach everyone.

Want to try scoped messages? Go ahead. It's easiest on a channel: give it a scope like mi or your subregion, and keep your default scope blank so your adverts and direct messages still reach everyone. A scoped message only reaches as far as repeaters carry its region, so some won't arrive until every repeater is tagged. If messages stop getting through, or you joined a channel from a QR code or link that brought a scope with it, here's how to clear it.

You don't need to save region names in your app yet. If you do, follow Getting Started exactly: in the MeshCore app, tapping a region in that list makes it your default.

Repeater Operators

Give your repeater midwest, mi, your subregion and, if your area uses one, your local region, then save:

region def midwest mi <subregion> <local_region>
region save

Part of the state	Regions to carry
West Michigan	midwest mi mi-west
Central Michigan	midwest mi mi-central
Southeast Michigan	midwest mi mi-east
Northern Lower Peninsula	midwest mi mi-north
Upper Peninsula	midwest mi mi-upper

If your area uses a local region, add it to the end, e.g. midwest mi mi-west azo. If you're not sure, check with operators near you. Pick Your Regions has every county, and Verify shows how to check your work.

FAQ

For Companion Users

What should I set on my phone right now?

Nothing is required. Unscoped messages reach everyone. Experimenting with a scoped channel is fine; keep your default scope blank so your adverts and direct messages aren't affected. Getting Started shows how to clear a scope in each app.

Wouldn't setting mi keep my messages in Michigan, or help them reach farther?

Not yet. Today it mostly costs reach: not every Michigan repeater carries mi yet, and any that doesn't will drop your message, while every repeater passes unscoped messages. It's fine to try, just expect some messages not to arrive until tagging is done.

What will change for me when unscoped messages are limited?

Nothing yet. When step 2 starts, messages with no scope only reach people within about three repeaters, so you'll set a default scope to keep reaching the rest of the state. It'll be announced first, with the settings to make; Step 2: What Changes has the details.

If I set a scope, will I stop seeing messages from other areas?

No. A scope only affects what you send. Your radio still hears everything that reaches it.

Does scoping make my channel private?

No. A scope only limits which repeaters pass a message on. Only your channel key keeps a message private.

Is a channel named #michigan automatically scoped to mi?

No. A channel's name and its scope are separate settings. A channel shared by QR code or link can bring a scope with it, though, so check the channel's scope after you join one so you know what you're sending with.

For Repeater Operators

Why tag repeaters now?

Defining regions only adds: your repeater can now pass scoped messages for those regions, and unscoped messages work exactly as before. Tagging every repeater now means that as scoped messages become common, nobody gets cut off.

Why does my repeater carry three or four regions instead of one?

Each level is a different reach a sender can pick: a local region for the metro area, a subregion for your part of the state, mi for statewide, midwest for across state lines. A repeater missing a level is a dead end for messages scoped to it. Most repeaters carry three (midwest mi mi-east), or four where their area uses a local region (midwest mi mi-west azo).

Will defining regions stop out-of-state traffic, like what crosses Lake Michigan from Chicago?

No. That traffic is unscoped, and regions only affect scoped messages. Limiting unscoped traffic is step 2 of the rollout.

What should the region output look like?

It should list midwest, mi, your subregion and any local region, and every line, including the top one, should end in F. Repeater Setup's Check Regions has an example.

Should I copy the whole tree onto my repeater?

No. Carry exactly your own regions. Every extra region lets your repeater pass messages scoped to it from anywhere, and carrying a second subregion makes your site a bridge, which is a group decision.

My regions disappeared after a reboot. What happened?

region def takes effect right away but isn't kept unless you run region save. On firmware 1.16, a save can fail and still answer OK, so update to the latest release. Also check the spelling: region names are exact, so Mi or mi-wset is a different region nobody else carries.

Discover Regions doesn't show my repeater. Why?

Discover Regions only asks repeaters your radio hears directly, and each repeater answers only a few requests every few minutes, so wait and try again. Use the steps in Add Regions to Your App so you don't set a default scope by accident.

Will any of this change?

MeshCore is still adding region features, so details may change. This page gets rechecked before each step of the rollout. Follow the MeshCore blog for what's new.

The Rollout

Michigan is rolling regions out in steps. Each one starts when operators agree the last one is done, and it's announced before it starts.

