Changelogs
What's new in WhisperOS firmware.
Two Power Save Levels
ESP32 Whisper builds now split power saving into Normal and Max modes. Normal power save keeps BLE advertising available. Max power save turns BLE off for lower current draw.
| Power save level | Entry conditions | BLE availability | Heltec V4 draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | GPS off, no BLE connection | Available | 34 mA |
| Max | GPS off, no BLE connection, display off | Off during sleep | 17 mA |
TSAO's Heltec V4 Current Draw Test
Pro firmware reduces idle current sharply when GPS is off, and Max power save reaches 17 mA with the display off.
| Firmware | State | Current draw |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | Screen on, home screen, no BLE connection, GPS off | 40 mA |
| Pro | Screen on, clock face, no BLE connection, GPS off | 32 mA |
| Pro | Screen on, BLE connected, GPS off | 38 mA |
| Pro | Screen off, no BLE connection, GPS off | 17 mA |
| Pro | Screen on, no BLE connection, GPS on | 74 mA |
Real Power Off
Power Off now shuts supported ESP32 devices down into deep sleep, cuts peripheral power where the board supports it, and wakes from the user button. This applies to Heltec V3, Heltec V4, Heltec Tracker V2, and TinyLora C3 MV.
Security Operations Complete Faster
ESP32-S3 and nRF52 devices now process message hashing, encryption, and license verification faster. Measured improvements on ESP32-S3 devices are:
| ESP32-S3 Operation | Improvement |
|---|---|
| SHA-256 | 4.55× faster |
| Ed25519 verification | 3.53× faster |
| AES-128 | 1.34% faster |
Firmware Uses Less Flash Storage
Compared with matching v1.3.5 builds, v1.4.1 uses an average of 667.5 KB less flash storage on ESP32 devices and 92.4 KB less on nRF52 devices.
| Version | Arch | Size (KB) | Delta vs. v1.3.5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| v1.3.5 | ESP | 1,622.9 | — |
| v1.4.1 | ESP | 955.4 | -667.5 KB (-41.13%) |
| v1.3.5 | nRF | 1,209.4 | — |
| v1.4.1 | nRF | 1,117.0 | -92.4 KB (-7.64%) |
Display Orientation Is Now Adjustable
Choose the screen orientation that matches how the device is mounted or held.
Startup and On-Screen Details Are Clearer
Improved the startup screen, corrected the mirrored GPS globe, and clarified several labels.
Heltec V3 Now Supports a Buzzer
The Heltec V3 Whisper build can now use a buzzer connected to GPIO 40.
Sleep and Wake Work More Reliably
Fixed screen and Bluetooth issues after waking from sleep. Supported color displays also remain on while connected to USB power.
Companion Messages No Longer Repeat Back
Messages received from a companion device are no longer sent back to the same device.
Whisper OS v1.4
The full v1.4 release is here — with new device support, smarter text input, a sharper display, better GPS, and a cleaner overall experience.
More Device Support
Heltec T096 and Heltec Tracker V2 are now fully supported, including screen, battery indicator, and keyboard input.
CardKB Physical Keyboard
You can now attach a CardKB mini keyboard to more devices. It supports hot-plug — connect it at any time while the device is running and it will be detected automatically with an on-screen alert. Connect it to the pins listed below. If it isn't detected, swap the two signal wires and reboot.
| Device | SDA Pin | SCL Pin |
|---|---|---|
| Wio Tracker L1 | 18 | 17 |
| Heltec V3 | 33 | 34 |
| Heltec V4 | 3 | 4 |
| Heltec Tracker V2 | 47 | 48 |
| Heltec T096 | 4 | 27 |
| Heltec T114 | 7 | 8 |
Improved Text Input
Typing in contacts and messages is now more reliable across all input methods — on-screen keyboard, physical keyboard, Morse code, and CardKB.
Quick Reply from Messages
You can now reply to a message directly from the message screen without navigating away.
Sharper, More Consistent Display
Screens across all supported devices now render more clearly and consistently. Text colors, brightness, and refresh behavior have all been improved.
Brighter Always-On Clock
The always-on clock on Heltec V4 is now easier to read, and screen brightness is restored correctly after sleep.
Better GPS Accuracy Display
Your device now tracks GPS signal quality more precisely, so the accuracy shown on screen better reflects real conditions.
GPS Acquiring Animation
A spinning animation now plays while your device is waiting to get a GPS fix.
Better Battery Life
Power use has been significantly reduced across several devices. Several battery and power bugs on the Cardputer ADV have also been fixed.
| Device | State | v1.4 | Before | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heltec V3 | BLE advertising, display on | 65 mA | 88 mA | 26% |
| Heltec V3 | BLE connected, display on | 67 mA | 88 mA | 24% |
| Heltec V4 | BLE advertising, display on | 65 mA | 85 mA | 24% |
| Heltec V4 | BLE connected, display on | 65 mA | 85 mA | 24% |
| Cardputer ADV | BLE advertising, display on | 74 mA | 102 mA | 27% |
| Cardputer ADV | BLE connected, display on | 75 mA | 104 mA | 28% |
UI Polish
Cleaner labels, better-looking popups, a smoother boot animation, and various small visual improvements throughout the interface.
Smarter Word Suggestions
The on-screen keyboard's word suggestions have been refreshed with a better, more natural ranking.
Cleanup
Removed some old, unused radio settings and retired support for the LingXiD5 device.
Whisper OS v1.4 Beta
Preview release for the v1.4 firmware line with expanded Whisper builds and UI infrastructure.
