IotaWatt - First Install Error

This week i purchased an IotaWatt device with the 9V AC reference charger.
To configure my new IotaWatt device I followed the steps on https://guide.openenergymonitor.org/setup/iotawatt/ from the beginning:

  1. When i plugged 5VDC and AC-AC adapter at the same time, LED turned to RED-GREEN-RED and never finished…
  2. When i only plugged 5VDC (whitout AC-AC Adapter), LED begins blinking a rapid green…

In both cases, IoTaWatt seems to start up in WiFi AP, but no Wifi network with SSID “iota + ” appears. However, a network with SSID “AI-THINKER_XXXX” and “No Security” appears (XXXXXX corresponds to the last 6 MAC values of my IotaWatt device).

When I connect to “AI-THINKER_XXXX” network from my mobile device, my computer was given an IP Address (192.168.4.2) but the page at 192.168.4.1 would not load (ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED) and ping respond time its too long.
I have restarted my iotaWatt device several times and the same behavior occurs…

I opened up the device and saw the SD card was seated fine.
I removed the SD card and I successfully read on my computer.

SD Card mount on my PC with “NO NAME” and FAT-32 format (8Gb).
SD has 2 directories inside:

  • 02_03_18 (with 8 files inside)
    • CNFSTYLE.CSS
    • CONFIG.TXT
    • EDIT.HTM
    • GRAPH.HTM
    • GRAPH.JS
    • INDEX.HTM
    • TABLES.TXT
    • IOTAWATT.BIN (0 bytes)
  • DOWNLOAD (with 1 file inside)
    • 02_03_2018.BIN

(Notice that no IOTAMSGS.TXT file exists.)

I maked a copy of SD CARD.
I reformatted the SD CARD (FAT-32 and MBR) and put the files on from SD Github (IoTaWatt/SD at master · boblemaire/IoTaWatt · GitHub).
Restarted IotaWatt and the same behavior occurs: only AI-THINKER wifi was present and no config page from 192.168.4.1 was loaded.

Any idea of what can be failing? Could be a hardware failure? IotaWatt its completely programmed?

Any advice will be welcome.

Thank you very much!

Could you post pictures of both sides of the PCB board please?

Pictures of both sides of the PCB board:

MI don’t have much insight or control into what OEM is doing. There are inconsistencies in this situation that I can’t reconcile. It looks as if the firmware load was uncessful, but the release indicated on your SD card is not the current release. The device is supposed to be flashed with the current release prior to shipping.

Bottom line is that the unit needs to go back to OEM to be flashed with the correct firmware. Also, when you get it back, you should use the documentation at Http://docs.iotawatt.com. The information at the OEM site is old and out of date.

EDIT In rereading your original post, it’s not clear where you got the IoTaWatt. If you got it from OEM, it should go back to them. If you got it from the ZioTaWatt Stuff site, then send me the order number and I’ll arrange to do it.

Ohhh bad news for me… How is it possible that this error occurred?
IotaWatt was purchased at OEM (https://openenergymonitor.com):
I live in Spain. IotaWatt bought it from a friend who lives in the UK, (order ID is #19820) and brought it to me as a gift. How do I send it for repair? Is there a way for me to flash the right firmware?

EDIT What is the correct release version of the firmware that should be flashed?

The current firmware version is 02_03_21, which is available on the Github site. It appears the firmware load on your unit was attempted sometime between Nov 11, 2018 and Jan 2, 2019. It appears that the load was not completed successfully, but that the release files were downloaded to your SDcard. That the firmware was not loaded to the ESP8266 is an indication that there could have been a problem with the file integrity hash or the authenticating signature. In any event, your unit should have started up with RED-GREEN-GREEN led, but instead showed blinking green that is an indication that the manufacturing test firmware is still loaded and is reporting that the unit self-tests OK. When you connect the AC adapter, you get RED-GREEN-RED which indicates that the self-test found an ADC channel out of range, which would be the AC adapter ADC channel.

How can it happen? Human error. The device is providing the correct status indications.

If you flash the ESP with IoTaWatt firmware from the Github site, you will also need to install the corresponding support files for that release on the SD card. I’m not going to get into how to flash an ESP8266. It depends on what tools you have. You can research that on the internet or contact OEM for advice.

Ok :cry: How do I contact OEM?

Thanks! I’ll try to contact with them…

Also have a look here: IotaWatt solid red light - won't start - #6 by overeasy

There is actually all the information how to flash your IoTaWatt.