ESP32-S3 wiki update suggestion

[chrisgow]

Tl;dr The esp-idf framework does not appear to work with these boards. Stick with arduino. All other settings seem to work ok.

After a little experimentation and some frustrations, I have been able to get a handful of ESP32-S3 devices flashed and working with Bermuda 🎉. I've had one S3 running with Bermuda for a few months and I recently decided to add a few more around the house to improve detection. From the time I flashed my first device to my latest devices some documentation has been updated which suggests to use the esp-idf framework. Every time I tried using that framework I was never able to wirelessly connect to the devices after the initial install. I thought this might be useful information to add to the wiki.

[agittins]

Hi Chris! Thanks for letting me know what you've found.

I don't have any S3 chips myself, so I'm reliant on other reports at this stage. I notice that the esphome ready-made bluetooth proxy configs also use esp-idf for the m5stack-atom-s3, but they do specify some versions on the framework, I don't know if that might be relevant: https://github.com/esphome/bluetooth-proxies/blob/main/m5stack/m5stack-atom-s3.yaml

The arduino framework is definitely sub-optimal for ble proxies, but if it works and esp-idf doesn't it makes it an easier choice :-) that said, ESPHome recommends esp-idf for the esp32-s3.

When you flashed with esp-idf, did you do the update OTA or via usb connection? It may be worth trying a direct USB connection if you haven't already (it allows esphome to repartition the flash for extra space the BT stack can use). What exact yaml did you use?

I know there is a lot of older info around that just says the s3's don't work, but the esphome bt stack has come a long way in the last year, plus bad config advice is everywhere! I just don't want to add to the out-dated advice out on the web if I can help it, but having accurate info would be really good.

Could you share the exact yaml you tried?

[chrisgow]

I tried both OTA and via usb connection and I had more luck with the usb connection so I just stuck with that. The yaml I attempted to flash is below which is a combination of the esphome wizard and the ble configuration I used on an older S3 proxy (that also uses the arduino framework):

esphome:
  name: livingroom-bermuda
  friendly_name: livingroom-bermuda

esp32:
  board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
  framework:
    type: esp-idf

# Enable logging
logger:
  baud_rate: 0

# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
  password: ""

ota:
  - platform: esphome
    password: ""

wifi:
  ssid: "super-secret"
  password: "thepassword"

  # Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
  ap:
    ssid: "Livingroom-Bermuda"
    password: "yz61CdtkDqSh"

captive_portal:

bluetooth_proxy:
  active: true  

esp32_ble_tracker:
  scan_parameters:
    active: True # Whether to send scan-request packets to devices to gather more info (like devicename)
    interval: 320ms # suggested 211ms # default 320ms
    window:   300ms # suggested 120ms # default 30ms

[giulianob]

I'm using the Lolin S3 Mini fine with esp-idf. You might not be specifying the right platform options for your device. For mine, I have to either specify a newer esp-idf version that includes support for lolin_s3_mini or manually configure it like this. The flash_mode option is important:

esphome:
  name: lolin-s3-mini-test
  friendly_name: lolin s3 mini test
  platformio_options:
    board_build.arduino.memory_type: qio_qspi
    board_build.flash_mode: dio
    board_upload.ram_size: 327680
    board_upload_maximum_size: 4193404
    board_upload_speed: 460800
esp32:
  flash_size: 4MB
  variant: esp32s3
  board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
  framework:
    type: esp-idf

[agittins]

@giulianob that's great, thanks!

@chrisgow did you have any luck using those settings?

If you're still having trouble, can you try this as your entire yaml:

esphome:
  name: livingroom-bermuda
  friendly_name: livingroom-bermuda

esp32:
  board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1

packages:
  Bermuda.esp32: github://agittins/bermuda-proxies/packages/bermuda-proxy-esp32-s3-minimal.yaml


# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
  password: ""

ota:
  - platform: esphome
    password: ""

wifi:
  ssid: "super-secret"
  password: "thepassword"

This will pull the config from a repo I've set up, which includes the dio and other options known to be needed and to work with the S3.