LILYGO T-Deck / T-Deck Plus

ESP32-S3 and SX1262 messenger with a 2.8 inch screen, keyboard and trackball. The Plus adds GPS and a battery. Meshtastic, MeshCore and RNode supported.

Specifications
Maker	LILYGO
MCU	ESP32-S3FN16R8 (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5 LE, 16 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM); an ESP32-C3 handles the keyboard
LoRa radio	SX1262
Max TX power	+22 dBm (LILYGO store listing for the Plus)
Screen	2.8 inch ST7789 IPS LCD, 320x240
Input	Backlit keyboard and trackball
GPS and battery	Plus only: GPS and a built-in 2000 mAh battery

What it is

The LILYGO T-Deck is a standalone LoRa messenger. It has an ESP32-S3FN16R8 (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 LE, 16 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM), a separate ESP32-C3 that handles the keyboard, an SX1262 radio, a 2.8 inch 320x240 ST7789 IPS screen, a backlit keyboard and a trackball.

The T-Deck Plus adds a GPS receiver and a built-in 2000 mAh battery. LILYGO's Plus store listing gives a maximum transmit power of +22 dBm.

Who it suits

Best for: a phone-free messenger with a keyboard and screen. Ratspeak, mentioned in Clients and apps, targets the T-Deck Plus.

Not for: very low-power repeaters. It is an ESP32 board with a backlit screen, so an nRF52 board such as the RAK WisBlock kit is a better fit for unattended battery or solar use.

UK 868 MHz notes

LILYGO's Plus listing offers 868 MHz versions, shown as "868Mhz [H736-A]" and "868Mhz With External antenna [H736-03]". When we read the page it was sold out, so confirm the code against the current listing. Buy 868 MHz, never 915 MHz. See Buy the right frequency.

The arithmetic (ours): e.r.p. = TX power in dBm + antenna gain in dBi - 2.15 - cable loss.

Antenna	e.r.p. at +22 dBm	25 mW sub-bands	500 mW slot (869.40-869.65 MHz)
0 dBi	19.85 dBm = 97 mW	Over	Within
2 dBi	21.85 dBm = 153 mW	Over	Within

Ofcom IR 2030 v1.16 (published 7 April 2026) allows 25 mW e.r.p. in most of the band and 500 mW e.r.p. at 869.40-869.65 MHz with a 10% duty cycle or listen-before-talk. Meshtastic's EU_868 region sits in that slot.

Firmware

Meshtastic: supported.
MeshCore: supported. "LilyGo T-Deck" is in the flasher catalog and lilygo_tdeck is in the repository. The Plus is not named separately, and we did not confirm that the Plus ships MeshCore-ready.
RNode / Reticulum: supported. The Reticulum manual lists the LILYGO T-Deck, and RNode_Firmware has an 868 MHz model for it.

Flashing: Flash Meshtastic, Flash MeshCore, RNode and Reticulum setup.

Known quirks

LILYGO's page warns not to proceed without an antenna connected.
A customer review on the store page says the reset button is easy to press by accident. That is one anecdote, not a general finding.
An external 868 MHz antenna is sold as an accessory.

Power

No reliable current figure is published. One customer review remarks that the Plus battery should last longer than 24 hours with modest use; that is a customer remark, not a specification. Measure your own device. See Power.

Guides: Flash Meshtastic, Flash MeshCore, RNode and Reticulum setup, Power, Antenna placement
Tools: Link budget calculator, Solar node sizing
Other devices: LILYGO T-Echo, LILYGO T-Beam Supreme
Comparison: Meshtastic vs MeshCore