1. Tag every repeater (now). Every repeater carries all its regions, so nobody gets cut off when scoped messages start.
2. Limit how far unscoped messages travel (next). Companions set a default scope, and every repeater stops passing an unscoped message after it has been repeated 3 times, starting with tall, well-connected sites. Sparse areas, like much of the northern Lower Peninsula and the UP, can leave the limit off until coverage fills in. What changes is below.
3. Stop passing unscoped messages (later, optional). Only once most companions in an area have a default scope, and only coordinated with neighboring repeaters.

The steps follow RFC-001 Addendum A, Michigan's draft scoping policy, with one change: repeaters don't set a region default. Where the two differ, follow this page.

Step 2: What Changes

When step 2 starts, an unscoped message only travels about three repeaters from where it started. Scoped messages aren't limited.

If your companion has no scope set:

• Your messages and adverts still reach people near you, within about three repeaters.
• People farther away won't get your channel messages or see you show up in their contacts, and a first message to someone far away won't reach them.
• Messages to people you've already reached usually follow a saved route, and those aren't affected.

If you've set a default scope of mi and the channel scopes below:

• Your messages travel as far as repeaters carry their scope: the whole state for mi, your part of the state for a subregion.
• One catch: delivery confirmations come back with the other person's scope. If they haven't set one, a message to someone far away can arrive but show as failed on your end.

For everyone:

• Out-of-state noise, like the traffic from Chicago, dies out within a few repeaters instead of crossing the state.
• In sparse areas where the nearest people are more than three repeaters away, operators may leave the limit off.
• Operators will announce it before it starts, along with the companion settings to make.

Companion settings for step 2. These become the recommendation when step 2 is announced; you can try them sooner, knowing some messages won't arrive until every repeater is tagged. A default scope of mi, plus channel scopes:

Channel	Scope
Statewide, like #michigan	mi
Regional, like #wmi	that subregion, e.g. mi-west
Local, like #grr or #azo	that local region
Public	your local region, or your subregion if your area doesn't have one

MeshCore's own guidance suggests setting a broad default scope right away. Michigan recommends it from step 2, so nobody gets cut off while repeaters are still being tagged.

The Map and Names

Reference boundaries for the five subregions, drawn from county groupings. They're reference assignments, not borders: a repeater carries the region of the coverage it actually serves. Local regions follow observed coverage and aren't drawn.

Open the map full screen · Map source and data

Michigan follows the draft RFC-001: Michigan MeshCore Regions, a proposal written by Michigan operators:

midwest
├── mi
│   ├── mi-west
│   │   ├── grr        Grand Rapids
│   │   ├── mkg        Muskegon (example only)
│   │   └── azo        Kalamazoo
│   ├── mi-central
│   │   ├── thumb      (not settled)
│   │   └── midstate   (not settled)
│   ├── mi-east
│   │   └── det        Detroit (example only)
│   ├── mi-north       Northern Lower Peninsula
│   │   └── tvc        Traverse City (example only)
│   └── mi-upper       Upper Peninsula
│       └── mqt        Marquette (example only)
├── il                 Illinois (example only)
├── wi                 Wisconsin (example only)
└── in                 Indiana (example only)

Carry only your own regions, not the whole tree. grr and azo are the local regions RFC-001 defines so far. thumb and midstate are named but not settled, and entries marked example only show where other local regions and neighboring states would slot in; don't carry them. If your area uses or wants a local region, agree on it with operators nearby and propose it through the RFC.

Naming rules. Short, lowercase letters, digits and hyphens, with no #. Spelling must match exactly on every repeater, because a different spelling is a different region.

Open Items

• Coordinating midwest with neighboring meshes, so it's a deliberate choice there too and not a default.

Learn More

MeshCore's own guides suggest setting a default scope right away. In Michigan, that becomes the recommendation at step 2 of the rollout; until then, keep it blank unless you're experimenting.

• MeshCore documentation and command reference, for technical details
• MeshCore blog: region filtering and default scope
• MeshCore on GitHub: source code, releases and proposals
• RFC-001 and Addendum A: Michigan's region names, county assignments and draft scoping policy
• Pacific Northwest region rollout: how another community staged it

Change History

• 2026-10 — Page created during step 1 of the rollout: repeaters define regions only. The rollout follows RFC-001 Addendum A, without its repeater default scope or its one-week trial of limiting unscoped messages. Firmware 1.16 is the minimum.