I have had wled running on an ESP32 for a few months now all working fine. It was setup to come on automatically at sunset which it did. The other day it turned on, flashed, and then went offline. When I checked, it appears the ESP32 is completely dead.
If i plug the ESP into my laptop it shows up under Ports as USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM6), but no lights are on the ESP32. It was powered by USB.
Is this a normal issue or just a bad chip?
thanks
ESP32 could last for years if it is powered and wired correctly . In all cases if you see the MCU once you plug it into laptop that would mean your hw is hopefully fine , re-flash your MCU from here WLED installation (wled-install.github.io) to test . You might also have a better luck using USB/TTL to flash if all fails
On the other hand if you power a lot of leds from MCU pins or just testing and experimenting then failed MCU is not uncommon at least in our case . Good luck
Hello
I tried reflashing but just got the following error
Failed to initialize. Try resetting your device or holding the BOOT button while clicking INSTALL.
I was running a WS2812B 1m strip containing 144 lights which I don’t believe is excessive to run from USB power supply.
I’m aware of UAB/TTL but not familiar, is there a good website/youtube to follow?
thank you 
Yeah search in you tube for “flash esp32 with usb /TTL” or “flash esp32 with uart” and you will see examples . And 144 pixels is somewhat excessive and could even be worst if you used that with high brightness . In all cases if you could flash it and use the pins then history is not important
Hi
The amount of leds is not important to the output pin, since the pin only has to send the data to the first led in a strip. Data to the other leds is produced by the leds themselves.
When having the leds and the esp on the same power supply, there might be some stress on the esp due to low voltage. but usually it browns out and resets.
Keep in mind, these boards are produced in China with not the highest standards.
So some part might just give up. From the approx. 200 esps I have used the last years only 5 - 10 had real troubles and were replaced.
You will always see the USB port, because the USB comm is on a separate chip.
You could try to power the esp with 3,3V on the respective pin. maybe the PSU chip is broken.
Usually an AMS1117-3.3.
I’ve had one that lasted only a few days, but several others are plugged in for more than 600 days and still running strong. They will fail eventually, that is for sure. 
Amount of leds is important if you power them from MCU pins which is what could be the case if your read the OP post
How do you -
?
An ESP8266/32 is only going to be able to supply enough power for a few LEDs if you tried to get power from a GPIO pin (not typically done)
If you’re talking about running your power supply directly to the MCU board and then from there to the LEDs, that’s a wiring size issue. The MCU doesn’t care if you happen to grab power for something else from the same pins that it uses for power. It’s not a great idea to try and drive 25W of LEDs through that connection as it probably isn’t designed to handle 5A of current, but the MCU itself couldn’t care less.
I’d suggest that most “burned out” MCUs are overloaded power connection issues. Electronics are pretty robust these days. If you don’t overheat them (they really hate that), keep the power voltages where they should be and don’t try and write the flash devices more than they spec, they’ll last a very long time.
This might sound a little picky, but it’s important to remember, power supplies for LEDs are (should be) a separate issue from data supply. Your MCU is the data supply, where wiring is simple. Power needs a little more thought and bigger wires. The tendency is to use “all-in-one” solutions for power/data like USB warts etc. This is easier to get started, but not really effective once you get past 10’s of LEDs (YMMV).
To long to read and you are confusing me with the OP , if you read what he said "I was running a WS2812B 1m strip containing 144 lights which I don’t believe is excessive to run from USB power supply. " what does that tell you ?
I understand you’re not the OP, my response was exactly to the point - about using a USB power supply for more than 10’s of LEDs.
If it’s TLDR for you, then you won’t get why that’s less than desirable.
i am the one who confused you with another person harueg , sorry divsys i need new glasses
Thank you guys for taking time to reply. So if I understand what you guys are saying, it is better to power the lights independently which in turn will preserve the ESP32. I’m new to this so I’m still learning.
Yep, in a nutshell.
Treat your ESP32 as a data source for your LEDs it just needs a modest, preferably dedicated power supply (probably 5V).
Your LEDs need potentially much more (good) power, so wire them up that way with their supply.
Look at https://quinled.info he is making devices with esp32 called Dig-Uno and others.
They are handling everything, like level shifting and powering of the LEDs and there is a ton of info about how many amps can be pulled through the ESP chip, and how many amps the different types of LEDs use.
The ESP chip can only power very few LEDs directly, and as it also only gives out 3.3V on data, and the LEDs run on 5v, the output should be boosted to 5v,which it also handles with a level shifter.
I’ve used dig-uno’s everywhere, and I’ve had esp8266 and esp32 running for years without any problems.