ESP8266 Community Forum

I'm having real trouble getting my esp8266 esp-01 to work. I'm really sorry if this has been asked already but I can't find anything on the web that will help.

This is the complete process I used to get Arduino onto the esp8266:

1. Wired up the everything to this diagram:

2. Downloaded Arduino 1.6.5 for Mac OSX 10.10
3. Added the eps8266 board via the board manager
4. Used default settings:

5. Uploaded a sketch file eg: Blink


All this results in me getting this error when trying to upload to the esp8266.


Can anyone point out where I might be going wrong here? I can't work out what to do? The fact that it says espcomm_sync failed makes me think that my flash /cpu / upload speed are wrong but messing with these settings proved fruitless

Many thanks!

How sure are you that you have specified the correct COM port that represents the USB->UART connector? You might also try powering the ESP8266 board with its own power supply.

Hi, try the following connections:

Vcc -> 3.3V (needs to be 500mA minimum - most USB to serial devices can't supply this).
GND -> GND + GND on your serial device.

GPIO 0 -> 10K resistor -> 3.3V.
GPIO 0 -> (switch or wire short) ->GND (only needed for flashing) yes thats 2 connections.
GPIO 2 -> 10K resisror -> 3.3V

CH_PD -> 3.3V.
RST -> 3.3V (or via a 10K resistor if you want to add a switch to reset).
RST -> (switch) -> GND (only need for easy reseting option) yes again 2 connections.

Tx -> Rx
Rx -> Tx (if you are using an adrunio as a serial device swap Tx & Rx).

This line has been corrected - see below. To flash you need to press the GPIO 0 switch or short - power down or reset - start flash within about a minute.
Terminal needs to be set to CR & NL - 9600 or 115,200 baud depending on the firmware you have.
If you get lots of resets or crashes put 0.1uF & =< 100uF capacitors as close as possable to the ESP IC.

Hope that helps

EDIT: Sorry the 'To flash line' contains a sequence error and should read.
1. To flash you need to power down or press and hold the reset button.
2. Press and hold the GPIO 0 button or short to GND.
3. Power up or release the reset button.
4. Release the GPIO 0 button or remove the short.
5. Start flash within about a minute.

REASON FOR EDIT: If an ESP has firmware loaded that controls GPIO 0. In the event that GPIO 0 is set high at the time that you press the GPIO 0 button or short to GND, to enter flash mode. It is likley that the output could be damaged.
Hence the edit to remove power or reset before grounding the output. This would not affect factory units only when custom firmware is loaded.

Hi Barnabybear,
Like this?
Thanks