Wemos D1 Mini and Latest Releases

[mtoko]

Hi
Thanks for the great work on ESPeasy

I have a Wemos d1 mini and if I use an earlier release (ESP_Easy_mega-20181203_normal_ESP8266_4096.bin) it works fine but if I use the latest (ESP_Easy_mega_20201016_normal_ESP8266_4M1M.bin) it fails. I would like to use the newer releases to see the new features.
Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

[Ath]

You will need to do this update via usb/serial to have a WiFi storage 'issue' resolved. Clearing the unit using a blank image and then install the update will work, but will of course delete all settings.
After installing a recent update over wire you can do subsequential updates via OTA again.

[mtoko]

Thank you for the advice.
I have tried your suggestion (all done using a serial connection) flashing a blank 4m file and then the latest release but this still did not work. I have flashed a blank file again and then the older release and it worked.

Is the ESP_Easy_mega_20201016_normal_ESP8266_4M1M.bin file the correct selection for a D1 Mini?

Thanks

[TD-er]

Can you see what flash chip is present?
The esptool.py flasher also shows this when trying to flash it via USB to serial.

Just to be clear, the ESP_Easy_mega_20201016_normal_ESP8266_4M1M should be a good choice for the Wemos D1 mini.

Can you also get some logs of the ESP when it boots? (via serial with just about any terminal tool)

[mtoko]

Hi Thanks for the reply

I hope this is the info you are looking for


INIT : Booting version: (ESP82xx Core 2843a5ac, NONOS SDK 2.2.2-dev(38a443e), LWIP: 2.1.2 PUYA support)
73 : Info : INIT : Free RAM:35264
74 : Info : INIT : Warm boot #2 Last Task: Const Interval timer, id: 0 Last systime: 2541139235 - Restart Reason: External System
75 : Info : FS : Mounting...
100 : Info : FS : Mount successful, used 75802 bytes of 957314
123 : Info : CRC : SecuritySettings CRC ...OK
128 : Info : WIFI : Start network scan
2421 : Info : INIT : Free RAM:32200
2422 : Info : INIT : I2C
2422 : Info : INIT : SPI not enabled
2502 : Info : INFO : Plugins: 46 [Normal] (ESP82xx Core 2843a5ac, NONOS SDK 2.2.2-dev(38a443e), LWIP: 2.1.2 PUYA support)
2506 : Info : Webserver: start
2506 : Info : Time set to 2541139235.000
2508 : Info : Current Time Zone: STD time start: 2050-10-30 03:00:00 offset: 0 min
2511 : Info : Local time: 2050-07-11 08:00:35
3863 : Info : WD : Uptime 0 ConnectFailures 0 FreeMem 25712 WiFiStatus WL_IDLE_STATUS ESPeasy internal wifi status: DISCONNECTED
5147 : Error : WIFI : No valid wifi settings

[TD-er]

Yep that's the sort of info needed.

So it does boot, indicating the flash was successful.
And it doesn't find any WiFi settings, which is understandable given you erased all flash.

So you can try to find it via WiFi on your mobile (or laptop) or while still connected to the serial port you can also enter the credentials via serial.

Code: Select all

wifissid YourNetworkName
wifikey LoginPasswordForYourWiFiNetwork
save

Of course you need to fill in your own credentials.
Make sure not to make a typo, as you cannot correct while typing via the serial connection.

The given commands will be echo'ed after you press enter.

[mtoko]

I am thinking that I have an entire batch of faulty D1 mini's (100)

These are the two boots, the first one is the faulty device and no ESP_Easy AP can be found. I have entered the wifi credentials through the serial and it does not join the network. You can see Could not prepare WiFi on line 3627. The second one is a working boot with AP ESP_Easy_0
Thanks for you help, but I think this is just faulty devices

INIT : Booting version: (ESP82xx Core 2843a5ac, NONOS SDK 2.2.2-dev(38a443e), LWIP: 2.1.2 PUYA support)
74 : Info : INIT : Free RAM:35264
75 : Info : INIT : Warm boot #10 Last Task: Const Interval timer, id: 0 Last systime: 2541152368 - Restart Reason: External System
76 : Info : FS : Mounting...
101 : Info : FS : Mount successful, used 75802 bytes of 957314
125 : Info : CRC : SecuritySettings CRC ...OK
129 : Info : WIFI : Start network scan
2422 : Info : INIT : Free RAM:32112
2423 : Info : INIT : I2C
2424 : Info : INIT : SPI not enabled
2505 : Info : INFO : Plugins: 46 [Normal] (ESP82xx Core 2843a5ac, NONOS SDK 2.2.2-dev(38a443e), LWIP: 2.1.2 PUYA support)
2508 : Info : Webserver: start
2509 : Info : Time set to 2541152368.000
2510 : Info : Current Time Zone: STD time start: 2050-10-30 03:00:00 offset: 0 min
2514 : Info : Local time: 2050-07-11 11:39:28
2528 : Info : WIFI : Scan finished, found: 1
2534 : Error : WIFI : No valid wifi settings
2636 : Info : WIFI : Set WiFi to AP+STA
3626 : Info : WIFI : AP Mode ssid will be ESP-Easy with address 192.168.4.1
3627 : Error : WIFI : Could not prepare WiFi!
3850 : Info : WD : Uptime 0 ConnectFailures 0 FreeMem 22976 WiFiStatus WL_IDLE_STATUS ESPeasy internal wifi status: DISCONNECTED

