First boot
Assuming you've successfully Downloaded and Flashed the unicontrol software on your ESP8266, your device will perform the following actions after reboot:
- Full File system format and Factory reset, indicated by the glowing on-board LED. This may take up to 10 minutes, so it's important not to disconnect or reset the device during this phase.
- Once the File system is ready and Factory reset is complete, the device will boot up, indicated by 10 fast flashes of the on-board LED.
- Following the first boot, the device will run without any wireless connection, indicated by a single flash of the on-board LED every 10 seconds. However, it will be fully responsive to the Serial port and a System button.
It's now up to you to set up the device. Specifically, you need to:
- Connect the device to the Wi-Fi router.
- Obtain the device's local network IP Address.
- Access the device via the Web Interface and perform a thorough setup.
You may check the linked sections below for detailed assistance. Once the setup is complete, your device will operate as you defined. Check out our other Tutorials and Projects for inspiration on what you can do with your brand-new unicontrol device.
Connect to Wi-Fi
The majority of the device's setup is done through the Web Interface, which requires the device to be connected to the local wireless network. However, the ESP8266's lack of a keyboard can make this task tricky. Here are several options how to overcome this:
- Access Point option - this is generally the most reliable and often also the fastest way to access your unicontrol device. In this case, the ESP8266 acts as a Wi-Fi Acces Point that you can connect to with your computer or mobile device. You can then use the built-in setup page to provide the target network's SSID and Password: Check out our detailed guide for more information.
- Serial Port option - this method takes advantage of a USB cable connection between the ESP8266 and a computer.
Using a standard serial console like PuTTY or similar software, you can send the target network's SSID and Password over the Serial COM port.
For example, sending
wifissid1 new_ssid
andwifipass1 new_password
via the PuTTY console will set the new Wi-Fi credentials, which will look like this:You can check out our dedicated blog post on this method for a detailed guide on how to communicate with your ESP8266 via Serial COM port, or the related technical specification. - Default network option - the last option is to create a separate network with SSID:
aya_ssid
and Password:aya_pass
on an unused Wi-Fi router or using a mobile device hotspot. The unicontrol device will automatically recognize this network and connect to it immediately. From within this network, you can access the Web Interface and provide the target network's SSID and Password. However, this method is not preferred as it can be challenging with potential roadblocks.
Identify the IP address
After successfully connecting your device to the target wireless network, the next step is to identify its local IP Address before accessing it through the Web Interface. There are several options to obtain it:
- Access Point option - besides what is described above, the Access Point mode menu also displays the device's assigned local IP Address from the last valid STA connection at the bottom of the Info section: You can return to the AP mode after connecting to the target network to learn the IP Address that will likely remain reserved for the device for the subsequent reconnection. You can then reboot the device and provide the newly learned address to the Web Interface.
- Serial Port option - the built-in Serial Interface has a command
wifi info
, which when submitted via the Serial COM port, the unicontrol device immediately responds with basic wireless network information, including the local IP address:You can check out our dedicated blog post on this method for a detailed guide on how to communicate with your ESP8266 via Serial COM port, or the related technical specification. - Router option - in case you are an administrator of the target wireless network, the easiest option is to check the client list of your router.
You will likely notice the new device named
my_unicontrol
connected, along with its assigned IP address:
Web Interface
Once you have connected your device to the wireless network and obtained its assigned IP Address, you can access it through the Web Interface.
To do this, open the interface_[VERSION]
folder in the downloaded archive and open the index.htm
file found inside.
This will launch a local copy of the HTML-based Web Interface, with an IP Address field in the upper-right corner of the page.
Enter the identified IP Address into the highlighted field and click Connect
:
If the Connection panel is immediately filled with your device's details and a green dot appears next to its IP Address, the interface has successfully established a connection with your unicontrol device. Now you have full control and may proceed to creating your First pocess.