diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/geeksville/mesh/model/Channel.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/geeksville/mesh/model/Channel.kt
index 5b9077aca..6be86b586 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/geeksville/mesh/model/Channel.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/geeksville/mesh/model/Channel.kt
@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@ data class Channel(
         // The default channel that devices ship with
         val default = Channel(
             channelSettings { psk = ByteString.copyFrom(defaultPSK) },
-            loRaConfig { usePreset = true; modemPreset = ModemPreset.LONG_FAST }
+            // reference: NodeDB::installDefaultConfig
+            loRaConfig { txEnabled = true; modemPreset = ModemPreset.LONG_FAST; hopLimit = 3 }
         )
     }