Chapter 12 — Settings Reference
A complete reference for every setting in the Stolo app, grouped as they appear in Settings. On phones, Settings opens as a grouped home screen that drills into sections; on desktop it is a persistent side-nav. The footer of both layouts shows the running versions (app, RNS, LXMF).
Settings that modify network interfaces require an engine restart to apply; the app shows a "Configuration changed — restart required" banner with a Restart button whenever that's the case. On mobile, applying such changes requires fully relaunching the app.
12.1 Appearance
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
| Theme |
Light |
Light (best legibility in direct sun) or Dark (drops glare for night operations). |
| Message bubbles |
Cyan |
Accent color set for chat bubbles. |
12.2 Connections
Managed on the Connections screen — see Chapter 5. Summary: add WiFi / RNode (USB or Bluetooth) / TCP connections, enable/disable each; per-radio region presets.
12.3 Interfaces (advanced)
Lists every network interface with live stats (type, bitrate, TX/RX counters, peer count, mode badge) and an enable/disable switch. Long-press (or open the detail view) for Rename / Remove. The Add interface dialog supports five types: TCP Client, TCP Server, Backbone (high-performance server for Linux/Android hosts), RNode (LoRa), and Auto (WiFi/LAN). Additional actions: Scan for radios (USB/BLE RNode discovery) and Discover interfaces (find published interfaces on the network, then Connect).
Interface detail — Radio parameters (RNode only)
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
| Region preset |
United States (915 MHz) |
Fills all radio fields with regional defaults (see Chapter 5). |
| Frequency (Hz) |
per preset |
Carrier frequency. All radios on a channel must match. |
| Bandwidth (Hz) |
per preset |
Channel bandwidth. |
| Spreading Factor |
8 |
7–12. Higher = more range, much less throughput. |
| Coding Rate |
4/5 |
4/5–4/8. Higher = more error correction overhead. |
| TX Power (dBm) |
per preset |
Transmit power. Respect regional legal limits. |
Interface detail — Interface isolation (IFAC)
IFAC creates a private, authenticated sub-network on an interface: only nodes holding the same credentials can communicate over it.
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
| Network name |
— |
Shared network identifier. |
| Passphrase |
— |
Shared secret (stored in the engine config; displayed masked). |
| IFAC size |
Auto |
Authentication code size: 64-bit (recommended for LoRa), 128-bit (balanced), 256-bit (high security), 512-bit (full signature). |
| Apply credentials to all interfaces |
On |
Write the same credentials to every interface rather than only this one. |
| Remove IFAC |
— |
Clears credentials from the interface (confirmation required; applies after restart). |
Interface detail — Interface mode
| Mode |
Use |
| full (default) |
Send and receive all traffic. |
| gateway |
Forward between network segments. |
| access_point |
Serve local clients. |
| roaming |
Mobile endpoint. |
| boundary |
Edge-of-network node. |
Interface detail — Discovery publishing (TCP Server / Backbone / RNode)
Makes this interface discoverable so other peers can find and connect to it.
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
| Make discoverable |
Off |
Broadcast this interface to the network. |
| Discovery name |
— |
Human-readable name shown to discoverers. |
| Reachable on |
— |
The IP/hostname others should connect to. |
| Announce interval (min) |
360 |
How often the interface is announced. |
| Stamp value |
14 |
Proof-of-work difficulty on discovery announces (anti-spam). |
| Encrypt discovery |
Off |
Encrypt discovery announces (requires a network identity). |
| Publish IFAC credentials |
Off |
Include IFAC credentials so authorized peers auto-connect. |
| Bootstrap only |
Off |
Detach automatically once enough discovered interfaces are connected. |
| Latitude / Longitude / Height |
— |
Optional published location of the interface. |
12.4 Network
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
| Mesh status / Encryption / This device |
— |
Read-only: peer counts by presence, encryption status, this device's address. |
| Enable transport relay |
Off |
When on, this node relays packets for the mesh (endpoint-only when off). Use on relay nodes, not phones. |
| Background mesh — uses location (iOS) |
Off |
Keeps the mesh engine alive while the phone is locked, via the OS location service. Requires Always + Precise location; see Chapter 6. |
| Mesh devices |
— |
Device tree grouped by verified organization, with vendor badges. |
| Organizations |
— |
Join/create/import orgs, per-org Trusted toggle, Make primary publisher, Remove. See Chapter 8. |
| Propagation node |
None (automatic) |
Read-only display of the store-and-forward node in use. |
| System |
— |
Read-only: RNS, LXMF, app, OS, and Python versions. |
| Refresh routes |
— |
Broadcasts a fresh announce to rediscover the mesh. |
| Restart backend |
— |
Restarts the engine (mesh link drops for a few seconds). |
12.5 Safety
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
| Emergency SOS |
Off |
Adds the hold-to-broadcast SOS button to the home screen. A ~1.5 s press-and-hold broadcasts your ID and location across every radio; a single tap never fires it. See Chapter 3. |
12.6 Security
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
| E2E encryption / Message authentication |
Active |
Read-only status. |
| Strict mode |
Off |
Drop (instead of quarantine) messages from senders that are neither individually trusted nor in a trusted organization. See Chapter 7. |
| Trusted peers |
— |
The list of individually trusted senders, each with Remove trust (future messages quarantine again). |
| Identity hash |
— |
Your device's identity hash, with Copy Address. |
12.7 Identity
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
| Display name |
set at setup |
The name broadcast on the mesh. |
| Avatar color |
orange |
One of ten avatar colors. |
| Role |
set at setup |
Foreman, Superintendent, Safety, Operator, Engineer, Medic, Commander, or none. |
| Save changes |
— |
Persists and re-announces your profile to the mesh. |
| Vendor certificate → Install vendor certificate |
— |
Install/replace this device's vendor certificate (Chapter 8). |
| License |
— |
License status; Deactivate this device frees the seat (Chapter 9). |
12.8 Engine timing reference (fixed)
For administrators reasoning about behavior in the field, the engine's key built-in timings:
| Behavior |
Value |
| Presence announce interval |
5 minutes |
| Peer goes idle / offline after silence |
6 min / 12 min |
| GPS broadcast cycle (movement- and freshness-gated) |
60 s |
| Priority/Critical retry interval |
60 s (priority capped at 10 retries; critical unlimited) |
| Delivery timeout |
30 s base + 15 s/hop; ×4 on LoRa; cap 10 min |
| Failed-message auto-recovery window on peer reappearance |
24 h (up to 10 messages per announce) |
| Group delivery wait per unreachable member |
12 min per attempt |
| Quarantine expiry |
7 days |