ESP is restarting after 5 seconds

[tdecurtins]

Using build 78 on esp12 dev board. I dont know if its a setting I did but my esp just reboots with the following message:

wdt reset
load 0x4010f000, len 1264, room 16
tail 0
chksum 0x42
csum 0x42
~ld
ªU
INIT : Booting Build nr:78
WIFI : Connecting... 1
WIFI : Connected!
INIT : I2C

ets Jan 8 2013,rst cause:4, boot mode:(3,7)

I have tried reflashing it but the settings seem to stay that is causing this issue.

[fhem_challenge]

Using build 78 on esp12 dev board. I dont know if its a setting I did but my esp just reboots with the following message:

wdt reset
load 0x4010f000, len 1264, room 16
tail 0
chksum 0x42
csum 0x42
~ld
ªU
INIT : Booting Build nr:78
WIFI : Connecting... 1
WIFI : Connected!
INIT : I2C

ets Jan 8 2013,rst cause:4, boot mode:(3,7)

I have tried reflashing it but the settings seem to stay that is causing this issue.

I have the same issue. The reason is, that I had enabled the GPIO Port to "High or LOW". After the next revboot, the ESP restarts all the time with the same message above.

You can clear the "memory" (settings in esp easy). I flush the esp with the LUA Image, clear the Memory (files) with Esploror and flash the esp easy image again.

I don't now exactely which GPIO-ports doesn't have to set HIGH (or LOW) in ESP Easy (I use rev. 107).

Best regards

Andreas

[tozett]

may try study this thread?

http://www.esp8266.nu/forum/viewtopic.p ... t=60#p4413

reset-cause 4 is from watchdog.
may try "erase" in the serial monitor, to clear the settings?

[tdecurtins]

Using build 78 on esp12 dev board. I dont know if its a setting I did but my esp just reboots with the following message:

wdt reset
load 0x4010f000, len 1264, room 16
tail 0
chksum 0x42
csum 0x42
~ld
ªU
INIT : Booting Build nr:78
WIFI : Connecting... 1
WIFI : Connected!
INIT : I2C

ets Jan 8 2013,rst cause:4, boot mode:(3,7)

I have tried reflashing it but the settings seem to stay that is causing this issue.

I have the same issue. The reason is, that I had enabled the GPIO Port to "High or LOW". After the next revboot, the ESP restarts all the time with the same message above.

You can clear the "memory" (settings in esp easy). I flush the esp with the LUA Image, clear the Memory (files) with Esploror and flash the esp easy image again.

I don't now exactely which GPIO-ports doesn't have to set HIGH (or LOW) in ESP Easy (I use rev. 107).

Best regards

Andreas

It looks like clearing the memory with esplorer worked! Thanks

[JR01]

And make sure you do not have a power / frequency oscillation problem, this also does reboots. Filter out with Tantalum caps.

http://www.esp8266.nu/index.php/Power. This is how I sorted out most problems. A cap close to VCC and GND for the ESP, and at each sensor, between VSS and D.

[lucaberta]

I have the exact same issue as described in this other thread on the "Software" subforum:

http://www.esp8266.nu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1615

The last test I have just done on a NodeMCU was to reload the v1.3.0.2 AT firmware, which was also rebooting every now and then BTW, and then reflash with R107.

If the firmware is left running without any configuration, then it runs without rebooting. The moment I connect a machine to the ESP_0 SSID, or that I use the console to connect to an existing wifi network, the ESP starts to reboot with the same messages mentioned by the OP.

I am afraid that this is now unusable, and worse thing is the fact that even after downgrading, I am still having the crashes, both with R106 and R78 (installed from the binaries).

Hope this can be better debugged and solved, I am willing to support the effort if I can be of any help.

Ciao, Luca

[dduley]

I have the exact same issue as described in this other thread on the "Software" subforum:

http://www.esp8266.nu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1615

The last test I have just done on a NodeMCU was to reload the v1.3.0.2 AT firmware, which was also rebooting every now and then BTW, and then reflash with R107.

If the firmware is left running without any configuration, then it runs without rebooting. The moment I connect a machine to the ESP_0 SSID, or that I use the console to connect to an existing wifi network, the ESP starts to reboot with the same messages mentioned by the OP.

I am afraid that this is now unusable, and worse thing is the fact that even after downgrading, I am still having the crashes, both with R106 and R78 (installed from the binaries).

Hope this can be better debugged and solved, I am willing to support the effort if I can be of any help.

