Flashing WLED to Qt Py Esp32-C3

Questions
1

I have been beating my head against the wall trying to troubleshoot this and really need some outside help (or even just a simple “it doesn’t work” so I can cut my losses). I tried to flash WLED to my new Qt Py Esp32-C3 and I was met with an initialization error (I tried holding the boot button like the popup suggested). I was then able to flash the latest binary to the board with Esp-flasher, but the board doesn’t show up as an AP device. Am I doing this all wrong, or is the C3 version just buggy?

This is the binary I tried: https://github.com/Aircoookie/WLED/releases/download/v0.14.0-b3/WLED_0.14.0-b3_ESP32-C3.bin

2

I have not tried to flash a precompiled binary to a C3, but it is possible to compile and upload WLED to the Xiao version.

3

All new ESPs (S2, S3, and C3) versions are still buggy. :wink: Some people have them working, though. There are some posts in Discord with info.

4

You need:

  • a proper bootloader
  • correct partition map for your flash size
  • WLED binary file

Once you have those you need them flashed at appropriate addresses.
If you compile yourself, PlatformIO does that for you.

5

Some Lolin C3 mini boards have an issue with antenna (also some with the ceramic antenna). Mabe it is also the issue for some Py ESP32-C3 boards. In that case the .bin with integrated WiFi Fix would help. Can be found at https://wled-install.github.io/. But, as other already mentioned, C3 support is still highly experimental.

6

Dawg, that was it!! I was having WiFi issues when I tried to connect to my home network even through an Arduino sketch (it could recognize networks but it couldn’t connect). This was extra frustrating because compiling a binary of WLED using platformio required an IP address for the device. Thanks so much, I really appreciate it :smiling_face: