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BrewFlasher - Windows/MacOS app for flashing ESP8266/ESP32 Brewing Projects

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After messing with the NodeMCU flasher and the Espressif one and the python ones, which are all really the same and probably all worked fine, assuming I had the right settings for flashing the iSpindel, but I was always a bit uncertain about the outcome because documentation and tools' feedback was always kind of sketchy. Yeah, I saw all the forum discussions, but they seemed to always be a matter of the blind leading the blind with a few anecdotal successes using what I considered to be odd settings. No details at all from the iSpindel folks's docs, at least not in English. And just as my expectations were starting to suck yeasty muck through the beer-out tube, I discovered that BrewFlasher supports flashing iSpindel.

And it just... worked. And it told me so. Not too much to ask really.

Thanks guys! :)
 
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I've gotta say this software is a great idea and really easy to use. It's perfect for anyone who want's to build some of the popular IoT projects but doesn't want to code or compile. It's also nice that the software always pulls the most recent versions for each project, so you don't have to go and find it...
 
After messing with the NodeMCU flasher and the Espressif one and the python ones, which are all really the same and probably all worked fine, assuming I had the right settings for flashing the iSpindel, but I was always a bit uncertain about the outcome because documentation and tools' feedback was always kind of sketchy. Yeah, I saw all the forum discussions, but they seemed to always be a matter of the blind leading the blind with a few anecdotal successes using what I considered to be odd settings. No details at all from the iSpindel folks's docs, at least not in English. And just as my expectations were starting to suck yeasty muck through the beer-out tube, I discovered that BrewFlasher supports flashing iSpindel.

And it just... worked. And it told me so. Not too much to ask really.

Thanks guys! :)

Glad that everything worked! The iSpindel version that BrewFlasher flashes can fall out of date, but it's not that hard to update. I just need poking. :)
 
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While I would argue that BrewFlasher was perfect as released, I have managed to find a few updates to make over the past two years. That said - BrewFlasher v1.2.0 is now released on GitHub!

BrewFlasher v1.2.0
- Refresh, Cleanup, and M1 Mac Support
  • Removed "flash_mode" selector (now auto-detected from firmware headers)
  • Switched from Fermentrack.com to BrewFlasher.com for firmware lists
  • Incorporated additional "pre-flash" firmware checksum check
  • Upgraded to esptool 3.2
  • Added support for M1 Macs (Apple Silicon)
  • No longer producing x32 binaries for Windows
  • Added additional error messages to clarify when things go wrong during the flashing process
Upgrading is recommended for all users with binaries available at GitHub.
 
I just released my latest project - BrewFlasher Web Edition!

This project took all the magic of BrewFlasher, and stuck it in a web app. Flash any ESP8266/ESP32 firmware supported by BrewFlasher, straight from your web browser. No downloads needed.

BrewFlasher Web Edition is available at: BrewFlasher Web Edition

The code is open source, and is available at GitHub.

Note - Due to the APIs required, BrewFlasher Web Edition only works in recent desktop versions of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera. If you don't use one of those browsers, try BrewFlasher desktop edition instead.
 
Wondered if it would be possible to add this Tilt Repeater Project to the list. I use TiltPi to log to google sheets, but signal from Tilts are weak getting through my stainless fermenters, and are almost impossible to pick up outside my fermentation fridges. I've successfully flashed one with the Arduino IDE but seems like it would be much easier with BrewFlasher. The repeater works great and the TiltPi can get the signal from the other side of the room with the repeater inside the fridge. I'm sure others could benefit from it too. Thanks so much for sharing your awesome work with the rest of us!
 
Wondered if it would be possible to add this Tilt Repeater Project to the list. I use TiltPi to log to google sheets, but signal from Tilts are weak getting through my stainless fermenters, and are almost impossible to pick up outside my fermentation fridges. I've successfully flashed one with the Arduino IDE but seems like it would be much easier with BrewFlasher. The repeater works great and the TiltPi can get the signal from the other side of the room with the repeater inside the fridge. I'm sure others could benefit from it too. Thanks so much for sharing your awesome work with the rest of us!

