+++
title = "Capture LoRa packets and open them in Wireshark"
description = "Record what the radio hears into a pcap file, then read it on a computer."
weight = 6
[extra]
tag = "LoRa Scanner"
+++

The radio only **listens**: nothing is transmitted. You need the **Cap LoRa-1262** and an **SD card**.

1. **Open the LoRa Scanner.** The Status Bar shows `L` while the radio listens.
2. **Pick a preset with <kbd>p</kbd>.** The Scanner offers the 7 Meshtastic presets allowed in EU868; LongFast is the default.
3. **Wait for packets.** Each line is a packet: the time, RSSI and SNR, and for a Meshtastic packet the sender, the receiver and the hops. <kbd>Enter</kbd> shows a packet's header and its bytes.
4. **Press <kbd>c</kbd> to start a capture.** The Status Bar shows `CAP`. It keeps recording with the App closed.
5. **Press <kbd>c</kbd> again to stop.**
6. **Get the file.** It is in `/captures/lora/`, a `.pcap` with LoRaTap headers. In the [Storage App](/guide/storage/) you can already look at its packets; on a computer, open it in Wireshark.

**What you will and will not see.** Meshtastic's header is never encrypted, so who sent a packet and how far it hopped is visible. The message itself is encrypted with the channel's key, and the Scanner does not decrypt it.

**Hearing nothing is normal** if no node is in range, or if the preset does not match what the nodes nearby use. The [Sweep](/guide/lora-scanner/) (<kbd>Tab</kbd>) shows whether anything is on the air at all across 863 to 870 MHz.