WeMos D1 R2 ESP8266 + 32 Mb flash WiFi RobotDyn + WLED ESP8266

I have a WeMos D1 R2 ESP8266 + 32 Mb flash WiFi RobotDyn which looks as follows.



When plugged in, the WiFi network appeared with the default name so it can be considered to be working. I bought it with the idea of uploading WLED firmware and making it into a driver for Christmas lights on WS2811 LEDs according to the kno.wled.ge/ project.

The firmware upload itself is working fine. I tried doing it on line from the install.wled.me website I also had a bin downloaded from github uploaded according to various tutorials from the site. I also tried uploading the module into flash mode by shorting D3 (GPIO0) to ground and pressing reset - then the SCK diode lights up. After flashing finished, I shorted D3 (GPIO0) to 5V and reset to make the diode go off. Unfortunately the wifi doesn't start, no default network appears so it's not possible to go to the configuration, which is done via the browser or the app. Not sure where the problem lies.

The second problem is that there is no original flash on which I could check if WiFi still works at all. The manufacturer's website does not provide anything for this model, on the internet also everything for the D1 or D1 mini version with 4 Mb of flash only available.

The creator of the whole batch states that it works on Wemos D1 mini and Wemos D1 mini pro with ESP8266 so why would it not work on my D1 R2?

sq6hzs wrote:

After the flashing is finished, short D3 (GPIO0) to 5V and reset to make the diode go off.

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And presumably the ESP went out too, this circuit works at 3.3V.

Not likely, it tolerates 5V on the pins.

Greetings

Slawek K. wrote:

tolerates 5V on pins

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But not on all of them.

sq6hzs wrote:

It is not clear where the problem lies.

I don't know the configurations in which you are using this particular D1 and whether you are uploading the program correctly. But the issue is the power supply. If you're powering from USB then in these R2 boards from RobotDyn and the older original D1R1 from Wemos, there's a problem with keeping the 3.3V correct for ESP. And ESP is very much "jerking" the power supply when WiFi is on. The cause of the trouble is the use of the grandfatherly ASM1117-3.3, which has a considerable dropout and, when there are some voltage drops on the hub and on some poor USB cable, cause the board to behave strangely to say the least, or simply give the impression of being damaged, which I have experienced myself.
In the case of the D1 mini or the original large D1 R2 from Wemos (Lolin), this problem does not exist because decent true LDO stabilisers are used to achieve 3.3V.

So if you are powering from USB, then try with the choice of USB cable, the choice of socket you plug it into, e.g. a USB charger may be better than a computer or hub connector. And ideally maybe use an external power supply through the latter socket e.g. 12V.
For programming you can use an Arduino with ESP support pre-installed, as these boards (large D1) are supported there.

Slawek K. wrote:

Rather not, it tolerates 5V on the pins.

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It does not tolerate it on any, but that does not mean it will immediately fail.

I have tested in practice, it tolerates and nothing happens, it has worked for 2 years. I have DS18 and capacitive sensors powered by 5V.

Greetings

I did some tests today by installing the oldest WLED flash available and surprisingly the access point worked. Of course I couldn't do any further configuration, but at least we know that wifi is working and the chip programming itself is also working properly. There is no need to short-circuit GPIO0 to ground before flashing as it does it automatically. The only thing that needs to be done is to reboot the device after flashing to get it to boot in normal mode. Seemingly a little progress, but ultimately nothing works.