[ERROR] WiFi board not found

yikes. any ideas? I’m trying to do a firmware update the way the official website says to but no luck.
Sorry if it’s in the wrong topic but there is no gpio or wifiboard topic here, and im using all oficcial stuff.
also- the blackmagic network doesnt show up anywhere and i cant broadcast one from ssid in marauder.

PowerShell 7.3.8

PS C:\Users\chris> py -m pip install --upgrade ufbt

Requirement already satisfied: ufbt in c:\users\chris\appdata\local\programs\python\python312\lib\site-packages (0.2.4.3)

PS C:\Users\chris> python3 -m ufbt devboard_flash

scons: Entering directory `C:\Users\chris.ufbt\current\scripts\ufbt’

←[1;35m

fbt: warning: Folder app: manifest application.fam is missing

←[0m←[33m←[33mLoadAppManifest, line 33, ←[0min file “C:\Users\chris.ufbt\current\scripts\fbt_tools\fbt_apps.py”

←[0mpython C:\Users\chris.ufbt\current\scripts/wifi_board.py

2023-10-22 19:30:03,219 [ERROR] WiFi board not found

2023-10-22 19:30:03,219 [INFO] Please connect WiFi board to your computer, hold down BOOT button and press RESET button

scons: *** [phony_devboard_flash] Error 1

PS C:\Users\chris>

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were you ever able to find a solution to this? i have the exact same error, and this is the only post on all of the internet that seems to show this exact same error.

10

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I’m getting this same issue, and found only this thread and one other on this forum. Maybe there’s a swath of dev boards that are borked?

I had initially started following a different guide that had me install two driver packages, but either they’re incorrectly installed or they don’t apply to this board.

Hopefully there is some resolution soon. I’m currently going the stupid long way and installing the build toolchain in VS Code.

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Same here. I’ve attempted to follow all of the tutorials, both official and unofficial. I get some responses from the dev board, but I’m unable to get it to actually engage the Wifi.

It’s strange, I don’t see any output from the terminal (using Putty) except for when I press “reset” on the board. And then, it dumps this every time:

 ESP-ROM:esp32s2-rc4-20191025
Build:Oct 25 2019
rst:0x1 (POWERON),boot:0x8 (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)
SPIWP:0xee
mode:DIO, clock div:1
load:0x3ffe6100,len:0x484
load:0x4004c000,len:0x82c
load:0x40050000,len:0x26b4
entry 0x4004c16c

But I can see the TX and RX icons and counters respond when I type into Putty.

My guess is that the Wifi chip is bad. From your (and others’) post, it looks like I’m not alone.

I eventually made mine operable by, if I recall correctly, following this guide as demonstrated in this video.

Hope that helps!

@muraii - Thanks so much for your response and for sharing the links.

I’ve done the same update multiple times - I even tried older versions (that matched the version in the videos) just to rule out any issues with the current version.

The update finds my dev board (on COM6 on my Windows11 system) and always finishes successfully. After plugging the dev board into my Flipper, launching [ESP32] WiFi Marauder, and starting a Scan for “ap”, I get no output on the screen (besides “Press BACK to send stopscan”).

None of the commands produce any response. This makes me think that something with the WiFi chip is the problem, since the board responds correctly to the updates.

I’m going to file a support request and see if I get any help from Flipper directly.

Thanks again for taking time to respond! I hope this helps others.

Ok - some incremental progress. (I’m VERY stubborn and will keep trying things until I find a way…)

I finally got the official Flipper DevBoard firmware to install successfully. My breakthrough was:

  • I connected to a Mac instead of Windows system
  • I used the USB cable that came with my Flipper to connect to the DevBoard (even though the other cable I tried worked just fine with the Flipper)
  • I used the button press sequence listed on the link above
  • I ran the Python commands listed on the link above
  • After seeing several errors previously (on my PC), it finally completed successfully on my Mac.

I’m still not able to get any output to show when I send commands to the DevBoard (connecting my PC or Mac to the Flipper, using GPIO).

Alrighty - I have some success, at least getting the Wifi to respond. This seems to dis-prove my previous idea about the Wifi chip being a problem.

I was able to get the official firmware restored and it started the built-in Wifi access point. I was able to easily connect to it with my PC and open the Web page at http://192.168.4.1:

Here’s what I did:

  1. Hold the Boot button on the DevBoard while connecting the USB cable to the PC (or Mac?)
  2. Use Option 4 from the Marauder Flasher Script to flash Blackmagic
  3. Connect to my Mac with the USB cable that came with the Flipper (not sure if this would have also worked on the PC at this point)
  4. Run the Firmware update script on the official DevBoard page python3 -m ufbt devboard_flash
  5. Follow the instructions on the official Get started with the Dev Board page

I still haven’t been able to run Marauder successfully (going to work on that next), but at least this is progress and demonstrates that the Wifi works successfully.

Stubbornness is a virtue, at least conditionally. I was compelled to spend like five or six hours yesterday tracking down a technical issue (unrelated to the Flipper). Sometimes it’s the only way.

I appreciate that you’re being very thorough with documenting your progress. This is the kind of post someone hopes to find.

Cheerio!

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OMG! I think I just figured out the problem!! The pins on my Dev Board aren’t all making full contact with the Flipper Zero, unless I apply a bit of pressure.

To make matters worse, I ordered the Silicone Case with my Flipper Zero. It’s pretty nice and seem to offer quite a bit of protection, but it also adds a bit of additional space between the Dev Board and the Flipper.

So, when I press down a bit on the top of the Dev Board, things work fine. When I don’t, it will receive commands, but fails to give any output.

:man_shrugging:

I’m not sure if that’s enough of an issue to warrant replacing of the Flipper or the Dev Board…

Update: Aaaaand I just realized that I have to press down until it clicks… Definitely an ID-TEN-T error on my part… (ID10T)

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Good to know. My flipper on its way. But i have my dev board here already. Question: can i flash dev board thru phons or onkt rhru a computer?

I used a PC to flash my DevBoard. Something like this:

  • Download the Marauder firmware from the link above, extract to a folder on your PC
  • Hold the Boot button on the DevBoard
  • Plug a USB-C cable (connected to your PC, WHILE HOLDING the Boot button)
  • Release the Boot button
  • Run the Flash.bat file; if you see options then you’re good to go (Choose Option 1 to install Marauder)

I’ve done this process successfully several times since posting above. Everything is working swimmingly for me now - my biggest problem was that I didn’t have the board properly secured into the Flipper (stupid n00b move on my part).

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OK, I was facing the same issue that my computer doesn’t recognize the board to flash the device, so my steps to fix this:

  1. Unplug the usb-c from your wifi board
  2. Hold the BOOT button and plug it
  3. Run the command
ls /dev/cu.*

and if you see /dev/cu.usbmodem01 then you can run the flash command to flash the firmware without issues

after the flash press RESET button and then the device is ready to use