Firmware & Releases

Firmware images are published on GitHub: OpenMANET Firmware Releases

This page covers how to choose the correct image and summarizes notable changes in the 1.6.x line.

Choosing the Right Image

OpenMANET firmware filenames include the information you need to select the correct image:

  • SBC/target (example: rpi4, rpi3)
  • Morse Micro chipset family (example: mm6108, mm8108)
  • HaLow interface (example: spi, sdio)

Important: Select your firmware downloads carefully. If you are using a Seeed Studio HaLow board, you typically want an image with spi in the name.

HaLow Interface Guidance (SPI vs SDIO)

  • spi images are intended for SPI-based HaLow HATs (most commonly the Seeed WM1302 + Wio-WM6108 setups).
  • sdio images are intended for SDIO-based HaLow modules (for example Silex or Alfa SDIO boards).

Note: SDIO images can work across different SDIO boards, but the board configuration file (BCF) must match your specific radio/module. The default BCF is tuned for an Alfa board; for other SDIO boards you will need to obtain the correct BCF from the manufacturer and apply it.

SBC Target Mapping

Use this as a quick guide for the rpiX part of the filename:

SBC Use firmware with
Raspberry Pi 4 / CM4 rpi4
Raspberry Pi 3B rpi3
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W (Pi2W) rpi3

Image Type: sysupgrade

OpenMANET release assets are published as sysupgrade images (for example: ...-squashfs-sysupgrade.img.gz).

  • You can use these images for upgrades from within OpenWrt (LuCI or sysupgrade), and they are also what we publish for flashing to an SD card.
  • OpenWrt stores configuration in its writable overlay; changing/rewriting the SD card partition table alone may not remove all prior state. If you are trying to completely start over, fully wipe the SD card before re-flashing.

If you want a truly fresh install, we recommend fully formatting the SD card with SD Card Formatter before re-flashing:

  • https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/

In SD Card Formatter, use Overwrite format.

Notable Changes (1.6.x)

  • OpenWrt 24.10 base
  • Linux kernel 6.6.104
  • mac80211 6.12.6 (backported Wi‑Fi drivers)
  • Morse Micro drivers 1.16
  • openmanetd (beta) manages low-level configuration and auto addressing
  • Expanded filesystem increased to 4GB
  • Morse Micro MM6108 and MM8108 drivers enabled on all targets
  • Built-in Wi‑Fi support on SPI-based nodes (client AP mode)
  • Most Wi‑Fi driver kernel modules included by default; additional packages available via opkg
  • Custom packages migrated to openmanet/packages and included via feed.conf
  • Improved automatic GPSd configuration for Seeed-based nodes

Networking & Discovery

  • mDNS support with reflection for easy mesh-wide discovery
    • Use https://<hostname>.local or ssh root@<hostname>.local
    • Example: https://manet01.local, ssh root@manet01.local
    • mDNS resolution only works inside the OpenMANET network and on clients that support mDNS
    • nslookup typically will not resolve mDNS names
    • To browse names from a node: ubus call umdns browse or avahi-browse -a
  • batctl commands resolve hostnames (not only MAC addresses) once names propagate (can take a few minutes)
  • Added a second batman-adv interface for future link bonding

Setup Workflow Change (Reboot Required)

After the initial setup wizard, the node performs address/DHCP reservation and must reboot to apply it. It should reboot automatically; if it does not, reboot it manually.

Hardware Notes

  • A BCF for the Alfa AHM26108D is included, but it is not loaded by default and must be applied manually for now.

Addressing Changes

  • Fresh flash default address: 10.41.254.1 (was 10.42.0.1 on older releases)
  • If your end user device gets a 10.41.x.x IP, it is on the mesh
  • Mesh gateways will always be within 10.41.0.0/24
  • Safe static ranges: 10.41.253.0/24 and 10.41.254.0/24 (auto addressing will not use these ranges)

After the post-wizard reboot, you may need to release/renew DHCP (or reconnect) on your device to obtain a fresh lease.

openmanetd (Beta)

openmanetd is a new binary that manages low level configurations on OpenMANET:

  • Automatic static IP assignment and DHCP range reservation
  • Automatic gateway selection (matches gateway announcements with batman-adv best gateway)
  • Periodic node announcements for future features (GPS, signal quality, battery life, etc.)

Example Image Names (1.6.0)

Always verify SHA256 checksums on the GitHub release page for the version you are installing. These examples reflect recent 1.6.0 assets:

Filename SHA256
openmanet-1.6.0-mm8108-ekh01-spi-squashfs-sysupgrade.img.gz afa1b4a258326d4a01409e4ce99009257421bb6a31a336c071aa09d8dec4a88c
openmanet-1.6.0-rpi4-mm6108-sdio-squashfs-sysupgrade.img.gz 541ef7bea159bf30ae3c23c48280ce81d432269b180bb3738e742c48f31cb87d
openmanet-1.6.0-rpi4-mm6108-spi-squashfs-sysupgrade.img.gz 6c7087520e60b825b32d57dcedcf81d2b539c95f97fc99a9353d7c6ab566243c
openmanet-1.6.0-rpi3-mm6108-sdio-squashfs-sysupgrade.img.gz f90f1b698a9466bb73f12e18522fbf04db134923761cfee6a273090abc52c5f1
openmanet-1.6.0-rpi3-mm6108-spi-squashfs-sysupgrade.img.gz f82274fe7c6863901aa0a400af89ecb31acaed429094c3486b499f508b863b87