ThinkNode M1 First Look: A Solid Meshtastic Handheld?

Mesh networking has blown up over the past year, and the good news is that manufacturers have noticed. There are more Meshtastic devices on the market than ever, and every few weeks something new lands on my bench. This time it's the ThinkNode M1, a compact handheld that Elecrow sent me to check out.

This is a first look, not a long-term review. I opened the box, set the region, paired it to my phone, sent a test message, and went over the hardware and controls. I'll tell you what I like, what I'd change, and the one setting I'd change on any small handheld before you put it on the mesh.

On paper the M1 checks the boxes you'd want in a pocket node: a Nordic nRF52840, a Semtech SX1262 LoRa radio, built-in GPS, Bluetooth for the phone app, a 1.54 inch e-paper display, a 1200 mAh battery, and USB-C. It ships with Meshtastic already installed, so you aren't flashing anything before you can use it.

That matters more than it sounds. A lot of people get into Meshtastic with a bare dev board, a battery wired on with hope, and a 3D printed case from somebody's garage. That's half the fun, but it isn't what you hand to a family member or toss in a hiking pack. A finished handheld with a real case, a charging port, and firmware already on it is how this hobby grows past the tinkerers. So the question for the M1 is simple: is it a good finished handheld?

What's in the Box

The M1 shows up in a small case with a little strap on it, which is a nice touch. Inside:

• The ThinkNode M1 itself. It's light, and the screen was already showing an image when I took it out, which tells you it's an e-paper display that holds the last image with no power. It also tells me they tested it with Meshtastic before boxing it.
• A short user manual. Like most of these devices now, it mostly points you to a QR code for the full instructions online. That's fine with me. It saves paper, if we're still trying to save trees.
• The antenna, plus O-rings. The O-rings are there to help seal things up against the weather. I screwed the antenna on without them for the first power up and planned to add them later.
• A white USB cable. It looks a lot like an iPhone accessory cable. I hope it does data and not just charging, since you'll want that if you ever update firmware over USB.
• A lanyard strap. Handy for clipping the M1 to a bag.

What I didn't find was a belt clip. There are small M screws that look like they're meant for mounting one, but the clip itself wasn't in my box. Elecrow's product page does list a belt clip in the package, so it may have just been missing from my unit, but either way, check your box.

Using the M1 With and Without the Phone

It's worth being clear about how you'll actually use this thing. The M1 has no keyboard, so typing and reading full conversations happens in the Meshtastic app on your phone over Bluetooth. The phone is your keyboard and big screen. The M1 is the radio, the GPS, and the battery that does the LoRa work, so your phone doesn't have to.

That said, it isn't helpless on its own. According to Elecrow's wiki, the function button sends a ping on a single click, toggles the front light on a double click, toggles the buzzer on a triple click, and puts the device into low-power mode on a long press. The page button flips through the screens on the display, so you can check incoming messages, nodes, and status without pulling your phone out. The GPS switch and the brightness knob work without the app too.

In practice, I think most people will run it paired to the phone and glance at the M1 when the phone stays in a pocket. For a lightweight node riding on a backpack strap, that's a good split.

E-Paper: The Good and the Not So Good

The 1.54 inch e-paper display is a deliberate choice, and it comes with tradeoffs you should know about before you buy.

The good: e-paper is easy to read in direct sunlight, which is where a lot of Meshtastic use happens. It holds its image with no power, which is why the M1 came out of the box still showing a screen. And because it only draws power when it changes, it's a good match for a low-power nRF52840 node. The M1 also has a front light, adjustable from the top knob, so you can read it in the dark.

The not so good: e-paper is slow. Elecrow lists about a 2 second refresh, so this isn't a screen for scrolling or animations. It's also monochrome, and e-paper panels flash during a full refresh to clear ghosting. That's part of why I'm reserving judgment on the flashing I saw, which I'll get to below.

Hardware and Controls

This is where the M1 does a lot right for a device this size.

• Aluminum knob on top. It turns the device on and off, and it also adjusts the screen light brightness. It feels solid.
• Physical GPS switch on the side. This is my favorite feature. You don't always want to be broadcasting your location, and a hardware switch is a lot faster than digging through app settings.
• User buttons. A small round button and a second button for menus and paging. They feel good and reliable.
• USB-C and reset on the bottom. USB-C for charging, and a pinhole reset button, the old-school kind where you poke it with a pin.
• The radio hardware. nRF52840 with an SX1262. That's a combination known for being easy on the battery, so it should get good battery life.