More Device Support
Added Whisper OS support for Heltec T096 and Heltec Tracker V2.
Physical Keyboard Support
CardKB is supported on builds below. Wire CardKB to the external I2C pins shown here. If CardKB is not detected, swap the SDA and SCL signal wires and reboot.
| Device | SDA Pin | SCL Pin |
|---|---|---|
| Wio Tracker L1 | 18 | 17 |
| Heltec V3 | 33 | 34 |
| Heltec V4 | 3 | 4 |
| Heltec Tracker V2 | 47 | 48 |
| Heltec T096 | 4 | 27 |
| Heltec T114 | 7 | 8 |
Better Display Controls
Improved screen brightness, always-on clock readability, popup styling, and text color options.
Better GPS Status
Improved GPS signal quality tracking so supported devices can show more accurate location status.
Power Save Mode
Improved power save mode behavior on supported devices, including Heltec Tracker V2 and Heltec V4.
Cleaner UI
Refined System, GPS, RF, contacts, and popup screens for a clearer day-to-day experience.
Cleanup
Removed old radio presets and retired unused device files.
MeshCore v1.15.0 Sync
Updated core library.
Heltec v4 4.3 Support
Added support for Heltec v4 4.3 board.
Better Battery Life
Improved sleep behaviour, finer power control on TinyLora, and Heltec v4 power save mode fixes.
GPS Duty Cycle
Added GPS duty-cycle types for supported standby-capable boards. Fast saves about 11.4% battery life, Basic 22.0%, Eco 30.1%, and Ultra Eco 33.6%.
New Device Support
Added support for TinyLora C3 MV.
Whisper UI Updates
Refreshed GPS labels, message and menu icons, compact home status labels, and moved the BLE PIN into the System screen for cleaner OLED and TFT layouts.
MeshCore v1.14.1 Sync
Updated Whisper OS to MeshCore v1.14.1 with radio, routing, telemetry, and device compatibility improvements.
Faster Whisper UI
Cached text layout and glyph lookups for snappier screen rendering, especially on text-heavy views.
Smarter Power Status
Improved battery and charging detection with more consistent status handling across supported boards.
Connection and Region Updates
Added dual transport support in the companion UI and a built-in radio preset picker under System > Region.
Language and Label Polish
Refined English wording, improved Simplified Chinese translations, and cleaned up several system prompts and labels.
Screen and Alert Refinements
Polished watch faces, icons, popup shadows, tap-buzz behavior, and a range of smaller Whisper UI fixes.
Font Refinement
Sharper text rendering with improved all character and icon display on all screens.
Radio Presets
Quickly pick your region's radio settings from 18 built-in presets.
Alert Popup
New popup overlay with word-wrap for alerts and notifications.
Cardputer ADV Keyboard
Improved physical keyboard experience on the M5Stack Cardputer ADV.
Better Text Input
Added a blinking caret and smoother punctuation handling in the input box.
Bug Fixes
Fixed shutdown alert not showing, punctuation issues in contacts, and notification popups appearing during companion app use.
MeshCore v1.14.0 Sync
Updated Whisper OS to MeshCore v1.14.0 with routing, radio, and compatibility improvements.
Route Precision Control
Added a Route Precision option in RF settings, and trace packets now respect the selected path hash size.
Sharper ST7789 Text
Improved ST7789 font scaling and enlarged the always-on clock for better readability.
Whisper OS v1.3 Release
Official v1.3 release is now available.
Fixed Node Name Overlapping
Resolved an issue where node names would overlap in the UI.
Fixed Message Count Overlapping
Resolved an issue where the message count would overlap on the message screen.
Latest MeshCore Lib
Updated to the latest MeshCore library.
Improved Battery Life
Battery life increased by 20% for Heltec v3 and v4.
New Device Support
Added support for PICO C3 and M5Stack Cardputer ADV with physical keyboard support.
Zen Mode
Set display to off, wake up only by tap.
Channel Mute(WIP)
Ability to mute specific channels.
GPS Refinement
Refinements for T114 GPS functionality.
Contacts Auto-Eviction
Automatically delete the oldest non-favorite entry when the contact list reaches the 350-contact maximum to make room for a new one.
Popup Suppression in Sub Menus
Popups are now suppressed while navigating sub menus for a cleaner experience.
GPS Anonymize
Option to anonymize your GPS coordinates for enhanced privacy.
Realtime Noise Floor
View realtime noise floor levels for better radio signal awareness.
Radio & GPS Screen Polish
Refined layouts and improved visuals for Radio and GPS screens.
Morse Code Input Support
New Morse code input method for text entry with audible feedback. Perfect for devices with limited buttons.
Large Font in Message Screen
Enhanced readability with larger font display in the message screen.
More Languages Added
Expanded language support for better international accessibility.
BLE Safer Device Name
BLE Device name now only accepts letters, numbers, and hyphens.
Longer Quick Messages
Preset messages now support up to 63 characters each, giving you more room to express yourself.
Multi-Language Quick Messages
You can now add quick messages in languages other than English.
Polished UI
Added subtle rounded corners to menu elements for a cleaner look.
Virtual Keyboard for All Users
Virtual keyboard is now available for enhanced text input.
Customizable Quick Reply Messages
You can now set your own preset messages through the companion app! Create up to 15 custom quick replies with a maximum of 31 characters each to send common responses faster.
Quiet Mode for Notifications
Added controls to silence notification sounds and LED alerts when you need peace and quiet.