femtofox/usb_config.md

USB Configuration Tool

To configure some Femtofox settings such as wifi, you can insert a USB flash drive containing a configuration file. On boot, the system will automatically recognize, mount and implement the settings you specify. The tool can also be run from the femto-config tool, in the Utilities menu.

Configurable settings are:

• Wifi SSID
• Wifi PSK (password)
• Wifi country
• Timezone
• Activity LED (blinky light - disable for minor power savings)
• Meshtastic:
  • LoRa radio model
  • URL (used to configure LoRa settings and channels)
  • Security: public key
  • Security: private key
  • Security: Add Admin Key
  • Security: Clear Admin Key List
  • Security: Legacy Admin Channel enable/disable

Instructions

The USB drive must be formatted with a single FAT32, exFAT, NTFS (read only - log will not be saved to drive) or ext4 partition. Add a file named femtofox-config.txt and whichever settings you would like to change (CaSe sEnSiTiVe).

     Get an example USB configuration file here

wifi_ssid="Your SSID name"
wifi_psk="wifipassword"
wifi_country="US"
timezone="America/New_York"
act_led="enable"
meshtastic_lora_radio="ebyte-e22-900m30s"
meshtastic_url="https://meshtastic.org/e/#CgMSAQESCAgBOAFAA0gB"
#meshtastic_public_key="XX="
#meshtastic_private_key="XX="
meshtastic_admin_key="XX="
meshtastic_legacy_admin="true"
dont_run_if_log_exists="true"

!NOTE

Enter as many or as few settings as you like.

For wifi_country, insert your country's ISO/IEC alpha2 two letter country code (such as US, GB, DE, IN, etc.) in capital letters.

Use a timezone as it appears in the tz database.

  Meshtastic For meshtastic_lora_radio, choose your radio from the supported hardware list. Options are:

• ebyte-e22-900m30s
• ebyte-e22-900m22s
• ebyte-e80-900m22s (experimental)
• heltec-ht-ra62
• seeed-wio-sx1262
• waveshare-sx126x-xxxm
• ai-thinker-ra-01sh
• sx1262_tcxo (for Ebyte E22-900M30SM, Ebyte E22-900M22S, Heltec HT-RA62, Seeed Wio SX1262)
• sx1262_xtal (for AiThinker RA01SH, and Waveshare Pi hat)
• lr1121_tcxo (experimental, for Ebyte E80-900M2213S)
• none (for simulated radio)

Clearing the meshtastic_admin_key list: The admin key list can contain up to three keys - if more are added they will be ignored. The USB configuration tool supports clearing the admin key list, after which you will need to re-add your admin key/s in a second operation. To clear the admin key list, enter meshtastic_admin_key="clear".

!NOTE

dont_run_if_log_exists="true" will prevent the USB configuration tool from working if there's a log present on the USB drive, indicating it has already been run. There is also an LED boot code for this, described below.

To apply your configuration, reboot the Femtofox with the USB drive plugged in, or run sudo femto-config -> Utilites -> Run USB configuration tool. No other USB drives can be plugged in at the same time. A log (femtofox-config.log) is saved to /home/femto and the USB drive (except on NTFS, which is read only).

Boot codes

When the Femtofox is finished booting, it will blink its User LED (see below) in a pattern which can be used to gather info on its status or help diagnose issues.

LED blink pattern	Meaning	Possible causes	Solutions
⚠️ ________________ 1 very long blink, lasting 5 seconds	Failed to mount USB drive. Ignoring.	Invalid filesystem Corrupted partition table Defective USB drive Defective USB OTG adapter	Use a supported partition (FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, ext4) Repair partition table Try another USB drive Try another USB OTG adapter
⚠️ __  __ 2 long blinks, each lasting 1.5 seconds	femtofox-config.txt is configured to skip if log exists.	USB drive mounted successfully but femtofox-config.txt contains dont_run_if_log_exists="true" and a log is present on the USB drive. Ignoring.	Remove log from USB drive or remove dont_run_if_log_exists line from femtofox-config.txt
⚠️ __  __  _____ 3 long blinks, each lasting 1.5 seconds	USB drive mounted successfully but femtofox-config.txt was not found. Ignoring.	Config file missing.	Create configuration file as described above.
⚠️ __  __  __  __  _____ 5 long blinks, each lasting 1.5 seconds	USB drive mounted successfully and femtofox-config.txt was found but did not contain readable configuration data. Ignoring.	Configuration file improperly formatted or contains no data.	Check configuration file contents as described above.
⚠️ __  __  _  _  __  __  _  _ 2 long blinks, each lasting 1 second, then 2 short blinks, each lasting 1/4 of a second. Repeats twice	Error while trying to implement a Meshtastic setting after 3 attempts. Some settings may have been implemented successfully.	The error may be transient. Configuration file may contain improper data.	Try again. Check configuration file contents as described above. Check the log. This pattern may flash before other patterns. The pattern will repeat once for each failed setting.
✅ . . . . . . . . . . 10 very fast blinks, each lasting 1/8th of a second	USB drive mounted successfully, and femtofox-config.txt was found and contained configuration data which was sent for deployment. Any affected services will now restart. You can disconnect the USB drive.	This does not mean that the information in the config file is correct - only that it was readable. Note that the "success" boot code will flash if at least one setting is successfully read - even if the setting was not implemented successfully.
✅ __  __  __  __  __ 5 medium blinks, each lasting 0.5 seconds	Boot complete. Appears on every successful boot and always appears last.

!NOTE

Boot codes can appear in sequence - for example: one long (4 second) blink, followed by 5 medium (half second) blinks means the USB drive failed to mount, and that the boot sequence is complete.

