Flashing Tasmota on ZBBridge Fails | Everything Smart Home | Page 1

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 1:48 AM

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Hi guys, I am trying to flash Tasmota on my ZBBridge by following your guide (Sonoff Zigbee Bridge with Tasmota And Home Assistant using ZHA).

I made the connections, once I plug the serial adapter in the Bridge led turns green, but when I try to flash it, Tasmotizer gives me an error saying: "Timed out waiting for packet header"
I also tried using ESP-Flasher, and it fails as well, but there the error is the following: "Unexpected error: Reading chip details failed: Serial data stream stopped: Possible serial noise or corruption." (I also got this at some point: "Unexpected error: Error putting ESP in stub flash mode: Serial data stream stopped: Possible serial noise or corruption.")

Does anyone know what the issue might be and what else I can try?

Thank you in advance.

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 6:37 AM

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opaque ocean Hi guys, I am trying to flash Tasmota on my ZBBridge by following your guide (So...

Make sure to check you have Rx and TX the correct way around, try reversing them on one side

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 8:19 AM

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I checked and ETX on Bridge is connected to RXD on adapter, and ERX on Bridge goes to TXD on adapter

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 8:21 AM

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Other things to check would be to make sure you are entering boot mode with IO0 connected to ground before plugging in power

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Did you solder the connections?

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 8:35 AM

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No, I am using some jumper cables which fit snugly in the holes, so I assume they make contact

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 8:40 AM

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You may need to press the cables with your thumb to make sure there is good contact

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 8:40 AM

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I assume that if it wouldn't be in flash mode, the soft wouldn't detect it on a COM port, right?

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 8:41 AM

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No it still would regardless

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The com port comes from the USB adapter

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 8:42 AM

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Hmm, OK. Is there a way to figure out if it is in flash mode or not?

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 8:42 AM

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If you plug in the USB adapter alone with nothing on the other end it'll show you a com port

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 8:42 AM

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opaque ocean Hmm, OK. Is there a way to figure out if it is in flash mode or not?

Not really easily unfortunately

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 8:56 AM

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I redid the connections and tried again, and now I get this: "Cannot configure port, something went wrong. Original message: PermissionError(13, 'A device attached to the system is not functioning.', None, 31)"

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And now it's just a 'Write timeout' error

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 9:15 AM

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opaque ocean I redid the connections and tried again, and now I get this: "Cannot configure p...

Try rebooting the computer. Did you open as admin also?

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 9:15 AM

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yup

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 9:16 AM

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Try reboot and also replace the cable and try a different USB port

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 9:30 AM

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Tried, no improvements

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I saw a github post somewhere where Z_RST is also used, do you know anything about that?

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Changed the Dupont cables, got to this error: Timed out waiting for packet header

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 9:59 AM

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I've never seen z-rst used

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All the times I've flashed one has just been the exact same way as in the video

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 10:01 AM

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Damn this is frustrating, haha

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I will try soldering some wires on the board, to see if that makes any difference

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:20 AM

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Small question, I have this USB adapter

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If where should the jumper be, for the 3.3 to work correctly

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Between 3.3 and vcc?

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 11:22 AM

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Hmm not sure on that one, it doesn't look like it takes a jumper

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:22 AM

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I truly don't understand how every video I watch works smoothly but for me it's like doing rocket science

sly pewterBOT Nov 25, 2022, 11:23 AM

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opaque ocean I truly don't understand how every video I watch works smoothly but for me it's ...

Congratulations @opaque ocean! You just advanced to level 1!

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:23 AM

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graceful jewel Hmm not sure on that one, it doesn't look like it takes a jumper

It does have a jumper, I just took it down for the picture, in my tests it was jumping VCC and 5V and I was connected to 3.3

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 11:24 AM

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Got a link to the one you bought? I prefer the red one I used in the video

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:25 AM

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I asked for it. It's borrowed from a friend who also flashed his zbBridge

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with no issues, apparently

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 11:26 AM

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Maybe worth checking which pins he used for 3.3v?

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If you have a meter you can check the voltages also

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:26 AM

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he was saying that he doesn't remember exactly, but he thinks that this config was the one he used

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:26 AM

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graceful jewel If you have a meter you can check the voltages also

I unfortunately don't own one 😦

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 11:27 AM

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How does a dupont wire fit onto the pin if there is also a jumper on there? Is it long enough?

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:27 AM

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So, the jumper is between 5V and VCC

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and the dupont is on 3.3V

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 11:28 AM

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That's such a weird way of doing it 😄 in my head the jumper on 5v would give you 5v not 3.3v

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That's the way most work but guess it could be different

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:28 AM

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same in my head, tbh

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I honestly tried with the jumper in the other position as well, but still no changes

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https://ardushop.ro/ro/home/55-usb-to-ttl-converter-uart-ch340g-ch340-33v-5v-switch.html?search_query=ttl&results=35
This is the adapter

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 11:31 AM

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Some damage could be caused with a higher voltage than is supposed to be supplied

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 11:32 AM

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opaque ocean https://ardushop.ro/ro/home/55-usb-to-ttl-converter-uart-ch340g-ch340-33v-5v-swi...