As long as someone out there is willing to maintain it, that can be done! Shoot me a PM on HBT and I can get you set up.

(Though, of course, I'd always recommend you just use a TiltBridge ;) )
 
I've just released the latest version of BrewFlasher Desktop Edition on GitHub!

BrewFlasher v1.3.0 - ESP32-S2 Support
  • Adds support for flashing ESP32-S2 devices
  • Updates to the latest PyInstaller/esptool
Updating to this version from GitHub is recommended for all BrewFlasher users.
 
Is there a trick to getting the TiltBridge - NETA - D32_Pro_TFT - v 1.1.1-Beta - TFT firmware working? It fails at the Downloading SPIFFS/LittleFS file... step for me with an error about being unable to download the firmware.
Thanks!
 
I just released version 1.4 of BrewFlasher on GitHub.

This release rolls back the version of esptool used for flashing ESP32 devices in order to fix an issue that prevented BrewFlasher from working with certain Lolin D32 Pro boards.

This release is recommended for all users (but especially those with v1.3.0 who plan on flashing D32 Pro or other non-4MB devices!)
 
I can't get any Brewflasher version since 1.0 x64 to start under Windows 11. I've tried v1.2 and latest 1.4 and neither one will startup, no splash screen, no error messages, can't find anything in the Windows event logs. Any ideas? BTW, v1.0 works fine and I was able to flash my hardware with the 1.1.1 firmware. Thanks.
 
I can't get any Brewflasher version since 1.0 x64 to start under Windows 11. I've tried v1.2 and latest 1.4 and neither one will startup, no splash screen, no error messages, can't find anything in the Windows event logs. Any ideas? BTW, v1.0 works fine and I was able to flash my hardware with the 1.1.1 firmware. Thanks.

Unfortunately, it works for me. :(

Someone on GitHub reported the same symptoms, but I was assuming the issue was caused by Microsoft Smart Screen based on issues I've had with it in the past. That still may be the issue, though -- If you go into Windows Security, then Virus & Threat Protection, and then Protection History, do you see anything?
 
That was my first thought as well, but there is nothing in the Protection History. I've tried running as an Admin and do get the "allow to make changes" UAC prompt, but still nothing happens after allowing it to run. I guess the question is, what do the newer versions do that is different, before showing the splash screen?
 
That was my first thought as well, but there is nothing in the Protection History. I've tried running as an Admin and do get the "allow to make changes" UAC prompt, but still nothing happens after allowing it to run. I guess the question is, what do the newer versions do that is different, before showing the splash screen?
I'm having the same problem. Did you find a solution?
Also the first version works fine for me.
 
I'm having the same problem. Did you find a solution?
Also the first version works fine for me.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had much luck with researching this one. People online seemed to believe that submitting the app for verification to Microsoft should resolve the issue, but I’ve done that with every version since the first and still have reports of this occurring. Others seem to think that if an app is opened enough, there is some kind of two-way messaging back to Microsoft that signals the app is genuine (which if true would explain why earlier versions that have been “in the wild” longer might work where later versions don’t).

The only thing people seem to agree on is that if you go through the process to obtain a code signing cert it should resolve it, but that’s an expensive gamble, and BrewFlasher is the only app it would be used for.

In the mean time, have you tried BrewFlasher Web Edition?
 
I have also had issues in the past and some users had issues with brewflasher 1.5 when flashing my gravitymon software. I ended up compiling this on my windows computer (i know thorrak uses Mac) and that has worked find. Can someone try the brewflasher binary attached here https://github.com/mp-se/gravitymon/releases/download/v1.2.0/BrewFlasher-1.5.exe and see if that works ? On my windows 11 I dont get any issues. If thats the case then the issues is probably connected to building the windows binary on mac.....
 
