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H9Crawler edited this page Apr 24, 2026 · 1 revision

🩺 Troubleshooting & ❓ FAQ

Having an issue? This page covers the most common problems and frequently asked questions about EthiFi.

💡 Tip: Before reporting an issue, check this page first — most problems have a simple fix.

📋 Table of Contents

Troubleshooting

FAQ

🩺 Troubleshooting

🔴 Board not detected / No COM port

Symptoms: Board is plugged in but nothing appears in Device Manager or Arduino IDE under Ports.

Fixes:

1. 🔧 Install the correct USB driver for your board's chip — see Driver Installation

Chip Driver
CP2102 Silicon Labs
CH340G WCH

These can be changed in the Web UI settings.

💬 Can I use EthiFi on battery?

✅ Yes. The ESP8266 runs on 3.3V but most dev boards accept 5V via USB. Options:

  • 🔋 USB power bank — plug in via micro-USB, works out of the box
  • 🔋 DSTIKE boards — have a built-in 18650 battery connector
  • 🔋 Wemos D1 Mini — can be paired with a battery shield addon

Make sure your power source can supply at least 500mA — the ESP8266 draws more current during WiFi transmissions.

💬 How do I update EthiFi?

To update to a newer version of EthiFi:

Option A — NodeMCU Flasher:

  1. Download the latest .bin from EthiFi Releases
  2. Flash it the same way as the initial install — see Installation — NodeMCU Flasher

Option B — Arduino IDE:

  1. Download the latest source code
  2. Compile and upload — see Installation — Arduino IDE

⚠️ Updating will not erase your saved settings unless you choose to erase flash.

💬 How do I reset EthiFi to defaults?

Method 1 — Arduino IDE: Go to Tools → Erase Flash → All Flash Contents, then re-flash the firmware. This wipes everything including saved settings.

Method 2 — Web UI: Go to Settings in the Web UI and look for the reset option.

💬 My question isn't here

If your issue isn't listed here:

  1. 📖 Check the rest of the Home — your answer may be on another page
  2. 🔍 Search existing GitHub Issues — someone may have already asked
  3. 🐛 Open a new Issue on GitHub with details about your problem

➡️ Related Pages

<div align="center">

🌐 haybnz.web.app  ·  🐙 GitHub  ·  📖 Home

</div> # 🩺 Troubleshooting & ❓ FAQ

Having an issue? This page covers the most common problems and frequently asked questions about EthiFi.

💡 Tip: Before reporting an issue, check this page first — most problems have a simple fix.

📋 Table of Contents

Troubleshooting

FAQ

🩺 Troubleshooting

🔴 Board not detected / No COM port

Symptoms: Board is plugged in but nothing appears in Device Manager or Arduino IDE under Ports.

Fixes:

1. 🔧 Install the correct USB driver for your board's chip — see Driver Installation

Chip Driver
CP2102 [Silicon Labs](https://www.silabs.com/developers/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers)
CH340G [WCH](https://www.wch-ic.com/downloads/CH341SER_EXE.html)

2. 🔌 Try a different USB cable — the majority of cheap cables are charge-only and carry no data

3. 🖥️ Try a different USB port on your computer

4. 🔄 Restart your computer after installing the driver

5. 🪟 On Windows — open Device Manager and look for any ⚠️ unknown devices, right-click and update driver manually

6. 🐧 On Linux — add yourself to the dialout group:

sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER

Then log out and back in.

🔴 Flash fails or disconnects mid-flash

Symptoms: Progress bar stops, flasher reports an error, or the board disconnects during flashing.

Fixes:

1. 🔁 Hold the FLASH / BOOT button on your board while clicking Flash, release once it starts

2. 📉 Lower the baud rate in your flasher — try 115200 instead of 460800 or 921600

3. 🔌 Make sure no other application is using the COM port (close serial monitors, other IDEs)

4. 🔋 Use a powered USB hub or plug directly into the computer — some USB ports don't supply enough power

5. 📏 Try a shorter USB cable — long cables can cause signal issues

6. 🔄 Try a different USB port or cable

🔴 Wrong flash size selected

Symptoms: Firmware flashes successfully but the board crashes on boot, the Web UI doesn't load, or settings don't save.

Fixes:

1. Check the correct flash size for your module — see Installation → Flash Size section

Module Flash Size
ESP-01 (old) 512 KB
ESP-01 (new) 1 MB
NodeMCU / ESP-12E 4 MB
Wemos D1 Mini 4 MB

2. Re-flash the firmware with the correct size selected

3. If using Arduino IDE, also erase flash first: Tools → Erase Flash → All Flash Contents

🔴 Web UI not loading at 192.168.4.1

Symptoms: Browser shows "site can't be reached" or times out when visiting http://192.168.4.1.

Fixes:

1. 📶 Make sure you are connected to the EthiFi WiFi — not your home router

2. 📵 Disable mobile data on your phone — Android and iOS may silently switch away from WiFi with no internet

3. 🌐 Use http:// explicitly — not https:// — the board does not support HTTPS

4. 🔄 Try a different browser or open in private/incognito mode

5. 🗑️ Clear your browser cache and try again

6. ⏳ Wait 10–15 seconds after the board powers on before connecting — it needs time to boot

7. 🔌 Try power-cycling the board (unplug and replug)

🔴 Arduino IDE won't show Deauther boards

Symptoms: You can't find "Deauther ESP8266 Boards" in the Board Manager or Tools menu.

