ESP Device Flashing Guide

Overview

This guide will walk you through flashing custom firmware to your ESP device using the firmware files downloaded from MeshForge.

Prerequisites

  • Custom firmware built and downloaded from MeshForge
  • ESP device (ESP32, ESP8266, etc.)
  • USB cable to connect your device to your computer

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Build and Download Firmware

  1. Build your custom firmware for your device on meshforge.org
  2. When the build completes, download the compressed firmware archive

2. Extract Firmware Files

Extract the downloaded archive to a folder. You should see the following files:

  • firmware.bin - Main application binary
  • firmware.factory.bin - Factory application binary
  • firmware.elf - ELF debug file (not needed for flashing)
  • partitions.bin - Partition table binary
  • bootloader.bin - Bootloader binary

3. Flash Using ESPTool

  1. Open ESP Tool Web Flasher in your browser
  2. Connect your ESP device to your computer via USB
  3. Select the appropriate COM port (or device) when prompted
  4. Configure the flash settings using the following memory offsets:

Memory Offsets

| Offset | File | Description | | --------- | ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 0x1000 | bootloader.bin | Second-stage bootloader binary | | 0x8000 | partitions.bin | Partition table that defines data and application partition locations | | 0x10000 | firmware.factory.bin | Main application (factory) binary | | 0xe000 | boot_app0.bin | Boot application file (if included in your firmware package) |

Note: Some configurations may include additional data partitions like NVS (Non-Volatile Storage) or Wi-Fi calibration data at their defined offsets. Only flash files that are present in your extracted firmware folder.

4. Complete the Flash Process

  1. Click the flash/upload button in ESP Tool
  2. Wait for the flashing process to complete
  3. You should see a success message when finished

5. Reboot Your Device

  1. Disconnect and reconnect your ESP device, or
  2. Press the reset button on your device, or
  3. Use the reset command in ESP Tool if available

Your device should now be running the custom firmware!

Troubleshooting

  • Device not detected: Make sure you have the correct USB drivers installed for your ESP device
  • Flash failed: Verify that you're using the correct memory offsets for your device model
  • Device won't boot: Ensure all required files (bootloader, partitions, and firmware) were flashed successfully