Unable to Connect to Board

[sumati2000]

I have a custom board with ESP32-WROOM-32E and I am using a ESP-Prog Board via UART connections to attempt to program it. I am using VSCode with ESP-IDF and trying to run the "blink" example provided by the ESP-IDF extension on VSCode. Whenever I run the program, the green LED on the ESP-Prog blinks but then I get the following message: Executing task: C:\Espressif\python_env\idf5.1_py3.11_env\Scripts\python.exe C:\Users\Sumati\esp\esp-idf\components\esptool_py\esptool\esptool.py -p COM6 -b 9600 --before default_reset --after hard_reset --chip esp32 write_flash --flash_mode dio --flash_freq 40m --flash_size 2MB 0x1000 bootloader/bootloader.bin 0x10000 blink.bin 0x8000 partition_table/partition-table.bin

esptool.py v4.7.0
Serial port COM6
Connecting......................................

A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32: No serial data received.
For troubleshooting steps visit: https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp ... oting.html

* The terminal process "C:\Espressif\python_env\idf5.1_py3.11_env\Scripts\python.exe 'C:\Users\Sumati\esp\esp-idf\components\esptool_py\esptool\esptool.py', '-p', 'COM6', '-b', '9600', '--before', 'default_reset', '--after', 'hard_reset', '--chip', 'esp32', 'write_flash', '--flash_mode', 'dio', '--flash_freq', '40m', '--flash_size', '2MB', '0x1000', 'bootloader/bootloader.bin', '0x10000', 'blink.bin', '0x8000', 'partition_table/partition-table.bin'" terminated with exit code: 2.

Connections made:

ESP32 ESP-Prog
--------------------------
EN -> EN (on Prog 2.54mm)
TX -> RX (on Prog 2.54mm)
RX -> TX (on Prog 2.54mm)
IO0 -> IO0 (on Prog 2.54mm)
VCC -> VPROG (on Prog 2.54mm)
GND -> GND (on Prog 2.54mm)
IO12 -> GND
IO2 -> GND
IO15 -> VCC

ESP-Prog to computer via USB-cable (connects to 2 COM Ports - confirmed via Device Manager)

Things I have tried:
1. I ensured that I am using the right COM Port
2. I ensured selected flash via UART
3. I ensured the right connections (EN, IO0, TX and RX)
4. Changed the baud rate to something lower, 9600. Done to COM Port in device Manager and to esp using settings.json() file.
5. Pressed and held the BOOT button (on the ESP-Prog) while programming
6. Pressed and held the BOOT button followed by pressing the RST button before programming
7. Pressed the RST button while the BOOT button was held down before programming
8. Pressed the BOOT button multiple times during "Connecting......."
9. Checked to make sure the MCU is receiving 3.3V (Although the ESP-Prog outputs 2.9 for EN pin on the Program Interface)
10. Taken out the IO0 On/Off pin from the ESP Prog
11. Went through Strapping Pins sections and made sure that GPIO2 and GPIO12 are driven low while GPIO15 is driven high
12. Downloaded Drivers for FT2232HL chip and CP210x USB to UART Bridge VCP

Important Documents:
1. ESP32 Datasheet: https://www.espressif.com/sites/default ... eet_en.pdf
2. ESP32 Reference Manual: https://www.espressif.com/sites/default ... ual_en.pdf
3. Correction of ESP32 design errors: https://www.espressif.com/sites/default ... ata_en.pdf
4. Introduction to ESP32-Prog (We are following “Program Interface” in 3.2.2.): https://media.digikey.com/pdf/Data%20Sh ... rd_Web.pdf
5. Setup ESP32-Prog: https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp ... guide.html
6. For troubleshooting steps visit: https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp ... oting.html
7. Steps to run first program: https://github.com/espressif/vscode-esp ... G-flashing
8. Installation Guide used: https://github.com/espressif/vscode-esp ... install.md

[ESP_Sprite]

TX -> RX (on Prog 2.54mm)
RX -> TX (on Prog 2.54mm)

I seem to recall something about the silkscreen on the ESP-Prog actually indicating what to connect to, not what signals the pins are. Can you connect tx->tx and rx->rx and try again?

[sumati2000]

@ESP_Sprite Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately that didn't work.

[ESP_Sprite]

Can you check (using a terminal program) that you get any output from the board at all? After you reset, you should see a signon message at 115200, n, 8, 1 on the TxD pin.

[sumati2000]

@ESP_Sprite I don't have a ftdi adapter on hand, but since the ESp-Prog LED never turns blue only green ("The green LED lights up when ESP-Prog is downloading data. The blue LED lights up when ESP-Prog is receiving data."), I have a feeling there is no activity on the board's side