Fixes:

1. Double-check the board URL was added correctly — go to File → Preferences and confirm this URL is in Additional Boards Manager URLs:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SpacehuhnTech/arduino/main/package_spacehuhn_index.json

2. 🔄 Restart Arduino IDE after adding or changing the URL

3. Go to Tools → Board → Boards Manager, search deauther, and confirm it shows Installed

4. Make sure you have a working internet connection when downloading boards

5. If behind a firewall or proxy, the boards manager URL may be blocked — try on a different network

🔴 Upload fails in Arduino IDE

Symptoms: Upload starts but fails with an error like esptool.py failed to connect or timeout.

Fixes:

1. ✅ Select the correct COM port under Tools → Port — it must match your board

2. 🔌 Close any open serial monitors or other apps using the port

3. 🔘 Press and hold the BOOT / FLASH button on your board when uploading, release once you see Connecting...

4. Lower the upload speed — in Tools → Upload Speed, try 115200

5. Make sure you've selected a board under Deauther ESP8266 Boards — not a generic ESP8266 board

🔴 Board not working after flash

Symptoms: Board was flashed successfully but doesn't broadcast a WiFi network or seems unresponsive.

Fixes:

1. 🔌 Power cycle the board — unplug and reconnect

2. ⏳ Wait at least 15 seconds — first boot can take longer than expected

3. 🧹 Erase the flash completely and re-flash: in Arduino IDE go to Tools → Erase Flash → All Flash Contents, then flash again

4. Double-check the flash size was correct for your module

5. Try opening a serial monitor at baud rate 115200 to see boot messages and error output

🔴 Can't find the EthiFi WiFi network

Symptoms: After flashing, no WiFi network named EthiFi appears.

Fixes:

1. ⏳ Wait 15–20 seconds after powering on — the board takes time to boot

2. 🔄 Power cycle the board and scan again

3. 📶 Make sure your device's WiFi is turned on and actively scanning

4. Open a serial monitor at 115200 baud to see if the board is booting correctly

5. Try re-flashing the firmware — the board may have flashed incorrectly

Default SSID: EthiFi · Default Password: deauther

❓ FAQ

💬 What is EthiFi?

EthiFi is an open-source, affordable WiFi security research platform built on the ESP8266 microcontroller. It lets you learn about common WiFi attack techniques — like deauthentication and beacon flooding — in a hands-on way, using hardware that costs as little as $3.

💬 Does EthiFi work on ESP32?

❌ No. EthiFi is written specifically for the ESP8266. The ESP32 has a different architecture and is not compatible. Make sure you are using an ESP8266-based board — see Supported Devices.

💬 Is EthiFi legal?

It depends entirely on how and where you use it.

  • ✅ Legal — testing on networks you own, or with explicit written permission from the owner
  • ✅ Legal — using in isolated lab environments for research and learning
  • ❌ Illegal — using on any network you don't own or have permission to test

Laws vary by country. Unauthorized WiFi interference may violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), EU Directive 2013/40/EU, or equivalent laws in your jurisdiction.

Always get permission. Always.

💬 What is a deauth attack?

A deauthentication (deauth) attack exploits a weakness in the 802.11 WiFi standard. It works by sending forged deauthentication frames to a client, telling it that it has been disconnected from the access point.

Because these frames are part of the original WiFi specification and are not authenticated, any device can send them — and any device will respond by disconnecting.

This is a known protocol-level vulnerability, not a flaw in any specific device. WPA3 addresses this with Management Frame Protection (MFP).

💬 Can EthiFi hack passwords?

❌ No. EthiFi cannot capture or crack WiFi passwords. It does not perform packet injection of encrypted frames, and it does not run brute-force or dictionary attacks.

EthiFi is a disruption and monitoring tool for learning — not a password cracker.

💬 What is the default login?

When EthiFi boots, it creates a WiFi access point:

🔑 Setting 📝 Value
📶 SSID EthiFi
🔐 Password deauther
🌐 Web UI http://192.168.4.1

These can be changed in the Web UI settings.

💬 Can I use EthiFi on battery?

✅ Yes. The ESP8266 runs on 3.3V but most dev boards accept 5V via USB. Options:

  • 🔋 USB power bank — plug in via micro-USB, works out of the box
  • 🔋 DSTIKE boards — have a built-in 18650 battery connector
  • 🔋 Wemos D1 Mini — can be paired with a battery shield addon

Make sure your power source can supply at least 500mA — the ESP8266 draws more current during WiFi transmissions.

💬 How do I update EthiFi?

To update to a newer version of EthiFi:

Option A — NodeMCU Flasher:

  1. Download the latest .bin from [EthiFi Releases](https://github.com/h9zdev/EthiFi/releases)
  2. Flash it the same way as the initial install — see Installation — NodeMCU Flasher

Option B — Arduino IDE:

  1. Download the latest source code
  2. Compile and upload — see Installation — Arduino IDE

⚠️ Updating will not erase your saved settings unless you choose to erase flash.

💬 How do I reset EthiFi to defaults?

Method 1 — Arduino IDE: Go to Tools → Erase Flash → All Flash Contents, then re-flash the firmware. This wipes everything including saved settings.

Method 2 — Web UI: Go to Settings in the Web UI and look for the reset option.

💬 My question isn't here

If your issue isn't listed here:

  1. 📖 Check the rest of the Home — your answer may be on another page
  2. 🔍 Search existing [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/h9zdev/EthiFi/issues) — someone may have already asked
  3. 🐛 [Open a new Issue](https://github.com/h9zdev/EthiFi/issues/new) on GitHub with details about your problem

➡️ Related Pages

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