description: "Maximize your Meshtastic device's potential with detailed radio settings instructions, including frequency bands, data rates, and encryption options."
Meshtastic is **not** LoRaWAN, Helium or TTN (TheThingsNetwork). Meshtastic uses the full spectrum frequency range designated to LoRa technology per region. This allows for several hundred possible frequency channels in the US region alone.
Power limits will generally be lifted in the software if `is_licensed` is set to `true`. See [HAM Mode](/docs/faq#amateur-radio-ham) for more information.
EU countries will generally be covered by the Radio Equipment Directive ([2014/53/EU](http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/53/2023-10-01)) and subsequent amendments, which is then enacted in local laws. Useful information on this is located [here](https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/european-standards/harmonised-standards/radio-equipment_en).
The bands below were selected based on the maximum power and the duty cycle available. It may be possible to use other frequency bands for specific applications, but these are not currently supported "out of the box".
There are four frequency slots defined with the standard radio preset `LongFast`. After factory reset the radio will be set to frequency slot 4 with a center frequency of 433.875 MHz.
The band range is from 869.40 to 869.65 MHz. This is less than the 863–870 MHz range defined as SRD ([Short Range Devices](https://www.etsi.org/technologies/short-range-devices)) Band, but allows for a higher ERP and a duty cycle of 10%.
There is one frequency slot defined with the standard radio preset `LongFast`. After factory reset the radio will be set to frequency slot 1 with a center frequency of 869.525 MHz.
There are 104 frequency slots defined with the standard radio preset `LongFast`. After factory reset the radio will be set to frequency slot 20 with a center frequency of 906.875 MHz.
The link budget used by these calculations assumes a transmit power of 22dBm and an antenna with 0dB gain. Adjust your link budget assumptions based on your actual devices. Data-rate in this table is the theoretical max but doesn't account for packet headers, hops and re-transmissions. Calculations based on data from the official [Semtech LoRa calculator](https://www.semtech.com/design-support/lora-calculator).
After applying the settings, you will need to restart the device. After your device is restarted, it will generate a new crypto key and you will need to share the newly generated QR Code or URL to all your other devices.
The link budget used by these calculations assumes a transmit power of 17dBm and an antenna with 0dB gain. Adjust your link budget assumptions based on your actual devices.
These frequency slot settings may not have been tested. Use at your own discretion. Share on the [Meshtastic Discussions page](https://github.com/orgs/meshtastic/discussions) with your successes or failure.
The pre-shared key (PSK) used by the devices can be an AES128 or AES256 sequence. Alternatively, encryption can be turned off, which may be useful if you are operating under a Ham Radio license.
