Feature request: disconnect and connect actions #5

New Issue

2026-10-05T05:05:14+02:00

adam commented

2026-10-05 05:05:14 +02:00

It would be useful to be able to disconnect the device on BLE so I can connect with other software.

MeshCore-gui should stay disconnected until I press the connect button and/or perhaps until it is restarted.

It would be useful to be able to disconnect the device on BLE so I can connect with other software. MeshCore-gui should stay disconnected until I press the connect button and/or perhaps until it is restarted.

adam commented

2026-10-05 05:05:15 +02:00

Good point. Let me think this through.

The disconnect/connect feature itself is technically straightforward — you need to be able to pause the auto-reconnect in ble_reconnect.py and explicitly close the BLE connection. A toggle button in the UI that sets a _user_disconnected flag.

The PIN problem goes deeper. BLE pairing works like this:

On first pairing, the device and host exchange a PIN → bonding keys are stored
On Linux, BlueZ stores those keys in /var/lib/bluetooth/<adapter>/<device>/
As long as you stay on the same machine, any software shares the same bonding — the PIN is no longer relevant
Connecting from a different machine requires a new pairing with the MeshCore device's PIN

So:

Scenario | PIN problem? -- | -- Disconnect GUI → connect with MeshCore CLI on the same Pi | No, BlueZ bonding is shared Disconnect GUI → connect from a laptop | Yes, laptop needs to pair separately Disconnect GUI → connect from a phone | Yes, phone needs to pair separately

Conclusion:

The feature is useful and feasible for the "same machine" scenario. Connecting from a different device is a BLE limitation, not something MeshCore GUI can solve.

Want me to draft a design for the disconnect/connect functionality? It would involve changes to worker.py (making the reconnect loop pausable) and a button in the device panel.

The only edge case to consider: if multiple users have the UI open simultaneously, one user pressing disconnect affects everyone. But for a single-device mesh node on a home network, that's fine.
Want me to design this feature?

Good point. Let me think this through. The disconnect/connect feature itself is technically straightforward — you need to be able to pause the auto-reconnect in <code class="bg-text-200/5 border border-0.5 border-border-300 text-danger-000 whitespace-pre-wrap rounded-[0.4rem] px-1 py-px text-[0.9rem]">ble_reconnect.py</code> and explicitly close the BLE connection. A toggle button in the UI that sets a <code class="bg-text-200/5 border border-0.5 border-border-300 text-danger-000 whitespace-pre-wrap rounded-[0.4rem] px-1 py-px text-[0.9rem]">_user_disconnected</code> flag. The PIN problem goes deeper. BLE pairing works like this: <ul class="[li_&]:mb-0 [li_&]:mt-1 [li_&]:gap-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">On first pairing, the device and host exchange a PIN → bonding keys are stored</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">On Linux, BlueZ stores those keys in <code class="bg-text-200/5 border border-0.5 border-border-300 text-danger-000 whitespace-pre-wrap rounded-[0.4rem] px-1 py-px text-[0.9rem]">/var/lib/bluetooth/<adapter>/<device>/</code></li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">As long as you stay on the same machine, any software shares the same bonding — the PIN is no longer relevant</li> <li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Connecting from a different machine requires a new pairing with the MeshCore device's PIN</li> </ul> So: <div class="overflow-x-auto w-full px-2 mb-6"> Scenario | PIN problem? -- | -- Disconnect GUI → connect with MeshCore CLI on the same Pi | No, BlueZ bonding is shared Disconnect GUI → connect from a laptop | Yes, laptop needs to pair separately Disconnect GUI → connect from a phone | Yes, phone needs to pair separately </div> Conclusion: The feature is useful and feasible for the "same machine" scenario. Connecting from a different device is a BLE limitation, not something MeshCore GUI can solve. Want me to draft a design for the disconnect/connect functionality? It would involve changes to <code class="bg-text-200/5 border border-0.5 border-border-300 text-danger-000 whitespace-pre-wrap rounded-[0.4rem] px-1 py-px text-[0.9rem]">worker.py</code> (making the reconnect loop pausable) and a button in the device panel. The only edge case to consider: if multiple users have the UI open simultaneously, one user pressing disconnect affects everyone. But for a single-device mesh node on a home network, that's fine. Want me to design this feature?

adam commented

2026-10-05 05:05:16 +02:00

Thanks for the description. I think due to the PIN problem this would not help with my use case which is I want to connect my phone to the companion node when I go out and have the computer (PI) connected when the companion node is at home. Currently when I return meshcore-gui does not reconnect, probably because of the issue you describe.

BTW is working on a PI 3B+ Bookworm headed.

Thanks for the description. I think due to the PIN problem this would not help with my use case which is I want to connect my phone to the companion node when I go out and have the computer (PI) connected when the companion node is at home. Currently when I return meshcore-gui does not reconnect, probably because of the issue you describe. BTW is working on a PI 3B+ Bookworm headed.

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Reference: adam/meshcore-gui#5