LILYGO TTGO LoRa32 V2.1_1.6 Version 915Mhz ESP32 LoRa OLED 0.96 Inch SD Card BLE WiFi Wireless Module ESP-32 SMA

I bought a pair of this boards to try out Meshtastic. I had zero experience with these devices, so I just followed the steps in the video bellow. But 1. It is old, the firmware version in it is not longer available. 2. I tried firmware-tbeam-2.2.11.10265aa, but it stuck at the splash screen. 3. Then I tried firmware-tbeam-2.1.23.04bbdc6, but after the setup I got a Critical Fault #6. 4. Tried the other board, same result 5. At this point, I was very close to send the boards back. But I started to wonder that maybe the video is wrong and the boards are OK. 6. Long story short, this device is sometimes referred as "Lilygo Lora", sometimes as "Lilygo TTGO Lora V2.1-1.6" and the right firmware is: firmware-tlora-v2-1-1.6-X.X.X.xxxxxxx.bin In hindsight, I can see that the video was made for a "related product". Anyway, adding a few lines to the description would have saved me (and probably for others too) some time. However, the product works and it does what it supposed to do.

I wanted to learn and play with Metastatic. I picked this up to get started. It was pretty easy to set up and play with. Great for the techno geek who wants to play.

I bought two of these units and programmed them to send a random number message to each other once every 3 seconds. If the message was received it would display the received message. Placed one in my shop and drove off on errands with the other. My last test was at a distance of 1.8km and it still worked. I was amazed! Totally worth the money.

This LoRa board works well. I especially like the on-board on/off mini slide switch that controls whether battery voltage is applied or not, i.e., you don't need an external power switch to keep it from running continuously if a battery is connected. Also nice is the on-board antenna connector which is solidly attached to the board. The quality appears to be good. Nothing on the board is out of alignment, for example. I prefer this board over my Heltec one.

The seller hasn't responded, and after four days, they still haven't helped or authorized a return or price adjustment. The product also doesn't meet the long-range expectations, as it doesn't work beyond 300 meters. I'm frustrated and want to return the item. I believe I'll need to file a complaint with Amazon.