This article assumes you have uploaded ESPHome firmware to your microcontroller - one way or another.
If you have provisioned the microcontroller with generic ESPHome firmware, and you haven’t yet configured the WiFi access details, then now is the time to do this.
A device must connect to WiFi in order to become visible and manageable in ESPHome.
Connecting New Device To WiFi
Part of the default ESPHome provisioning firmware is improv_serial (improv via BLE is available only for microcontrollers that support bluetooth - ESP32 S2 for example does not support bluetooth).
Improv_serial lets you connect to your microcontroller via USB cable. You can then configure its WiFi parameters.
Improv_serial works with all microcontrollers because it is a functionality of the ESPHome firmware. Do not confuse it with firmware upload over USB which always requires a special firmware upload mode to enable the ESP32 boot loader. This mode is causing issues with boards like ESP32 S2 Mini. Improv and any other ESPHome feature like OTA wireless updates are not affected and work like a charm.
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Connect the microcontroller via USB cable to your computer. Do not enable firmware update mode. If in doubt, press the reset button once.
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Make sure you closed all other tools (i.e. the Adafruit flasher). Then open theESPHome Web Tools in your browser.
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Click CONNECT, and select the microcontroller in the dialog. Then click the three dot menu and choose Configure Wi-Fi.
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A dialog opens. Note the temporary device name (i.e. esphome-web-8b87ca). With this name will the device surface in ESPHome Dashboard once you configured WiFi.
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Click CONNECT TO WI-FI, select the WiFi SSID you want to connect to, and click CONNECT. After a few seconds, you get a confirmation that the device is now fully configured.
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(content created Jun 04, 2024 - last updated Jul 12, 2024)