ESP8266 Community Forum

Hey gang-

I'm having some difficulty working with a stubborn ESP-01 module I have.

ESP-01 Black (says AI-Cloud inside on it)

I have flashed a few of these in the past and worked several projects..

however int he shuffle of new/old projects.. I no longer have my original 'flashing' test bed set-up.

So I tried to re-create it and flash these old ESP-01 modules I laying around with the latest (any firmware)

I cant get it to do much of ANYTHING however.. (hence the post to get some advice I may be overlooking)

Overview:

* No Arduino in the mix.
* USB/TTL programmer and ESP-01
I am using a breadboard to connect the programmer/regulator/ESP together (along with some latching switches for the GPIO 0 pin.. but have been removed for troubleshooting)

Programmer >> ESP

TX - 1k/2k voltage divider - RX
RX - TX


I have +5v from programmer going to +3.3v regulator
I have GND from programmer going to +3.3v regulator

CH_PD from ESP goes to regulated +3.3v
GPIO 0 from ESP goes to GND

V+ from ESP goes to regulated +3.3v
GND from ESP goes to GND


it does matter what flasher I download/try.. or even using the Arduino IDE itself and an example ESP (blink) sketch..

it never takes the firmware upload nor a sketch upload!!

I have tried both 9600 & 115200 baud rates.. but most errors still reference baud rate mis-match or something? (depending on the utility)

Firm I have tried:
ai-thinker-v1.1.1.bin
and some older ones I had downloaded:


In the Arduino IDE, I get this:



If I use something like:
ESPFlashDownloadTool_v3.4.4

I get:

test running: false
serial port opened
Connecting...
chip sync error

etc...

If I try to use this old utility:
XTCOM_UTIL.exe

I configure device: COM5 both 9600 and 115200 says "operation succeeded"

If I continue and click the 'connect' button... it goes through the 200 attempts. (it fails)



However.. when I am attempting to flash the firmware or use the Arduino IDE to upload a sketch.. I can see the little blue LED blink.

even when I open the serial monitor.. and type anything.. I see the blue led blink.

I never get the 'READY' test when I open the serial monitor either..
typing stuff doesnt get mirrored back.. just blink on blue led.


I have NOT kept up with the current/latest flashing utilities..

and I just grabbed the 1.1 .bin file as it the most recent I could find originally (older .bin files do not work either,. same results)

if anyone has a nice/stable flashing utility and a preferred .bin let me know and I'll give it a shot.

I'm not sure what could be wrong? Am I overlooking something simple?

All feedback is appreciated!

thanks!

Hi, GPIOs 0 & 2 both need 10K pullups. Ground GPIO 0 during the power up that you want to flash the ESP but disconnect the ground before flashing (it only needs to be low as the power is applied).
Always ensure the ESP is powered down or reset held low before grounding GPIO 0 or you risk shorting an output that is high to ground.
That should do you.