Programming the ESP8266 Module

Indian 11:22 AM

Recently I bought a 8-channel Wi-Fi based Relay module from the below link:

https://researchdesignlab.com/wifi-8-channel-relay-board-esp8266.html#product_tabs_description_tabbed

The product quality is good and the shipment received was fine. The only problem I faced was how to upgrade the firmware. We could not find any documentation in their website on how to program. Experienced guys can somehow find out on how to do things but beginners definitely shall struggle.

Once you receive the board you should see the following:

1. Relay Board with ESP8266 mounted

2. USB to TTL converter

3. USB Cable

The first step once receiving the board is to program the ESP8266 by mounting it on the USB to TTL converter board. Once the USB cable is connected, the USB to TTL FTDI drivers shall install automatically. Now remove the USB to TTL cable.

Open the NODE MCU firmware software which is used to program the ESP8266 board.

Ensure that following settings are done in the NODE MCU software.

Before starting anything, we have to understand the following things:

1. Default ESP8266 baud rate is 9600bps

2. GPIO0 pin on the ESP8266 to be set to 0 to ensure that module goes to programming mode
3. 22-pin ESP8266MOD is the module used on this board. There are several other different modules available in the market and search for datasheets and relevant information if you want to learn more.

Once all the above settings are done, start the programming process.

Keep pressing S1 button to keep the GPIO0 to 0. Under this state connect the USB-TTL cable and press the S2 switch for more than 1 second and then release. This helps ESP8266 to come out of RESET state. Ensure that S1 is kept pressed.

Once this is done, click flash and you must see the below snapshots in the NODE MCU firmware software.