Part 1: Firmware Update & Running Code (Generic ESP32 Boards)

tags: TA Stuff ESP32 ESP32

In this tutorial, we walk you through the hardware configuration, so you are up and running for your journey in IoT. If you own a Generic ESP32 Development Board you should follow this tutorial.
You will:

• Download and Install the board driver on your computer
• Download and update the board firmware
• Try a small code to confirm if everything is set properly

We'll continuously update this walkthrough. Is there anything missing or unclear, or have you experienced some issue? Please add a comment. You do this by highlighting the text and then you can write a comment on the highlighted part. You need to log in/create an account on HackMD first.

0. Prerequisites

• You should be finished with the IDE installation tutorial before continuing this :)
• Have your ESP32 development board
• USB Cable (Make sure the USB cable is capable of data transferring. If you get the bundle with cable it will support)

Depending on your operating system follow one of the following sections:

Windows

Mac

Linux

Windows OS

Follow these steps:

• Step 1: Connect your board to your computer with a USB cable.
• Step 2: Download the hardware driver from this link. You will get a zip file extract the file and depending on your Windows version either execute the file end with _x64 or with _x86. (Almost all new computers are x64)

Your Windows Device Manager should look like these; before and after driver installation:

Before

After (Port number for CP210x may be different in your Windows)

• Step 3: Download this file in your computer.
• Step 4: Open this website and do:

The page must be opened in the latest version of Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.

• • 0. On most (Not All) of ESP32 Generic boards You need to keep the Boot button on your board down both during
       $Erase$ and
       $Programming$ (Flashing) otherwise it does not work.
• • 1. Follow the numbered steps to connect to your development board (Choose CP210x and COM port number shoul be the same as your device manager):
       
       
       

During the next two steps, you should not interrupt any execution, meaning you should keep your browser open and not remove the USB cable from your board or computer.

• • 2. Press on Erase then Ok to delete files from your board:
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
• • 3. Enter Offset 1000, and in Choose a File select your download esp32-20220117-v1.18.bin, then press program to write firmware to your board. (It takes a while and during this time don’t disconnect your board from the USB cable)
       
       

You are now ready for the next step to run code on your development IDE. Follow the steps below:

• Step 1: Open your Atom IDE and at the bottom, you see the Pymakr plugin. You need to find the COM port number of your device, which is visible in Device Manager (here). Then open Settings on Pymakr and choose Global settings.
  
• Step 2: Enter the device com port into the Device address (list) field and remove the check box selection from Safe-boot before upload.
  

It would be good to disconnect your device and restart your Windows before starting REPL in Atom.

• Step 3: Open Atom, click on Connect device in Pymakr and choose your COM port.
  
• Step 4: Confirm the success by entering print("Hello from Heltec") and the board shows it in REPL.
  

If you press the “RST” button your board goes into the following state, and it is because this firmware is a PyCom MicroPython and the reset button is not defined.
You should: 1. Close REPL tab on Atom. 2. Disconnect the board from USB and connect it again 3. Open REPL again like “Step 7” above.

You are now successfully finished Part 1 of four parts tutorial, It is a good idea to read more about MicroPython Tutorials and Examples from MicroPython Site (here) and try different code to learn more.
Good Luck!

Mac OS

Follow these steps:

• Step 1: Connect your development board to your Mac with a USB cable.
• Step 2: The driver has already integrated into the macOS. Check if your Mac have detected your development Board by clicking Apple icons >> About This Mac >> Overview >> System Report... >> Hardware >> USB.

Your USB Device Tree should look like this; and you can find the CP2102 USB to UART Bridge Controller in the USB Device Tree.

• Step 3: Download this file to your Mac.

• Step 4: Open this website and do:

• • 0. On most (Not All) of ESP32 Generic boards You need to keep the Boot button on your board down both during
       $Erase$ and
       $Programming$ (Flashing) otherwise it does not work.
• • 1. Follow the numbered steps to connect to your development board:

During the next two steps, you should not interrupt any execution, meaning you should keep your browser open and not remove the USB cable from your board or computer.

