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Troubleshooting

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Chris Mullins edited this page Jun 20, 2020 · 9 revisions

This guide will walk you through common ways in which an ESP8266 running esp8266_milight_hub can fail or perform poorly.

Hardware

A dead ESP8266 is usually pretty obvious -- if you can't flash the firmware or it won't boot, you should try replacing the module.

A defective or miswired radio module is harder to spot. Some suggestions:

Wiring

  • Double-check wiring guide. This blog post details the hookup.
  • Use pin and headers or soldered joints instead of jumper cables wherever possible. They're far more reliable.
  • Make sure that there are no stray wires causing shorts on ESP8266 and nRF pins. Test that all pins on the ESP8266 are working as expected.

Bad wiring can cause crashes or hangs when sending commands.

Bad radio module

Knockoff NRF24L01s are very common, and have relatively poor build quality.

Here are some diagnostic suggestions:

  • If you can flash the firmware and load the webpage, but not send or receive packets, and you're sure the nRF is wired correctly, it's likely you have a faulty module.
  • Note that it's possible that you'll be able to receive, but not send packets.
  • Several users have reported that switching to a new radio module solves their problems.
  • It is also worth adding a 10µF capacitor between Vin and Gnd on the NRF24.
  • The easiest way to rule out a bad radio module is to set up a second instance of espMH (meaning a 2nd ESP8266+nRF24 combo) to see if you can intercept packets from the original.
  • At least one user has reported being able to send and receive packets, seen from one instance of the espMH when sending from another, but still was unable to control bulbs. Switching the nRF24 fixed the issue (see #498 for reference).

Mislabeled pins

Sometimes ESP8266 dev boards have mislabeled pins. Usually the pinouts you find online will have the correct order.

Range

Try sending commands when the module is right next to the device you're trying to control. Radio modules have a fair amount of variation in range capabilities. If the one you're using sucks, try another one.

Interference

Both the ESP8266 and the nRF24L01 operate in the 2.4 GHz spectrum. As such, it's possible that they interfere with each other. If you're experiencing range or reliability problems, try increasing the distance that the two modules are separated by.

A setup where the ESP8266 and the nRF24 are back-to-back can perform significantly worse than the same boards with a jumper cable separating the two chips.

Make sure sends work

If you're sure hardware is working, but your devices aren't responding, the next step is to make sure that the ESP8266 is actually sending packets. To do this:

  • Enable sniffing in the UI. Packets should show up. If they do, then the ESP at least thinks it sent a packet. However, sent packets will show up regardless of whether the radio actually processed them.
  • Set up another ESP8266 with an nRF and flash esp8266_milight_hub on it as well. Enable sniffing on that second ESP while sending commands with the first.

If all else fails...

Please open an issue and include the following information:

  • Mention that you've run through this troubleshooting guide.
  • Which ESP8266 board you're using (nodemcu, esp12f, etc.)
  • Which version of the firmware you're using.
  • Whether you built the firmware yourself, or used a pre-compiled binary.
  • The model number of the device you're trying to control (see this product catalog).
  • Which radio type you're using (RGBW, RGB+CCT, etc.)
  • The output of http://milight-hub.local/settings and http://milight-hub.local/about. You might need to substitute milight-hub.local for the IP of your ESP, and Make sure to redact any passwords!
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