Esp32 OTA fails despite working with web browser

johnww · November 2, 2023, 9:03pm

I have loaded the esp32 (over USB initially) with the ElegantOTA examples and it works perfectly if I connect to the device with a web browser over WiFi and upload a .bin file but I can’t get it to work from PlatformIO direct.

Checking with Wireshark, Platformio is attempting to connect to the correct port on the esp32 via WiFi but with UDP. Is there a setting I need to put in Platformio.ini or somewhere else to make it use TCP?
mDNS is resolving to the correct IP address.

I have spent some time hunting for this and have found many problems associated with esp32 OTA (and fixes for most) but can find no reference to “upload_protocol = espota” using UDP or TCP.

This is my Platformio.ini file:

[env:esp12e]
platform = espressif32
board = nodemcu-32s
framework = arduino
lib_deps =
marvinroger/AsyncMqttClient@^0.9.0
ottowinter/ESPAsyncWebServer-esphome@^3.1.0
ayushsharma82/ElegantOTA@^3.1.0
upload_protocol = espota
upload_port = esp32-chint.local
upload_flags = --port=80
#upload_port = /dev/ttyUSB0
#upload_speed = 921600
monitor_speed = 115200
build_flags=-DELEGANTOTA_USE_ASYNC_WEBSERVER=1

John.

maxgerhardt · November 3, 2023, 11:43am

Custom fancy shmancy OTA libraries need their custom fancy shmancy upload scripts. The repo https://github.com/ayushsharma82/ElegantOTA has platformio_upload.py for that purpose. You have to follow their instructions to use it.

github.com

ayushsharma82/ElegantOTA/blob/master/platformio_upload.py#L3-L13


      
          # To use:
          # - copy this script into the same folder as your platformio.ini
          # - set the following for your project in platformio.ini:
          #
          # extra_scripts = platformio_upload.py
          # upload_protocol = custom
          # upload_url = <your upload URL>
          # 
          # An example of an upload URL:
          #                upload_url = http://192.168.1.123/update 
          # also possible: upload_url = http://domainname/update

This would work if you used the builtin ArduinoOTA library, which you are not.

johnww · November 3, 2023, 12:05pm

Thanks very much Max. Working now.

I tried using the builtin ArduinoOTA library first but there were several dependency problems within the library that stopped it compiling so I just looked for a different one and this was the first I tried. I didn’t spot that it needed the extra fancy shmancy script to actually make it work.

Best regards
John.