Ciao, Luca

Hi Luca,

It sounds like you have a hardware issue. Perhaps you have one of those cheap flash chips inside your ESP module. I use many of the NodeMCU modules with R107 and I don't have your issues. There are a few bugs in the code like the ability to assign GPIO 9 or 10 a task function. That's a real quick way to brick your ESP. I have replaced the flash chips inside the metal can in a few cases quite successfully. On one module there was a flash chip pin that was not soldered. That module was exhibiting similar symptoms as you are experiencing. I would try another NodeMCU and see if it works the same. If you do get to the point that you want to try surgery on the ESP8266-12 on your NodeMCU V1.0, you can get the metal can off without too much difficulty. Don't resort to the hot air pencil approach that you see in the videos on the net. I have found that you can use a sharp Exacto knife and score the solder along one edge of the can. Don't score too deep as there are traces not too far away. I like to score the edge opposite that of the wifi antenna (The edge adjacent to the extra ESP contacts for the 12E module). Once you have scored the solder then gently insert the knife point through the solder and under the can. pry up slightly and the entire can should pop off. The solder holding the can to the ESP module is very thin. Once off, you can inspect the pins with an eye loupe or microscope.

Good luck

Dave

[lucaberta]

It sounds like you have a hardware issue. Perhaps you have one of those cheap flash chips inside your ESP module. I use many of the NodeMCU modules with R107 and I don't have your issues. There are a few bugs in the code like the ability to assign GPIO 9 or 10 a task function. That's a real quick way to brick your ESP.

that's interesting. This makes me wonder, if GPIO 9 and 10 are such dangerous lines to tinker with, so much so that one could ruin the board permanently, I wonder why there would be no clearer indications about this possible issue in the GUI, so that I will not take a risk without knowing.

At any rate, I am having similar issues on many different boards, one of which is an ESP-01, which does not expose more than GPIO 0 and 2, and yet I am seeing issues also on that board. I am positive I have not touched GPIO 9 and 10 on the ESP-01.

I will do some more reading on the ESP8266 bricking, and will unwrap some new boards to tinker with. I do not want to waste time desoldering a tiny chip like a flash to rescue something which only costs a few bucks.

I might as well order a few Wemos D1 mini to do more tinkering...

Thanks,

Luca

[lucaberta]

Dave,

I have found this post of yours regarding GPIO 9 and 10 and it was clear that the issue I face are probably related to the use of GPIO lines from 6 to 11, which can cause some issues on the ESP boards:

http://www.esp8266.nu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1462

As an update, I have successfully reflashed the AT v1.3.0.2 firmware on the ESP-01 board I have, the one where I was sure I never used GPIOs 9 to 11, then reflashed R107 and everything seems to be working well. Great news!

Now I will try to bring back to life the other boards I have using the AT firmware, and see if the flash was damaged or not. Worst case I will dump those boards and use newer ones.

Lesson learned, I guess!

Thanks,

Luca

[dduley]

Dave,

I have found this post of yours regarding GPIO 9 and 10 and it was clear that the issue I face are probably related to the use of GPIO lines from 6 to 11, which can cause some issues on the ESP boards:

http://www.esp8266.nu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1462

As an update, I have successfully reflashed the AT v1.3.0.2 firmware on the ESP-01 board I have, the one where I was sure I never used GPIOs 9 to 11, then reflashed R107 and everything seems to be working well. Great news!

Now I will try to bring back to life the other boards I have using the AT firmware, and see if the flash was damaged or not. Worst case I will dump those boards and use newer ones.

Lesson learned, I guess!

Thanks,

Luca

HI Luca,

I'm glad you got it working!! I have revived an ESP that used GPIO 9 or 10. I think I did exactly what you are about to do. I loaded a few different firmware versions on top of the existing one. Another thing that I have tried successfully is to load smaller memory model firmware binaries onto the NodeMCU. Get the R078 stable binary from the ESPEasy web page and load the 512K or the 1024K version. Run the code and set up a few parameters. Then re-load the 4096K version of whatever your favorite ESPEasy version is. Have the USB connected (No OTG upgrade!) and a serial monitor such as Putty or AVR serial monitor at the ready. Once the 4096K version comes up issue a Reset command as soon as you can. Loading the different memory models seems to scramble the flash enough to cause the new firmware to ignore the fact that you once tried to use the forbidden GPIOs. I always thought that these IOs should be greyed out in the pull-down unless specifically enabled in the code. Its too easy to turn a NodeMCU into a NopeMCU. The finger is often faster than the brain!

Regards

Dave

[lucaberta]

HI Luca,

I'm glad you got it working!! I have revived an ESP that used GPIO 9 or 10. I think I did exactly what you are about to do. I loaded a few different firmware versions on top of the existing one. Another thing that I have tried successfully is to load smaller memory model firmware binaries onto the NodeMCU. Get the R078 stable binary from the ESPEasy web page and load the 512K or the 1024K version. Run the code and set up a few parameters. Then re-load the 4096K version of whatever your favorite ESPEasy version is. Have the USB connected (No OTG upgrade!) and a serial monitor such as Putty or AVR serial monitor at the ready. Once the 4096K version comes up issue a Reset command as soon as you can. Loading the different memory models seems to scramble the flash enough to cause the new firmware to ignore the fact that you once tried to use the forbidden GPIOs.