The link just takes me to a page with a bunch of products on it

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:32 AM

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That's their stupid black Friday promo

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Try to access the link again and it should take you directly to the product

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 11:33 AM

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Yeah that's it

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Hmm certainly seems like it's correct, just a really strange way of doing it

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Maybe try to search the internet and see if you can see an explanation to confirm

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:34 AM

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Small question, the gpio0 should permanently be connected to gnd, right?

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:54 AM

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So, I soldered the wires, and still no luck

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 11:55 AM

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GPIO0 can be disconnected a few seconds after powering on

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Can you show a photo of the wiring? Just on the off chance I can spot something but I'm guessing not

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:57 AM

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rn_image_picker_lib_temp_2c5d2223-e697-4252-ac67-d62c88eef6bb.jpg

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 11:58 AM

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You getting any LEDs coming on the bridge?

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:58 AM

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the green one

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 11:58 AM

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I'm not sure what to suggest sorry other than switching out the adapter

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 11:59 AM

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No worries, thank you for the help 😁

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 12:00 PM

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graceful jewel GPIO0 can be disconnected a few seconds after powering on

but keeping it on shouldn't cause any issues, right?

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 12:48 PM

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So I think I found the correct configuration with the jumper and all, but I still get the 'Timed out while waiting for packet header' error

sly pewterBOT Nov 25, 2022, 12:48 PM

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opaque ocean So I think I found the correct configuration with the jumper and all, but I stil...

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opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 12:48 PM

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No clue how to get past that

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The board is not fried at least (did a reset for the original fw and seems to work)

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 1:40 PM

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So it seems that the board doesn't go into flash mode

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But I have no clue as to why

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Furthest I've got
no jumper at all

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This is the only way I got that it is actually connecting to the board, but it still fails on the stub run

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 3:13 PM

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I'll leave here a link with the issue I opened with the ESPTool guys, in the hopes of finding out more info:
https://github.com/espressif/esptool/issues/801

GitHub

Trying to use esptool with a ZBBridge fails every time (ESPTOOL-550...

Operating System Window 10 Esptool Version Esptool 4.4 Python Version Python 3.10.4 Chip Description ESP8266EX Device Description I am using a Sonoff Zigbee Bridge. Hardware Configuration I am usin...

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 3:44 PM

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So weird!

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 4:13 PM

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yup, I agree

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I was thinking of suplying 3.3 from an external rpi, but I'm not entirely sure how that would work

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 4:21 PM

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I don't think it would be that if the LED is coming on

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 4:25 PM

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All that I can think about is that it doesn't go into flash mode, for some reason

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but it wouldn't make sense, because everywhere it just says that jumping GPIO0 with GND is going to drive the board into flash mode

graceful jewel Nov 25, 2022, 4:27 PM

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Yep that's all you need to do. It might be worth ordering another usb to serial to try?

opaque ocean Nov 25, 2022, 4:46 PM

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Maybe a different model of something

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But it's still odd, because I know this config worked, haha

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I also tried external power, didn't help at all

opaque ocean Nov 26, 2022, 10:17 AM

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https://ardushop.ro/ro/home/86-modul-usb-20-to-ttl-uart-on-stc-cp2120-programator-arduino-pro-mini.html
@graceful jewel this is the FTDI you've used, right?

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I mean, something close to this

graceful jewel Nov 26, 2022, 10:20 AM

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Looks similar yeah

opaque ocean Nov 26, 2022, 10:33 AM

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I'm wondering if it;s possible to dyi the serial programmer

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because I have a board with a ch340C chip

graceful jewel Nov 26, 2022, 12:14 PM

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It's possible yeah

opaque ocean Nov 27, 2022, 1:14 AM

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I just tried with an Arduino Mega, and it still doesn't work

sly pewterBOT Nov 27, 2022, 1:14 AM

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opaque ocean I just tried with an Arduino Mega, and it still doesn't work

Congratulations @opaque ocean! You just advanced to level 3!

opaque ocean Nov 27, 2022, 1:15 AM

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Does this mean that something might be wrong with the bridge board? 😅

opaque ocean Nov 27, 2022, 1:15 AM

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opaque ocean https://ardushop.ro/ro/home/86-modul-usb-20-to-ttl-uart-on-stc-cp2120-programato...

Or do you think it is worth getting this adapter for safe measure? 😄

opaque ocean Nov 27, 2022, 1:44 AM

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Update

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I managed to make it work by jumping Z_RST to GND, it goes through fw backup, flash erase, but it gets stuck at uploading the new fw, at 9% everytime
Any clues? 😅

graceful jewel Nov 27, 2022, 10:06 AM

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opaque ocean I managed to make it work by jumping Z_RST to GND, it goes through fw backup, fl...

Oh that's even weirder! I'm wondering if the board is bad?

opaque ocean Nov 27, 2022, 4:17 PM

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In the end, I managed to succesfully flash it

graceful jewel Nov 27, 2022, 5:46 PM

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What was the fix? 😅

#Flashing Tasmota on ZBBridge Fails