Lightning Mesh

built 10 min verified 723b308 (2026-09-19)

Unbox a pre-flashed router

A pre-flashed Lightning Mesh router is already running OpenWrt and mjolnir-meshd. You do not flash it. You plug it in, join its Wi-Fi, and open the front desk.

Status: built. Same software as the live fleet. Factory client Wi-Fi is open and named ⚡ unless the person who flashed the box renamed it.

What you should have

Thing Why
The router Indoor units have LAN ports. Outdoor units have a PoE injector or adapter
Power The brick or PoE injector that came with the box
Ethernet (optional) Plug WAN into your existing modem or house router if you want the mesh to share internet
A phone or laptop To join the client Wi-Fi

You do not need a GitHub account, a password, or Lightning Admin for the first hour.

Step 1: Place it

Do: put the router where people actually sit, not in a closet if you can help it. Keep it away from microwave ovens and thick metal.

Expect: after power-on, LEDs come up within about a minute. The unit is ready when the radio LED is steady or slowly blinking, not racing.

If not: try another outlet. If nothing lights, the brick or PoE injector is the first suspect, not the software.

Step 2: Power, then optional internet

Do:

  1. Connect power.
  2. If you want internet on the mesh, plug an ethernet cable from your existing modem or house router into the Lightning Mesh box's WAN port (often labelled WAN, or the port set apart from the others). Do not plug WAN into a LAN port of the same Lightning Mesh box.
  3. Leave the LAN ports free for a computer or a switch if you need a wired device on the mesh.

Expect: the box boots by itself. You never log into a vendor web UI for this step.

If not: a box with no WAN cable still serves local mesh (hello.mesh, people, .mesh names). Internet is optional.

Step 3: Find the client Wi-Fi

Do: on a phone or laptop, open Wi-Fi settings and look for:

How it was flashed Network name
Factory / default image ⚡ (a single lightning-bolt character)
Project home fleet Lightning Mesh
Custom flash Whatever the flasher set as CLIENT_SSID

Expect: an open network (no lock). Join it. You should get an address that starts with 10.42. within a few seconds.

If not:

  • You see mjolnir-mesh — that is the routers' backhaul, not for phones. Ignore it.
  • No Lightning Mesh name at all — wait two minutes after power-on, then stand closer. If it still never appears, the box may not have been flashed; see Choose a router and flash OpenWrt.
  • The network has a lock — the flasher set a password. Ask them.

Do not set this phone or laptop's default route through the mesh if you are also using it to talk to the internet on another network. One radio joins one Wi-Fi at a time.

Next: First hour on the mesh.

Next: First hour on the mesh →