What changed in 5.0.3

v5.0.3 (release 339, built Sep 12 2026) is a hardening release on the same ESP-IDF v5.4 / MicroPython v1.25.0 base. The BLE and ESP-NOW wire formats are unchanged. Every record layout, TOTEM_MSG_MAP, EXTENDED and COMM_SPEED entry is identical. Clients written for v5.0.2 keep working, and the new BLE features are opt-in. The comparison reconstructs every frozen module from both images, disassembles them with MicroPython’s own mpy-tool.py, and diffs them function by function (see methodology). 74 modules are identical, 20 changed, 2 were removed.

At a glance

Area	Change
Image	1,692,352 → 1,699,872 bytes; DROM +6,528 B, IROM +996 B; new build date and hashes (firmware image)
Modules	96 → 94 frozen: `imu_fusion.py` and `io_mgr.py` removed (neither was imported in v5.0.2)
BLE	third characteristic `…-0003`; optional upload-capability byte in Ready; 15 s hung-link guard; log upload over BLE actually wired up
ESP-NOW	TX back-pressure, relay shedding under load, supervised comms task, `NO_MEM` no longer triggers a reboot
Device	battery-% curve, button debounce, Vibe mode tuning, stale-peer handling, BLE schedule hardening, WiFi-driver “kick”

BLE

Change	Effect on clients
New characteristic `7913b588-0003-…` (`chars__on_demand`, queue 3)	carries upload chunks only; ignore it unless you accept uploads
Ready frame accepts a 5th byte; bit0 = app supports uploads (`is_upload_supported`)	optional; a 4-byte Ready keeps uploads suspended
Hung-link guard: no Ready within 15 s → stall logged, disconnect scheduled; after 2 stalls in a row BLE stays off 90 s (was 30 s)	send Ready promptly
`(2,3)` on `…-0001` routes to `FileUploader.on_header`	the upload reply channel
`(12,3)` phone-fix flags bit0 = phone has internet (`ble_ticks_app_internet`); `(6,9)` cloud updates also mark it	optional; one of the upload gates
Transfer header’s last byte becomes `pack_flags(is_last_chunk, is_origin_compass)`; `CHUNK_HDR_FMT = '<HHiH'`, `CHUNK_HDR_SZ = 12`, `UPLOAD_TO_APP = 3` defined	the v5.0.2 uploader imported these names without defining them: it was dead code
`Characteristic.indicate` serialised by a module-level `asyncio.Lock`; `OSError` (link down) handled	fewer crashes on disconnect; still 500 ms confirmation timeout
Half duplex: `evt_tx_idle` plus a 2 s “non-critical hold” before handing TX to the app	none for legacy-mode clients
Live Data timestamp is 0 when the clock reads before 2024-01-01 (was: when `evt_rtc_ready` unset)	same field, different gate
`BleLite` tracks the negotiated MTU (`mtu_payload()`); WiFi-driver kick (`wifikick`, `_kick_task`) with WDT blocker	internal
`ble_schedule_mgr` caps the “outbox empty” wait at 20 s and waits for the uploader to go idle	fewer hung scheduled disconnects

Unchanged: the command map, all gen_* record layouts, and both transmit loops. The legacy full-duplex loop that works on macOS behaves exactly as in v5.0.2; see transmit modes. A v5.0.3 device was tested end to end with totemctl.

ESP-NOW mesh

The module body of espnow_conn_v2 (imports, message maps, class construction) is opcode- identical. Changes are inside EspConn (details):

All-peer sends unicast to non-POI peers in a rotating order, limited by an estimate of free driver TX buffers.
Back-pressure: sends are dropped locally (tx_skipped) when no buffers are free.
ESP_ERR_ESPNOW_NO_MEM is treated as back-pressure. In v5.0.2 it set is_silent_reboot.
Relay shedding: mesh frames from non-peers are no longer relayed when the receiver drops frames or the TX pool is busy.
Supervisor: communicate_supervised restarts the comms task after a crash.
Bonding: an already-bonded requester gets five peer ACKs. A Smart Group cancel now also matches by UID.

The LR PHY rate is 250K (e.config(rate=41)) in both versions. Earlier docs said 500K.

Device behaviour

Area	v5.0.3
Battery %	top of the voltage table (4.13–4.38 V) removed: 4.12 V now reads 100% (was 61%), 3.8 V reads 50% (was 31%)
Buttons	the 50 ms post-press `debounce` coroutine is replaced by a 30 ms edge lockout on press and release
Vibe mode (`new_vibe`, 1.9 → 1.10)	sound-reactive ring effect: faster auto-gain (13 → 25), cleaner peak hold, ~30% dimmer; debug telemetry removed
Peers	`is_unknown` after 2 h without coordinates (was 4 h); stale peers use the proximity display (nearby by RSSI ≥ −41)
Nav logging	fast `events.bin` rotation (≥ 1024 B) while the uploader has no backlog
Promo	`activation_check`, never called in v5.0.2, now runs; it carries a time-limited “Totem Secret Meetup” POI (2026-09-21, 03:20–04:00 UTC)
Peer management	restores the default crystal colour when it ends while the device is upright
Watchdog	new `WLAN_KICK` blocker
Files	async `gen_file_hash` (SHA-256) and `get_oldest_file` in `f_lib/file_mgr.py`
Debug builds only	SOS single tap triggers a BLE log upload

Removed modules

Module	What it was
`imu_fusion.py`	an older Madgwick `Fusion` / `Cal` implementation with no importer; `imu_fusion_auto.py` (unchanged) is the fusion engine
`io_mgr.py`	a stub containing only `import io`

Overview

2.4 GHz Communication Protocols

Subsystems

Reference

At a glance

BLE

ESP-NOW mesh

Device behaviour

Removed modules

​At a glance

​BLE

​ESP-NOW mesh

​Device behaviour

​Removed modules

At a glance

BLE

ESP-NOW mesh

Device behaviour

Removed modules