ESP32-S2 WROVER working firmware on Kaluga does only work on 8 out of 10 custom boards

[RalphD]

Hi there,

we are going a bit mad on our design and we are reaching out for suggestions of other specialists to identify our issue.
As mentioned in the topic. working firmware (on Kaluga) behave different on 2 to 4 boards out of 10.
We have developed our firmware based on the https server example from ESP IDF and it seems that this issue is related to https server component as any other sample project works fine on all of our boards.

we have added very limited code to the https simple server example.

However, why do 80% of the boards work fine and others don't work at all.
Another miracle we observed is that changing the ESP32-S2 WROVER module does not fix the issue on the non working boards.
Some boards work fine at start up but also panics after a minute. Others panic right at startup. Majority work fine.

Any idea what to look at is highly appreciated

[RalphD]

the ESP32 panics in esp_wifi_start()

[ESP_Sprite]

What does the panic look like? Also: note that errors in WiFi startup likely are power issues. If you're powering the board by USB, can you check if different USB cables lead to the same issue? If you can, power the board from a known-good supply, e.g. a lab power supply.

[RalphD]

They are powered by a lab supply. I think the same, however 8 out of 10 work with same cable and setup.
In the data sheet it says that the ground plane does not require to be connected to GND is that not true?