INIT : Booting version: mega-20181203 (ESP82xx Core 2_4_2, NONOS SDK 2.2.1(cfd48f3), LWIP: 2.0.3 PUYA support)
111 : INIT : Warm boot #1 - Restart Reason: External System
113 : FS : Mounting...
138 : FS : Mount successful, used 75802 bytes of 957314
480 : CRC : program checksum ...OK
491 : CRC : SecuritySettings CRC ...OK
493 : CRC : binary has changed since last save of Settings
601 : INIT : Free RAM:24056
603 : INIT : I2C
603 : INIT : SPI not enabled
616 : INFO : Plugins: 46 [Normal] (ESP82xx Core 2_4_2, NONOS SDK 2.2.1(cfd48f3), LWIP: 2.0.3 PUYA support)
619 : WIFI : No valid wifi settings
621 : WIFI : Could not connect to AP!
622 : WIFI : Set WiFi to AP
1543 : WIFI : AP Mode ssid will be ESP_Easy_0 with address 192.168.4.1
2878 : WD : Uptime 0 ConnectFailures 0 FreeMem 20768

[TD-er]

Does setting the SSID + wifikey + save work to get the device to boot and also connect to wifi?

I got the feeling saving to the settings file may fail here, which may be related to the used flash chip.

[mtoko]

No, I have set ssid and key through the serial port but it still does not connect to wifi
>wifissid "BMS"

Wifi SSID:BMS

Ok

>wifikey "1111111111"

Wifi Key:1111111111

Ok
>save
183124 : Info : SaveToFile: free stack: 3248
183204 : Info : FILE : Saved config.dat
183205 : Info : SaveToFile: free stack after: 3248
183205 : Info : SaveToFile: free stack: 3248
183241 : Info : FILE : Saved security.dat
183242 : Info : SaveToFile: free stack after: 3248
183242 : Info : SaveToFile: free stack: 2912
183253 : Info : FILE : Saved security.dat
183254 : Info : SaveToFile: free stack after: 2912

Ok
183257 : Info : WIFI : Start network scan
185440 : Info : WIFI : Connecting BMS attempt #1
185558 : Info : WD : Uptime 3 ConnectFailures 0 FreeMem 22952 WiFiStatus WL_DISCONNECTED ESPeasy internal wifi status: DISCONNECTED
187747 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 2191 ms
190033 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 4483 ms
192322 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 6776 ms
194612 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 9069 ms
196914 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 11 s
199202 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 13 s
201492 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 15 s
203784 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 18 s
206086 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 20 s
208378 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 22 s
210666 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 25 s
212955 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 27 s
213848 : Info : WD : Uptime 4 ConnectFailures 0 FreeMem 22952 WiFiStatus WL_NO_SSID_AVAIL ESPeasy internal wifi status: DISCONNECTED
215248 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 29 s
217541 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 31 s
219833 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 34 s
222127 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 36 s
224419 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 38 s
226713 : Info : WIFI : Disconnected! Reason: '(201) No AP found' Connected for 41 s
227209 : Info : WIFI : Set WiFi to STA
243860 : Info : WD : Uptime 4 ConnectFailures 0 FreeMem 25336 WiFiStatus WL_IDLE_STATUS ESPeasy internal wifi status: DISCONNECTED
247422 : Info : WIFI : Set WiFi to AP+STA
247529 : Info : WIFI : AP Mode ssid will be ESP-Easy with address 192.168.4.1

[TD-er]

And when it shows the logs " WIFI : Set WiFi to AP+STA" can you then see the mentioned access point "ESP-Easy" ?
Can you connect to it using your phone (pass: configesp) and navigate to IP 192.168.4.1 ?

[mtoko]

No, there is no ESP_Easy access point and if I try to set the wifi ssid and password through the serial port it does not connect to local wifi either.

I really appreciate all your assistance and advice but I think I have 100 faulty D1 mini's

I have a few other D1 mini's from ebay and every one of these work with both releases of firmware.