USB Configuration Tool

To configure some Femtofox settings such as wifi, you can insert a USB flash drive containing a configuration file. On boot, the system will automatically recognize, mount and implement the settings you specify. The tool can also be run from the femto-config tool, in the Utilities menu.

Configurable settings are:

• Wifi SSID
• Wifi PSK (password)
• Wifi country
• Timezone
• Activity LED (blinky light - disable for minor power savings)
• Meshtastic:
  • LoRa radio model
  • URL (used to configure LoRa settings and channels)
  • Security: public key
  • Security: private key
  • Security: Add Admin Key
  • Security: Clear Admin Key List
  • Security: Legacy Admin Channel enable/disable

Instructions

The USB drive must be formatted with a single FAT32, exFAT, NTFS (read only - log will not be saved to drive) or ext4 partition. Add a file named femtofox-config.txt and whichever settings you would like to change (CaSe sEnSiTiVe).

     Get an example USB configuration file here

wifi_ssid="Your SSID name"
wifi_psk="wifipassword"
wifi_country="US"
timezone="America/New_York"
act_led="enable"
meshtastic_lora_radio="ebyte-e22-900m30s"
meshtastic_url="https://meshtastic.org/e/#CgMSAQESCAgBOAFAA0gB"
#meshtastic_public_key="XX="
#meshtastic_private_key="XX="
meshtastic_admin_key="XX="
meshtastic_legacy_admin="true"
dont_run_if_log_exists="true"

!NOTE

Enter as many or as few settings as you like.

For wifi_country, insert your country's ISO/IEC alpha2 two letter country code (such as US, GB, DE, IN, etc.) in capital letters.

Use a timezone as it appears in the tz database.

  Meshtastic For meshtastic_lora_radio, choose your radio from the supported hardware list. Options are:

• ebyte-e22-900m30sd
• ebyte-e22-900m22s
• ebyte-e80-900m22s (experimental)
• heltec-ht-ra62
• seeed-wio-sx1262
• waveshare-sx126x-xxxm
• ai-thinker-ra-01sh
• sx1262_tcxo (for Ebyte E22-900M30SM, Ebyte E22-900M22S, Heltec HT-RA62, Seeed Wio SX1262)
• sx1262_xtal (for AiThinker RA01SH, and Waveshare Pi hat)
• lr1121_tcxo (experimental, for Ebyte E80-900M2213S)
• none (for simulated radio)

Clearing the meshtastic_admin_key list: The admin key list can contain up to three keys - if more are added they will be ignored. The USB configuration tool supports clearing the admin key list, after which you will need to re-add your admin key/s in a second operation. To clear the admin key list, enter meshtastic_admin_key="clear".

!NOTE

dont_run_if_log_exists="true" will prevent the USB configuration tool from working if there's a log present on the USB drive, indicating it has already been run. There is also an LED boot code for this, described below.

To apply your configuration, reboot the Femtofox with the USB drive plugged in, or run sudo femto-config -> Utilites -> Run USB configuration tool. No other USB drives can be plugged in at the same time. A log (femtofox-config.log) is saved to /home/femto and the USB drive (except on NTFS, which is read only).

Boot codes

When the Femtofox is finished booting, it will blink its User LED (see below) in a pattern which can be used to gather info on its status or help diagnose issues.

LED blink pattern	Meaning	Possible causes	Solutions
⚠️ ________________ 1 very long blink, lasting 5 seconds	Failed to mount USB drive. Ignoring.	• Invalid filesystem • Corrupted partition table • Defective USB drive • Defective USB OTG adapter	• Use a supported partition (FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, ext4) • Repair partition table • Try another USB drive • Try another USB OTG adapter
⚠️ __  __ 2 long blinks, each lasting 1.5 seconds	femtofox-config.txt is configured to skip if log exists.	USB drive mounted successfully but femtofox-config.txt contains dont_run_if_log_exists="true" and a log is present on the USB drive. Ignoring.	Remove log from USB drive or remove dont_run_if_log_exists line from femtofox-config.txt
⚠️ __  __  _____ 3 long blinks, each lasting 1.5 seconds	USB drive mounted successfully but femtofox-config.txt was not found. Ignoring.	Config file missing.	Create configuration file as described above.
⚠️ __  __  __  __  _____ 5 long blinks, each lasting 1.5 seconds	USB drive mounted successfully and femtofox-config.txt was found but did not contain readable configuration data. Ignoring.	Configuration file improperly formatted or contains no data.	Check configuration file contents as described above.
⚠️ __  __  _  _  __  __  _  _ 2 long blinks, each lasting 1 second, then 2 short blinks, each lasting 1/4 of a second. Repeats twice	Error while trying to implement a Meshtastic setting after 3 attempts. Some settings may have been implemented successfully.	• The error may be transient. • Configuration file may contain improper data.	• Try again. • Check configuration file contents as described above. • Check the log. This pattern may flash before other patterns. The pattern will repeat once for each failed setting.
✅ . . . . . . . . . . 10 very fast blinks, each lasting 1/8th of a second	USB drive mounted successfully, and femtofox-config.txt was found and contained configuration data which was sent for deployment. Any affected services will now restart. You can disconnect the USB drive.	This does not mean that the information in the config file is correct - only that it was readable. Note that the "success" boot code will flash if at least one setting is successfully read - even if the setting was not implemented successfully.
✅ __  __  __  __  __ 5 medium blinks, each lasting 0.5 seconds	Boot complete. Appears on every successful boot and always appears last.

!NOTE

Boot codes can appear in sequence - for example: one long (4 second) blink, followed by 5 medium (half second) blinks means the USB drive failed to mount, and that the boot sequence is complete.