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HowTo Troubleshoot

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miswired edited this page Feb 7, 2026 · 3 revisions

How To: Troubleshoot Common Issues

This guide helps diagnose and resolve common problems with Glitchy.

Quick Diagnosis

Symptom Jump to Section
Device won't power on Power Issues
Can't find WiFi network WiFi Issues
Web interface won't load Web Interface Issues
Glitches never succeed Glitching Issues
No power trace visible Power Analysis Issues
Upload/flash fails Development Issues

Power Issues

Device doesn't turn on

Symptoms: No LEDs, no WiFi network, no response

Solutions:

  1. Check USB cable

    • Some cables are charge-only (no data)
    • Try a different known-good cable

  2. Try different USB port

    • Front panel ports may have insufficient power
    • Try a port directly on the computer

  3. Check power source

    • Computer USB: Ensure computer is on and not sleeping
    • USB adapter: Ensure it provides 5V/500mA minimum

  4. Inspect the board

    • Look for visible damage
    • Check for loose components
    • Smell for burning (disconnect immediately if detected)

Device turns on but behaves erratically

Solutions:

  1. Reset the device

    • Press and hold RST button for 2 seconds
    • Wait for complete reboot

  2. Check SD card

    • Remove, reinsert SD card
    • Verify card is formatted FAT32
    • Verify GUI files are present

WiFi Issues

Can't find Glitchy WiFi network

Symptoms: Network doesn't appear in WiFi list

Solutions:

  1. Wait a moment

    • WiFi starts within a few seconds of power-on
    • Refresh your WiFi list

  2. Reset the device

    • Press RST button
    • Wait for WiFi to restart

  3. Verify mode

    • Device might be in Client mode, not AP mode
    • Check if you previously configured Client mode
    • Re-flash firmware to restore AP mode

  4. Check for interference

    • Move closer to the device
    • Reduce WiFi congestion (2.4GHz band)

Note: The WiFi AP broadcasts independently of the SD card. If you can see the network but the web interface doesn't load, check the SD card.

Connected but no internet warning

This is normal. Glitchy creates a local network without internet access. Dismiss the warning and proceed.

WiFi keeps disconnecting

Solutions:

  1. Reduce distance — Move computer closer to device
  2. Reduce interference — Turn off other 2.4GHz devices
  3. Check power supply — Unstable power affects WiFi

Web Interface Issues

Page won't load (connection refused)

Solutions:

  1. Verify WiFi connection

    • Confirm connected to Glitchy network
    • Check IP assignment (should get 192.168.4.x)

  2. Check URL

    • Use http:// not https://
    • Use correct IP: http://192.168.4.1

  3. Try different browser

    • Clear cache and cookies
    • Disable browser extensions
    • Try incognito/private mode

  4. Check SD card

    • Web files served from SD card
    • Verify files exist and are correct version

Page loads but shows errors

Solutions:

  1. Check version compatibility

    • Firmware and Web GUI versions must match
    • Update both if mismatched

  2. Clear browser cache

    • Hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R (Cmd+Shift+R on Mac)
    • Clear site data in browser settings

  3. Check browser console

    • Press F12 → Console tab
    • Look for JavaScript errors

Interface is unresponsive

Solutions:

  1. Check WebSocket connection

    • If controls are unresponsive, the WebSocket connection may have dropped
    • Refresh the page

  2. Reset the device

    • Press RST button
    • Reconnect to WiFi and reload

Glitching Issues

Glitches never succeed

Symptoms: Sweep completes but no success detected

Solutions:

  1. Verify connections

    ESP32-S3          Target
Pin 15 ─[FET]──── VCC
Pin 11 ────────── Trigger input
Pin 12 ────────── Success output
GND ───────────── GND

    Note, while you can connect to the header, it's best to solder directly to the board for a lower resistance connection.

  2. Verify target code

    • Confirm vulnerable code is uploaded
    • Check serial output from target
    • Verify trigger mechanism works

  3. Widen parameter range

    • Decrease shortest_delay_ns (try 100ns)
    • Increase longest_delay_ns (try 2000ns)
    • Decrease step size (try 5ns)

  4. Increase attempts

    • Set num_of_attempts to 5 or 10
    • Glitching has inherent randomness

  5. Check FET circuit

    • Verify FET is connected correctly
    • Check for proper power supply to target

Target keeps resetting

Symptoms: Target resets during or after every glitch

Solutions:

  1. Reduce glitch duration

    • Holding the crowbar down too long will cause a reset, lower your max time

  2. Check power supply

    • Target may need separate power
    • USB power may be insufficient

Occasional successes but not reliable

Solutions:

  1. Narrow the range
    • Note successful parameters
    • Set range to success ±50ns
    • Increase attempts per step
    • Just by the nature of glitching, it may not work every time.

Power Analysis Issues

No power trace visible

Symptoms: Graph shows flat line or only noise

Solutions:

  1. Check analog connections

    • The power connections are running through the correct port
    • Ground connections solid

  2. Adjust bias point

    • Signal may be outside ADC range
    • Center the signal with bias adjustment

  3. Increase gain

    • Signal may be too small to see
    • Increase analog front-end gain

  4. Rsense Adjustment

    • You may need to increase rsense
    • Increase rsense with dip switches to just under the board not working
    • You can optionally install your own resistor value if needed in blank throughhole footprint provided

  5. Verify target operation

    • Target must be performing operations
    • Use key pins to trigger activity

Trace is clipped (flat top/bottom)

Solutions:

  1. Reduce gain — Signal is too large
  2. Adjust bias — Center the signal in range
  3. Check voltage limits — Don't exceed ADC input range (2.5V)
  4. Lower Rsense - Rsense may be too high, providing too large of a signal

Trace is very noisy

Solutions:

  1. Shorten wires — Long wires act as antennas
  2. Use shielded cable — Reduce EMI pickup
  3. Separate power sources — Isolate Glitchy from target power
  4. Increase Rsense - Reduce gain, increase Rsense so you have more signal before amplifying it

Development Issues

PlatformIO upload fails

"No serial port found"

  1. Check USB connection
  2. Install USB drivers
  3. Linux users: Add user to dialout group 
    sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER
# Log out and back in

"Upload failed, timeout"

  1. Enter bootloader mode:

    • Hold BOOT button
    • Press RST button
    • Release RST, then release BOOT
    • Upload within 10 seconds

  2. Try lower upload speed

    • Add to platformio.ini: upload_speed = 115200

"Permission denied"

  1. Linux/macOS: 
    sudo chmod 666 /dev/ttyUSB0
# or add udev rule for permanent fix

Build errors

"Library not found"

pio pkg install
pio pkg update -p espressif32

"Board not found"

pio pkg install -p espressif32

Factory Reset

If all else fails, perform a factory reset:

  1. Re-flash firmware using PlatformIO
  2. Format SD card as FAT32
  3. Copy fresh GUI files from release package
  4. Reset WiFi to AP mode (may require code change)

Getting More Help

If these steps don't resolve your issue:

  1. Search existing issues: GitHub Issues
  2. Open new issue with:
    • Detailed symptom description
    • Steps you've already tried
    • Firmware/GUI versions
    • Hardware setup details
    • Any error messages

See Also

Clone this wiki locally