ESP32 Forum

Hello,
I recently attempted to build my own Microcontroller board using an ESP32-S3 and ran into some issues. I successfully soldered the components together, but I'm unable to establish a connection between the board and my computer.

I've tried connecting via UART0 using an FTDI chip, as well as through the USB-C port using the internal USB of the ESP chip. Unfortunately, my computer is unable to detect the ESP chip when connected via UART, and when connected via USB, it recognizes the device briefly but then displays an error and disconnects it. Then it connects again and so forth. Pulling EN and GPIO0 low stops this circle for some time, but the ESP also doesn't show up as connected device.

Additionally, I noticed that the Flash chip is not receiving the required 3.3V, and I'm unsure why this is happening. I have attached the schematic for reference. Did I made mistakes designing this or are there areas for improvement? And if there is no error in the schematic, why can't I connect to the device?

Thanks in advance!

C24 and C25 are waaaaaay too large; the expected value depends on the PCB and crystal but I'd expect something like 2.2pF rather than 0.1uF there.

Ah yes, you're right. I placed them there but forgot to change the values. Unfortunately, I don't have capacitors of the right size lying around, so I have to wait until I receive an order with them.

For shits and giggles, you could try to remove those two over-sized caps: there's a non-zero chance that the parasitics on your board are high enough to make the thing start oscillating. (No guarantees about stability or WiFi performance when it does, though.)

I removed them and it mostly works now. It connects to my computer and I can connect to it, although my computer constantly plays the disconnection sound. Also I can't upload code (something about a stopped packet content transfer), but that's fine for now. Thank you, I would have wasted so much time searching for the mistake in my schematic.