Merge upstream companion-v1.18.0

Fixes and features from upstream: MACThenDecrypt / command buffer
overflow fixes, ACK forwarding delay, transport code 0 as unscoped,
hidden nodes don't answer DISCOVER, LR2021/LR1121 fixes, GPS cold-start
detection and waitFor()/drain(), NMEA fix-age counters, ESP32 RTC after a
crash, remote CLI by text message (TXT_TYPE_CLI_COMMAND),
PUSH_CODE_BINARY_RESPONSE, board.loop(), new boards (Wio Tracker L1 1W,
ThinkNode M4/M8, Muzi Base, Waveshare LR1121, Pico W).

Kept ours: NodePrefs, main.cpp, every UI, GxEPDDisplay. The companion CLI
stays MyMeshCli.h's handleCliCommand(); upstream's handleCommand() calls
it. The board's FEM gains go through attachDynamicPrefs() with an adapter
over our NodePrefs fields. Upstream's JSON prefs and MultiSerialInterface
come as their own stages.

Also: the display defaults were inside RADIO_FEM_TXGAIN's #else (a
missing #endif).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

examples/simple_repeater/MyMesh.cpp

@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ int MyMesh::handleRequest(ClientInfo *sender, uint32_t sender_timestamp, uint8_t
       int results_offset = 0;
       uint8_t results_buffer[130];
       for(int index = 0; index < count && index + offset < neighbours_count; index++){
-        
+
         // stop if we can't fit another entry in results
         int entry_size = pubkey_prefix_length + 4 + 1;
         if(results_offset + entry_size > sizeof(results_buffer)){
@@ -704,7 +704,7 @@ void MyMesh::onPeerDataRecv(mesh::Packet *packet, uint8_t type, int sender_idx,
     memcpy(&sender_timestamp, data, 4); // timestamp (by sender's RTC clock - which could be wrong)
     uint8_t flags = (data[4] >> 2);        // message attempt number, and other flags
 
-    if (!(flags == TXT_TYPE_PLAIN || flags == TXT_TYPE_CLI_DATA)) {
+    if (!(flags == TXT_TYPE_PLAIN || flags == TXT_TYPE_CLI_DATA || flags == TXT_TYPE_CLI_COMMAND)) {
       MESH_DEBUG_PRINTLN("onPeerDataRecv: unsupported text type received: flags=%02x", (uint32_t)flags);
     } else if (sender_timestamp >= client->last_timestamp) { // prevent replay attacks
       bool is_retry = (sender_timestamp == client->last_timestamp);
@@ -790,6 +790,7 @@ void MyMesh::onControlDataRecv(mesh::Packet* packet) {
   uint8_t type = packet->payload[0] & 0xF0;    // just test upper 4 bits
   if (type == CTL_TYPE_NODE_DISCOVER_REQ && packet->payload_len >= 6
       && !_prefs.disable_fwd && discover_limiter.allow(rtc_clock.getCurrentTime())
+      && !isHiddenNode()   // this node wishes to NOT be discoverable
   ) {
     int i = 1;
     uint8_t  filter = packet->payload[i++];
@@ -927,6 +928,7 @@ MyMesh::MyMesh(mesh::MainBoard &board, mesh::Radio &radio, mesh::MillisecondCloc
   _prefs.flood_max_advert = 8;
   _prefs.interference_threshold = 0; // disabled
   _prefs.cad_enabled = 0;            // hardware CAD before TX (off by default; 'set cad on')
+  _prefs.loop_detect = LOOP_DETECT_MINIMAL;
 
   // bridge defaults
   _prefs.bridge_enabled = 1;    // enabled
@@ -1001,8 +1003,8 @@ void MyMesh::begin(FILESYSTEM *fs) {
   radio_driver.setRxBoostedGainMode(_prefs.rx_boosted_gain);
   MESH_DEBUG_PRINTLN("RX Boosted Gain Mode: %s",
                      radio_driver.getRxBoostedGainMode() ? "Enabled" : "Disabled");
-  board.setLoRaFemLnaEnabled(_prefs.radio_fem_rxgain);
-  board.setLoRaFemPaGainEnabled(_prefs.radio_fem_txgain);
+
+  board.attachDynamicPrefs(_prefs.getCustom());
 
   updateAdvertTimer();
   updateFloodAdvertTimer();
@@ -1193,7 +1195,7 @@ void MyMesh::formatRadioStatsReply(char *reply) {
 }
 
 void MyMesh::formatPacketStatsReply(char *reply) {
-  StatsFormatHelper::formatPacketStats(reply, radio_driver, getNumSentFlood(), getNumSentDirect(), 
+  StatsFormatHelper::formatPacketStats(reply, radio_driver, getNumSentFlood(), getNumSentDirect(),
                                        getNumRecvFlood(), getNumRecvDirect());
 }
 

examples/simple_repeater/MyMesh.h

@@ -59,10 +59,6 @@ struct RepeaterStats {
   uint32_t n_recv_errors;
 };
 
-#ifndef MAX_CLIENTS
-  #define MAX_CLIENTS           32
-#endif
-
 struct NeighbourInfo {
   mesh::Identity id;
   uint32_t advert_timestamp;
@@ -71,11 +67,11 @@ struct NeighbourInfo {
 };
 
 #ifndef FIRMWARE_BUILD_DATE
-  #define FIRMWARE_BUILD_DATE   "14 Aug 2026"
+  #define FIRMWARE_BUILD_DATE   "15 Oct 2026"
 #endif
 
 #ifndef FIRMWARE_VERSION
-  #define FIRMWARE_VERSION   "v1.17.1"
+  #define FIRMWARE_VERSION   "v1.18.0"
 #endif
 
 #define FIRMWARE_ROLE "repeater"
@@ -191,6 +187,9 @@ public:
   NodePrefs* getNodePrefs() {
     return &_prefs;
   }
+  bool isHiddenNode() const {
+    return _prefs.advert_interval == 0 && _prefs.flood_advert_interval == 0;
+  }
 
   void savePrefs() override {
     _cli.savePrefs(_fs);

examples/simple_repeater/main.cpp

@@ -244,6 +244,8 @@ void loop() {
     command[0] = 0;  // reset command buffer
   }
 
+  board.loop();   // let the board feed its watchdog, run periodic housekeeping
+
 #ifdef ETHERNET_ENABLED
   ethernet_loop_maintain();
   if (ethernet_read_line(ethernet_command, sizeof(ethernet_command))) {