• • 2. Press on Erase then Ok to delete files from your board:

• • 3. Enter Offset 1000, and in Choose a File select your download esp32-20220117-v1.18.bin, then press program to write firmware to your board. (It takes a while and during this time don’t disconnect your board from the USB cable)

You are now ready for the next step to run code on your development IDE. Follow the steps below:

• Step 1: Open your Atom IDE and at the bottom, you see the Pymakr plugin. Then open Settings on Pymakr and choose Global settings. Remove the check box selection from Auto connect and Safe-boot before upload.
  

• Step 2: Enter the device port into the Device address (list) field. The device addree can be found using the following command in the Terminal.

    ls /dev/

It would be good to restart Atom.

• Step 3: Open Atom, click on Connect device in Pymakr and choose your device port.

• Step 4: Confirm the success by entering print("Hello from Heltec") and the board shows it in REPL.

If you press the “RST” button your board goes into the following state, and it is because this firmware is a PyCom MicroPython and the reset button is not defined.
You should: 1. Close REPL tab on Atom. 2. Disconnect the board from USB and connect it again 3. Open REPL again like “Step 7” above.

You are now successfully finished Part 1 of four parts tutorial, It is a good idea to read more about MicroPython Tutorials and Examples from MicroPython Site (here) and try different code to learn more.
Good Luck!

Linux OS (Ubuntu 22.04)

Follow these steps:

• Step 1: Run the following commands to remove access conflict in your Ubuntu:

sudo systemctl stop brltty-udev.service
sudo systemctl mask brltty-udev.service
sudo systemctl stop brltty.service
sudo systemctl disable brltty.service

• Step 2: Connect your development board to your computer with a USB cable.
• Step 3: The driver has already integrated into the Linux kernel. Open the Terminal, and type following command to check the connecting information (usb 1-1.1: cp210x converter now attached to ttyUSB0).

  sudo dmesg | grep ttyUSB0

• Step 4: Download this file to your computer.
• Step 5: Modify the port permission using the following 3 commands one by one in the Terminal, and the port permission will change from crw-rw–– to crw-rw-rw-. (You may need enter your password when you use sudo command, and you need to repeat these commands when you reconnect your Heltec board or connect from ESP Web Flasher to IDE). Remember your device addree (/dev/ttyUSB0).1

  ls -l /dev/ttyUSB0
  sudo usermod -a -G dialout [Your username]
  sudo chmod a+rw /dev/ttyUSB0
  ls -l /dev/ttyUSB0

• Step 6: Open this website and do:
• • 0. On most (Not All) ESP32 Generic boards You need to keep the Boot button on your board down both during
       $Erase$ and
       $Programming$ (Flashing) otherwise it does not work.
• • 1. Connect your device.

During the next two steps, you should not interrupt any execution, meaning you should keep your browser open and not remove the USB cable from your board or computer.

• • 2. Press on Erase then Ok to delete files from your board:

• • 3. Enter Offset 1000, and in Choose a File select your download esp32-20220117-v1.18.bin, then press program to write firmware to your board. (It takes a while and during this time don’t disconnect your board from the USB cable)

You are now ready for the next step to run code on your development IDE. Follow the steps below:

• Step 1: Open your Atom IDE and at the bottom, you see the Pymakr plugin. Then open Settings on Pymakr and choose Global settings. Remove the check box selection from Safe-boot before upload.
  
• Step 2: Enter the device com port into the Device address (list) field.

It would be good to disconnect your device and restart Atom. Remeber to enter commands in your Terminal again.

  ls -l /dev/ttyUSB0
  sudo usermod -a -G dialout [Your username]
  sudo chmod a+rw /dev/ttyUSB0
  ls -l /dev/ttyUSB0

• Step 3: Open Atom, click on Connect device in Pymakr and choose your Device Address (/dev/ttyUSB0).
  

• Step 4: Confirm the success by entering print("Hello from Heltec") and the board shows it in REPL.
  

If you press the “RST” button your board goes into the following state, and it is because this firmware is a PyCom MicroPython and the reset button is not defined.
You should: 1. Close REPL tab on Atom. 2. Disconnect the board from USB and connect it again 3. Open REPL again like “Step 7” above.

Everytime you disconnect/connect your Heltec board in Ubuntu you must give access to it by following commands:

sudo usermod -a -G dialout [Your username]
sudo chmod a+rw /dev/ttyUSB0

You are now successfully finished Part 1 of four parts tutorial, It is a good idea to read more about MicroPython Tutorials and Examples from MicroPython Site (here) and try different code to learn more.
Good Luck!