Flashing the access point

Flashing the access point

From the web page (recommended)

The Flash AP tab is a guide in three steps. It needs Chrome or Edge on a computer.

1. Choose AP. Pick the card for your setup (Choosing a board).
2. Flash. Plug in each board when the page asks and press Connect and flash. With a C6 radio, the C6 comes first, then the S3 on its port marked USB. If a board is not found, hold BOOT while you plug it in. The page checks that the chip is the one the step is for, and reads what is on the board: an AP that runs OpenESL keeps its data, a new board is erased first.
3. WiFi and token. Over the same USB cable, give the AP your WiFi, a name and an API token (WiFi and API token). Keep a copy of the token. An AP that is on your WiFi already keeps it and its token; press Continue, or change them. With the radio over WiFi, the page then gives the C6 the same network and the S3's address.

The last step shows the AP's address and opens its dashboard. The page always flashes the latest release.

Flashing again without losing anything

The AP stores its labels, layouts, WiFi and token in flash (NVS). How you flash decides whether they survive:

Way	Labels, layouts, WiFi, token
Flash AP tab, on an AP that runs OpenESL	kept
Over the air (Dashboard, or esl-client ota ...-ota.bin)	kept
idf.py flash	kept
A release's single openesl-ap-...-v<version>.bin (without -ota) written at 0x0	erased
Flash AP tab, after you choose Erase and flash as new	erased

So the single .bin file is only for a new board or one you erase anyway. Take a backup before anything that erases (Backup and restore).

The page first reads the partition table on the board. The same table as the new firmware's: everything is kept. Nothing there (a new board): the board is erased and flashed. Another table (OpenESL from before 0.3.0, or other firmware): it stops and offers Erase and flash as new, so take a backup first.

ESP32-S3 + ESP32-C6

Both boards are flashed from the web page: the C6 radio first (plain or with screen), then the S3. See ESP32-S3 + C6 and ESP32-S3 with a wireless C6 radio.

Building it yourself

ESP-IDF v5.5.5. Each board has its own settings in ap/boards:

cd ap
python build.py --list             # the boards
python build.py c6-supermini-lcd   # build one board
idf.py -B build-c6-supermini-lcd -p /dev/ttyACM0 flash monitor

More in Building from source.