Thanks again for all you help I learnt about logging the boot and how to set up wifi from serial

All good

I have 100 mini's to use as a doorstop

[TD-er]

Well 100 doorstops is something you may want to fix.
What kind of D1 mini's do you have?
The ones with an IPEX connector for an external antenna?

If so, please have a look at the 0 Ohm resistor near this IPEX header.
Is it connecting the PCB antenna or the IPEX header?
If it is pointing to the wrong end, then a drop of solder may help here.

[Ath]

But why was the 2018-dated build working? (See first post)

[TD-er]

Hmm yep, that's a good point.
If the older build was working, then you may also want to try to power the ESP directly on the 3v3 line using a proper voltage regulator.
Maybe also add an extra capacitor between the 3v3 line and GND?

[Ath]

Or try a build with 'beta' or 'alt_wifi' in its name, as these use a different version of the standard libraries and wifi libraries.

[Grumpf]

If the issue is not being able to see Wifi, maybe it's worth investigating with another wifi network. Can you create an AP with your Laptop plugged in to the wall network (or into your router) ?

Same thing with the Esp AP, did you try to see if other devices can see it ?

I mean, I don't know what changed between the releases but maybe your Esps & your router are trying to connect using a different security level or protocol etc.

[TD-er]

Most were already mentioned, but good to have them in a list together:
- Try with placing an extra capacitor over the 3v3 line and GND (100 - 470 uF)
- Try powering it via another power source, other than USB.
- Try older builds
- Try build with "beta" or "alt-wifi" in the name
- Try with other devices to see if you can spot the ESP's SSID in AP mode.
- Try to force a "warm" wifi reconnect, by giving the commands "wifidisconnect" and "wificonnect" via serial.
- Check the WiFi antenna for IPEX connector and maybe some misplaced 0 Ohm resistor.


I think this batch may have a slightly less powerful voltage regulator which may drop its voltage too much when the WiFi radio turns on.

Is this a Wemos D1 unit with a metallic shield over the ESP, or the ESP openly visible on the PCB?
There have been reports in the past about those non-isolated ones to reflect the antenna signal directly back into the ESP causing all kinds of strange issues.
So maybe I could also create a test build with lowered WiFi output power.

[mtoko]

Thank you for all the advice
Just a summary
I have done the following
1.) Another stable power source
2.) Older builds
3.) "beta" and "alt-wifi" builds
4.) I flash a blank 4m.bin first and then a normal build. I then check to see the ESP_Easy AP on mobile, laptop and desktop but it is not there
5.) I enter wifi ssid and password by serial and reboot but the D1 does not connect to WiFi
6.) Tried warm wifi reconnect
7.) Error on boot is always
69576 : Info : WIFI : Set WiFi to AP+STA
69683 : Info : WIFI : AP Mode ssid will be ESP-Easy with address 192.168.4.1
69685 : Error : WIFI : Could not prepare WiFi!
8.) This error does not appear on "working" D1 Mini's
9.) These D1 Minis have no external antenna connector
I am slowly testing each one of the 100 I have and the results are consistent. After each 5 I check my process with a "working" device and all builds (older and newer) work perfectly and ESP_Easy AP is fine

I think I have a bad manufacturing run

[TD-er]

Hmm this is a strange error:
69685 : Error : WIFI : Could not prepare WiFi!

That should not occur if you have a proper SSID/key provided.

This stable power supply you tried, is that 5V, or 3.3V?
The reason I ask is because there are quite a few boards out there which have a 3v3 voltage regulator that's only capable of handling 150 - 200 mA, which is way too low for the current drawn during RF calibration.
So that's why I also suggested to add a capacitor to the 3v3 and GND line to overcome those short current peaks. (which can be as high as 500+ mA)

Can you check the markings on the voltage regulator?

[Ath]

Have you also checked the 0 ohm resistor near the WiFi connector on the ESP's that have an external antenna, as TD-er suggested earlier? The resistor can be wired up wrongly or missing, and a drop of solder could fix that. WiFi won't work without an antenna. (You seem to have both kinds of ESP's, with print-antenna and with external antenna.)

[TD-er]

As he mentioned: 9.) These D1 Minis have no external antenna connector

As far as I know, only the 16M versions (so called "pro") have an IPEX connector

[mtoko]

The power supply is a switch mode power supply for a desktop computer that I use as a bench power supply 5v
I have tried a capacitor on 3.3v and Gnd
The 0 ohm resistor is there and i have put a drop of solder on also
Whatever the problem with the manufacture it is consistent because I have tested about 30 and all have the same fault

[TD-er]

Hmm that's sad as 100 units is quite a lot.
Let's hope you can arrange something with the seller.

[mtoko]

Thank you again for all your help

I learnt some new stuff, so not all bad.

I am in contact with the seller so may be able to work it out with them