I have also had issues in the past and some users had issues with brewflasher 1.5 when flashing my gravitymon software. I ended up compiling this on my windows computer (i know thorrak uses Mac) and that has worked find. Can someone try the brewflasher binary attached here https://github.com/mp-se/gravitymon/releases/download/v1.2.0/BrewFlasher-1.5.exe and see if that works ? On my windows 11 I dont get any issues. If thats the case then the issues is probably connected to building the windows binary on mac.....
If someone confirms yours works, do you mind if I replace the release with it?
 
If someone confirms yours works, do you mind if I replace the release with it?
Yes sure, its your project. I was meaning to open a ticket on this but it was lost during the christmas chaos. Happy to help with compiling future releases if this solves it.
 
Well, the 1.5 version by mper seems to run on my Windows 11 machine. I haven't went through the whole flashing process, but the app now starts up. Looks like a solution...
 
I noticed that the size of my build was different from thorraks build so this is something to investigate further. Could be a bug in the python to executable package…

I tested thorraks build before release since he didnt have the c3 board and that worked on my old machine, so its really strange
 
Hmm. I have a new Windows desktop that I picked up specifically for things like building BrewFlasher -- I'll give it a try here later and see if maybe the binaries it produces don't have the same "smell" the old ones apparently had.
 
I have also had issues in the past and some users had issues with brewflasher 1.5 when flashing my gravitymon software. I ended up compiling this on my windows computer (i know thorrak uses Mac) and that has worked find. Can someone try the brewflasher binary attached here https://github.com/mp-se/gravitymon/releases/download/v1.2.0/BrewFlasher-1.5.exe and see if that works ? On my windows 11 I dont get any issues. If thats the case then the issues is probably connected to building the windows binary on mac.....
This works fine. Also luck with the web flasher.
But both report version 1.1.3 to be installed afterwords when I enters Tiltbridge on the card even both installers claim 1.2.0 as latest version - but it might be I misunderstand something :)
 
This is a very basic problem, I'm sure, but I've got a new ESP32 and am trying to use BrewFlasher for the TiltRepeater package.

I'm using an (old) MacOS laptop. I downloaded the extra drivers (https://www.silabs.com/developers/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers) to see if that helped. It recognized something (/dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART) it hadn't had before, but I'm still getting an error:

Serial port /dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART
Connecting......................................
Firmware flashing FAILED. esptool.py raised an error.


I'm using this board:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DKD79Y9?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
with this cable:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SMNZK8H?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

What should I try next?
 
This is a very basic problem, I'm sure, but I've got a new ESP32 and am trying to use BrewFlasher for the TiltRepeater package.

I'm using an (old) MacOS laptop. I downloaded the extra drivers (CP210x USB to UART Bridge VCP Drivers - Silicon Labs) to see if that helped. It recognized something (/dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART) it hadn't had before, but I'm still getting an error:

Serial port /dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART
Connecting......................................
Firmware flashing FAILED. esptool.py raised an error.


I'm using this board:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DKD79Y9?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
with this cable:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SMNZK8H?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

What should I try next?
Unfortunately, that board is an ESP32-S3, not an ESP32 (which is a different architecture) and cannot run ESP32 firmware. Yes, Espressif did not do themselves any favors with the naming conventions here. :(
 
Unfortunately, that board is an ESP32-S3, not an ESP32 (which is a different architecture) and cannot run ESP32 firmware. Yes, Espressif did not do themselves any favors with the naming conventions here. :(
Well, drat.

It says "HiLetgo ESP32 LCD WiFi Kit ESP-32 1.14 Inch LCD Display WiFi+Bluetooth CH9102 USB Type-C Internet Development Board for Arduino ESP8266 NodeMCU" What's the "tell" here that I've got the wrong board? Is it the CH9102? ESP8266? I'm totally adrift here.

(I'm trying to buy from Amazon so that it arrives soooooon.)
 

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