ESP8266 Community Forum

Hello and sorry for my english, isn't my native language.

I bought a NodeMCU 8266 and used it in a couple of projects but, in all of those, i had to power it with an external source power (generally an Arduino, through Vin PIN).
Even to program it, i had to connect always the USB to PC + External Power. If i doesn't use an external power source, the PC doesn't detect it.

Is it normal, or a failure in my unit?

Thanks!

And what exactly would you call "internal power" (= not external power)?

eriksl wrote:And what exactly would you call "internal power" (= not external power)?

I want the device to work with USB power and not also require an extra (or "external") power through Vin PIN.

For me "internal power" is the USB.

Sorry if it wasn't clear.

Is it normal, or a failure in my unit?

No it is not normal; try some different USB leads as some cheap ones are communication only - no power.