Trouble with Seeed Xiao ESP32s3 /Wio sx1262

[makenb]

Hi All,

I was able to flash the firmware without any issues. I configured an interface in .reticulum/config:

`
[[RNode LoRa Interface]]
type = RNodeInterface
interface_enabled = True
port = /dev/ttyACM0
frequency = 927000000
bandwidth = 125000
txpower = 16
spreadingfactor = 8
codingrate = 5

`

But when I try to run nomadnet or sideband I get errors, same with rnsd -vvvv:

`
[2025-11-30 19:03:15] [Notice] Started rnsd version 1.0.4
[2025-11-30 19:03:20] [Verbose] Attempting to reconnect serial port /dev/ttyACM0 for RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface]...
[2025-11-30 19:03:20] [Notice] Opening serial port /dev/ttyACM0...
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Verbose] Serial port /dev/ttyACM0 is now open
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Verbose] Configuring RNode interface...
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Verbose] Waiting for radio configuration validation for RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface]...
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting frequency is 927.0 MHz
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting bandwidth is 125.0 KHz
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting TX power is 16 dBm
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting spreading factor is 8
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting coding rate is 5
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Verbose] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] On-air bitrate is now 3.12 kbps
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting state is offline
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Error] Radio state mismatch
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Error] After configuring RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface], the reported radio parameters did not match your configuration.
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Error] Make sure that your hardware actually supports the parameters specified in the configuration
[2025-11-30 19:03:22] [Error] Aborting RNode startup

`
Am I doing something wrong? If I run rnodeconfig -i /dev/ttyACM0 I get:

`[19:30:45] Opening serial port /dev/ttyACM0...
[19:30:48] Device connected
[19:30:48] Current firmware version: 1.85
[19:30:48] Reading EEPROM...
[19:30:49] EEPROM checksum correct
[19:30:49] Device signature validated
[19:30:49]
[19:30:49] Device info:
[19:30:49] Product : Seeed XIAO ESP32S3 Wio-SX1262 850 - 950 MHz (eb:dd:3e)
[19:30:49] Device signature : Validated - Local signature
[19:30:49] Firmware version : 1.85
[19:30:49] Hardware revision : 1
[19:30:49] Serial number : 00:00:00:07
[19:30:49] Modem chip : SX1262
[19:30:49] Frequency range : 850.0 MHz - 950.0 MHz
[19:30:49] Max TX power : 22 dBm
[19:30:49] Manufactured : 2025-11-30 14:21:20
[19:30:49] Device mode : Normal (host-controlled)

`

[skyguy]

I can't find it now, but I remember reading something about that device reporting back a different power level to what you set. I think the advice was to just set the power level to max (22) which is then reported back as 22 and everything works.

[makenb]

Thank you for this, However I tried a bunch off different levels and still same error. I saw a similar note about the radios only being rated for full power for low duty cycle, and so would lower their TX level and report the wrong level. Thats why I had it at 16dbm, but I tried from 5dbm to 22dbm with no change...

[dannydelcaribe]

I dealt with this problem before. What version of python are you using?

The issue I had had to do with my version of python being unable to set the firmware hash when flashing with rnodeconf. Even though it would finish the flash process.

Run python -V
From my experience version 3.10 does not work. You'll need 3.11 or newer.

[makenb]

I did have a similar problem: on Ubuntu python was named python3 and so the scripts called by the make upload failed so I changed them to point to python3, but you could also make a sym link to "python" and they should work. However it turns out this was not the problem, I have written a solution below.

Thanks!

[makenb]

After a lot of research and confusion, I finally answered my own question. It turns out there are two different boards sold by Seeed with the exact same name: “Wio-SX1262 for XIAO V1.0.” The version currently supported by Rnode-firmware (and Meshcore) is the one included in the “XIAO ESP32S3 & Wio-SX1262 Kit.”

When I tried to order directly from Seeed, the kits were backordered, so I bought the XIAO ESP32-S3 and the Wio-SX1262 for XIAO separately, assuming they were identical. They are not. The kit version does not use the normal edge pin headers. Instead, it uses a surface-mounted 30-pin micro connector that Seeed calls the “Xiao Connector” or B2B connector.

On the kit version of the SX1262 module, the pads for the edge headers are still present, but CAUTION they have a different pinout. Most of the GPIOs used by the kit are not accessible on the non-kit version. The SPI pins are the same, so Rnode-firmware (and Meshcore) will upload fine, and the ESP32 will connect over serial. But Rnsd and related software will complain that the radio is not responding or is in the wrong configuration.

I was able to modify the Xiao ESP32S3 configuration in Boards.h to use the correct pins, and everything appears to work except the user button and the LED. I’ll try to submit a PR when I have time, but I wanted to document the changes here in case anyone else runs into the same problem.

In Boards.h I changed the pins to:

` #define HAS_INPUT true
#define HAS_SLEEP true
#define PIN_WAKEUP GPIO_NUM_21
#define WAKEUP_LEVEL 0

  const int pin_btn_usr1 = 1;
  const int pin_cs = 5;
  const int pin_reset = 3;
  const int pin_sclk = 7;
  const int pin_mosi = 9;
  const int pin_miso = 8;
  const int pin_tcxo_enable = -1;
  const int pin_dio = 2;
  const int pin_busy = 4;

  #if HAS_NP == false
    #if defined(EXTERNAL_LEDS)
      const int pin_led_rx = 48;
      const int pin_led_tx = 48;
    #else
      const int pin_led_rx = 48;
      const int pin_led_tx = 48;
    #endif
  #endif

`
The user button on the non-kit SX1262 board schematic says it is on D0 which should correspond to Pin 1 which is connected to GPIO 1 on the ESP32 but it doesnt seem to do anything, and the Non-kit board doesnt have an LED for TX/RX indicators ( I am going to try GPIO 21 because that is an LED on the ESP32, but have not tested that yet. I will link the schematics from Seeed for all the boards below, but first a document showing the different pinouts (Top board is the stand alone NON-kit SX1262 module, notice the URL and the docs having the same name) The relevant difference are the labels on the 6 pin header to the right :

NON-kit version of SX1262:
https://files.seeedstudio.com/products/SenseCAP/Wio_SX1262/Wio-SX1262%20for%20XIAO%20V1.0_SCH.pdf

Kit version of the SX1262 module:
https://files.seeedstudio.com/products/SenseCAP/Wio_SX1262/Schematic_Diagram_Wio-SX1262_for_XIAO.pdf

Schematic for Xiao ESP32S3 module:
https://files.seeedstudio.com/wiki/SeeedStudio-XIAO-ESP32S3/res/XIAO_ESP32S3_SCH_v1.2.pdf