Will be using : http://daflabs.com/esp8266-esp12-breakout-board.html
###Getting started: There were a crazy lot of issues when I just tried to connect and get a response from the board, most of them were beacause I was using Arduino Uno to get the communications, which ofcourse won't work because of the board doesn't work on 5V for RX and TX connections.
I had to then order an CP2102 - from Daflabs, after the connections were all successfully done, I finally got the response from the board. This is how the connections are supposed to be:
5V ---> Vin of the break out board.
GND ---> GND.
RX ---> Tx of the board.
TX --->RX of the board.
.--- On the break out board ---.
CHPD --->3.3V.
VCC ---> Vin.
I015 --->GND.
IO02 --->3.3V of CP2102 ( it just needs 3.3V, it doesn't care where it is coming from.).
###Using the ESP8266 break out board
Right after connecting the boards, plug in the CP2102 to your system. In my case, I am using a Mac Machine, you will need to download the drivers for your system from [here] (https://www.silabs.com/products/mcu/Pages/USBtoUARTBridgeVCPDrivers.aspx) .
Once the drivers are installed, you can simply go into the Arduino IDE, select the serial port (in case of Mac , it shows up as "/dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART" , it should be similar to this on a linux machine too.
Select NL and CR on the monitor with 9600 baud. For resetting the board, connect RST on the board to the GND for a sec, you will see the blue LED blinking and viola, you are done. You should see "ready"being printed on the screen.
Now all the AT commands should work.
I have followed this instructable to make it all work: http://www.instructables.com/id/Getting-Started-with-the-ESP8266-ESP-12/step6/Setup-the-Communication-parameters/
Brilliant links:
1.http://hackaday.com/2015/03/18/how-to-directly-program-an-inexpensive-esp8266-wifi-module/ 2.http://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.14/tutorials/Programming/serialwifi.html 3.http://www.limpkin.fr/index.php?post/2014/12/07/First-Steps-with-the-ESP8266-03-Development-Board