I was also able to revive a NodeMCU board, and an ESPthing by SparkFun on which I had changed the flash with a 1024k that I removed from an ESP-07 which was also impossible to fix.

It's only after changing the flash on the ESPthing that I understood that I could "fix" the flash issue by uploading an AT firmware. In fact, I even found an older version of the firmware which still supports 512k flash, as the newer ones only work on 1024k or more flash. The older firmware still fits in the 512k chip, and the readme file comes with detailed information on which file should be flashed to which address. After doing a few write_flash command and rebooting, the ESP8266 came back to life fine with the AT firmware, and I could first do a wifi scan and then perform a full reset.

So all in all this whole GPIO 9/10 issue only "costed" me an ESP-07 board and I also ended up having a better ESPthing board since I doubled the flash on it. Not a bad deal, as I also learned a lot about programming the ESP8266 with different firmware.

I always thought that these IOs should be greyed out in the pull-down unless specifically enabled in the code. Its too easy to turn a NodeMCU into a NopeMCU. The finger is often faster than the brain!

I hear you Dave! I wonder if the real reason lies in the fact that different board designs might have different GPIOs used...

Bye, Luca

[Drum]

I have had a similar problem this week, it took me 3 days to resolve. I recently purchased 10 ESP-12F modules, and flashed them (107 via arduino ide) in two lots of 5. The first lot was fine, but in the second 4 of the 5 got stuck in a boot loop. Rebooting every 10 seconds and giving nothing but garbage via serial console. I finally tried using the NodeMCU flasher and flashed "empty.bin" to 0x0000 and then used the same flasher to flash a bin created by the arduino ide and it worked. Slower but it worked. The only difference was in the arduino ide after flashing I see it reset and start erasing immediately. In the NodeMCU flasher I have to flip the switch (I have a board just for flashing with a switch to connect GPIO0 to ground) to remove the GPIO0-Ground connection, then it starts erasing.

Of course after going through and assigning names and controller info, I also found I had 1 module from the first lot which is not working, so that is on the docket for this evening. Unfortunately, when I started, it took me several days to remember the esp and the USB adapter need to have a common ground. This is now incorporated in my flashing board... It would be nice to have basic troubleshooting and problem resolution tips in the Wiki.. I will try to find some time to put something together. I think it would be very helpful, certainly for me as I tend to forget these things when I don't come across them for a while.

[JR01]

eshooting and problem resolution tips in the Wiki.. I will try to find some time to put something together. I think it would be very helpfu

+1 !

[BertB]

Please do so. I'll be happy to put it on the Wiki

[clintebbesen]

Hi,

I seem to have bricked mine too touching GPIO 9.... Ive spent 5 or so hours trying to fix it and finally thanks to this thread I kinda have it working.. So far the only thing that has worked is to flash it set to 1024 instead of 4096. After flashing with memory size 1024 it works... I can set it up and everything is good.. however if i flash again using 4096 memory size, we are back to the wdt reset issue..

I tried entering reset and erase into the serial console, i have copied the command, and really fast hit paste enter, paste, enter, over and over from initial boot to wdt reset and no where does it pick up the commands, i think it resets too fast.

I tried shorting tx and rx for 5 seconds when first applying power, didnt reset it either.

Where are the settings stored? is there no way to just flash every bit of memory the esp has and do a full memory reset taking it back to a blank esp8266 like it comes from factory blank?

[tozett]

try this?

http://www.esp8266.nu/forum/viewtopic.p ... 2030#p9454

[clintebbesen]

Hi,

Yes I tried that already. I cant send any commands over serial, shorting rx and tx for a few seconds when first giving power does nothing either.

[tozett]

show us serial-log?
did you try without any connection to any pins?
brick?

[clintebbesen]

I havent got it with me at the moment, but from memory it was a wdt reset, rst cause:4, boot mode (3,6) would do that every 5 seconds or so.

Yes this is with the device sitting on the bench plugged into my laptop via usb cable, nothing connected to any of the pins.

Flashing it as 1024 memory size gets it working again, but would be good to have it working with 4096 memory size.

[tozett]

ahh, ok. sounds to me, if there had been amount of such behaviors here in the forum.
you have to clean the flash completely.
do this by flashing once nodemcu, than back to espeasy.
or some other methods. i look here where it was posted and come back with the link

[tozett]

there were some reports on the forum, somewhere deep in some threads.
not always easy to find, but its here. takes some times.

may try this?
http://www.esp8266.nu/forum/viewtopic.p ... lash#p4031

same thread, little earlier:
http://www.esp8266.nu/forum/viewtopic.p ... lash#p8174

the same, but different:
http://www.esp8266.nu/forum/viewtopic.p ... lash#p8198