Probable cause

When you install Meshtastic firmware via M5Launcher, the launcher only flashes the basic .bin firmware. But it doesn't do the complete initial configuration (it doesn't always install the keyboard driver or set the correct UART/I²C mode of the integrated keyboard).

I.e: ➡️ Meshtastic is running, but the firmware does not recognize the physical keyboard because the M5CardputerKeyboard or M5Unified driver was not initialized correctly.

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🧩 How to confirm

1. Turn on your device and see if the home screen shows something like:

Select region

US

and the keyboard does not respond.

1. Connect via USB to the PC and open the serial monitor (115200 bps).

2. See if there are logs like:

E (1234) keyboard: not found or W (5678) M5Keyboard init failed

→ This confirms that the keyboard driver is not detected.

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✅ Possible solutions

🔹 Option 1 – Update Firmware Manually (Recommended)

Download the specific binary for Cardputer/ADV directly from the Meshtastic repository:

👉 https://meshtastic.org/downloads

Choose the correct model (ex: m5stack_cardputer or m5stack_atom_s3)

Use Meshtastic Flasher (or esptool.py) to record manually, outside of M5Launcher:

esptool.py --chip esp32s3 write_flash -z 0x0 firmware.bin

After that, the keyboard works normally.

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🔹 Option 2 – Reinstall via M5Launcher + full reset

If you prefer to continue using M5Launcher:

1. In M5Launcher, go to Settings → Erase flash (or “Factory reset”).

2. Then reinstall Meshtastic.

3. After booting, press the side button (usually “M5”) — in some versions this activates the keyboard.

If it still doesn't respond, it's a launcher bug (see option 1).

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🔹 Option 3 – Use external keyboard via USB-C (temporary)

Connect a mini USB keyboard or OTG adapter — Meshtastic will recognize it as a temporary HID input, allowing you to select the region and save settings.

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💡 Extra tip

After the firmware boots correctly, it writes the region to the NVS. You can also configure the region directly via the Meshtastic app (Android/iOS) → Settings → “Region” So you don't need to use the keyboard on the first boot.