The case is lightweight and the plastic looks like good quality. The lanyard mount is on the front, which I thought was an odd choice. I'd have put it closer to the back, and getting the strap threaded through was a bit of a fight. It would also be nice to see some kind of mount on the back panel.

There was also a ringing sound coming from somewhere while I was setting it up. I'm not sure what it was, but it got on my nerves the longer I listened to it.

Why I Set Small Handhelds to CLIENT_MUTE

This is the setting I'd change on any small handheld, not just the M1. In the Meshtastic app, go to device configuration, then device, and change the role from CLIENT to CLIENT_MUTE. Save it and let the device reboot.

Here's why. Devices with small antennas don't have much range. In the default CLIENT role, your node doesn't just receive messages. It also tries to rebroadcast everyone else's. When a node with limited range is doing that, it isn't adding coverage, it's mostly adding congestion to the mesh.

With CLIENT_MUTE, you still receive everything, and you can still send your own messages. You just aren't repeating other people's traffic. Leave the relaying to nodes with better antennas and better locations.

The Meshtastic documentation makes a similar recommendation for groups of nodes sitting close together: let the best-positioned one be the CLIENT and set the others to CLIENT_MUTE. If you've got a rooftop node at home and the M1 in your pocket, that's exactly the setup. Your home node does the heavy lifting, and the handheld stays quiet unless you're the one talking.

A pocket node with a stubby antenna isn't helping the mesh by repeating everything. Set it to CLIENT_MUTE and let the real repeaters do that job.

Antenna Considerations

Since the antenna is my biggest hardware question mark, here's what I'd keep in mind if you upgrade.

• Match the connector. The M1 uses RP-SMA, not regular SMA. They look almost identical, so check the listing before you order. The wrong one will thread on but won't make contact on the center pin.
• Match the band. In the US you want an antenna tuned for 915 MHz. A cheap "LoRa" antenna that's actually cut for 868 MHz or 433 MHz will cost you range.
• Mind the size. A longer whip will almost always outperform a stubby, but this is a pocket device. Pick something you'll actually carry. The best antenna is the one still attached when you need it.
• Height beats everything. On a handheld, getting the device up high, on a shoulder strap or the top of a pack, often helps more than any antenna swap.
• Keep the O-rings. If you swap antennas, keep using the included O-rings to help keep moisture out of the connector.

How It Compares to Other Meshtastic Handhelds

On paper, the M1 sits in the same family as other nRF52840 e-paper handhelds like the LilyGO T-Echo, which pairs the same nRF52840 and SX1262 with a 1.54 inch e-ink display and built-in GNSS. If you've used one of those, the core experience here will feel familiar: long battery life, a sunlight-readable screen, and the phone app doing most of the work.

Where the M1 stands out for me is the physical stuff. A hardware GPS switch, an aluminum knob for power and brightness, an RP-SMA connector for easy antenna swaps, and a finished case with a strap. Those are the things that make it feel like a product instead of a project.

Compared to ESP32-based Meshtastic boards, the nRF52840 trades away Wi-Fi in exchange for much lower power draw. For a handheld you carry all day on battery, that's the right trade.

Who the ThinkNode M1 Is For

Based on my first look, I'd point the M1 at a few kinds of users:

• New Meshtastic users who want something that works out of the box without soldering, flashing, or printing a case.
• Hikers and event users who want a light node that clips to a pack and runs a long time between charges.
• Anyone privacy-minded about location, since the GPS switch makes it easy to stop sharing your position.
• Experienced mesh users who want a pocket client to go with their fixed nodes, set to CLIENT_MUTE, of course.

If you want to type messages directly on the device, or you're looking for a node to put on a roof as a repeater, this isn't the one. It's a handheld, and that's what it's good at.

ThinkNode M1 Key Specs

Conclusion: A Pretty Good Device, With Caveats

For a first look, the ThinkNode M1 makes a good impression. The physical GPS switch is exactly the kind of thing I want on a handheld, the aluminum knob for power and brightness feels great, the buttons are solid, the plastic looks good, and USB-C charging is a given these days but still nice to see. It's light, it comes with a strap you can hang off a bag, and it ships with Meshtastic ready to go.

The two things holding me back from a full thumbs up are the screen flashing and the stubby antenna. The antenna is an easy fix. The screen I want more time with before I call it either way. And whatever you think of it, set it to CLIENT_MUTE before you carry it around.

I'm going to keep testing the M1, and if anything comes up I'll post an update. Overall though, I'll tell you, it's a pretty good device.