Can't upload empty arduino sketch to MaTouch_ESP32-S3 Parallel TFT with Touch 3.5'' ILI9488. "Wrong boot mode detected"

[minhtran1092]

My Setup
Product: MaTouch_ESP32-S3 Parallel TFT with Touch 3.5'' ILI9488
https://www.makerfabs.com/esp32-s3-para ... i9488.html
https://wiki.makerfabs.com/ESP32_S3_Par ... Touch.html
https://github.com/Makerfabs/Makerfabs- ... me-ov-file

Hardware Setup: USB-A to USB-C cable connected to Windows 11 Pro PC. The USB-C end is connected to the MaTouch's "USB-TTL" port. No other connections. Windows 11 device manager indicates "Silicon Labs CP210x USB to UART Bridge (COM14)" under "Ports (COM & LPT)".

Software: I've downloaded and installed Silicon Lab CP210x drivers. I'm using Arduino IDE 2.3.4. I've installed ESP32 board support package v3.1.1. I've followed instructions on the MakeFab (link above).

Problem
When I go to upload a blank Arduino sketch (just void setup() and void loop())to see if anything would load onto the ESP32S3, I get the following error. I've never used an ESP board so please be patient with me if this is a trivial problem.

I googled online and various forums has told me putting the ESP32 in programming mode is tricky, requiring holding down the "Boot" button while uploading code. This MaTouch board has two buttons: "RST" and "Flash" (which I take to meet "Boot"). Because neither the wiki, makerfab website has links to the board's schematics, I can't tell how the BOOT pin is hooked up.

Code: Select all

ketch uses 231229 bytes (17%) of program storage space. Maximum is 1310720 bytes.
Global variables use 17968 bytes (5%) of dynamic memory, leaving 309712 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 327680 bytes.
"C:\Users\MT\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\esp32\tools\esptool_py\4.5.1/esptool.exe" --chip esp32s3 --port "COM14" --baud 921600  --before default_reset --after hard_reset write_flash  -z --flash_mode dio --flash_freq 80m --flash_size 16MB 0x0 "C:\Users\MT\AppData\Local\arduino\sketches\DF4956C3B57EDFDAE4355F43ECA60B1A/sketch_jan27a.ino.bootloader.bin" 0x8000 "C:\Users\MT\AppData\Local\arduino\sketches\DF4956C3B57EDFDAE4355F43ECA60B1A/sketch_jan27a.ino.partitions.bin" 0xe000 "C:\Users\MT\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\esp32\hardware\esp32\2.0.16/tools/partitions/boot_app0.bin" 0x10000 "C:\Users\MT\AppData\Local\arduino\sketches\DF4956C3B57EDFDAE4355F43ECA60B1A/sketch_jan27a.ino.bin" 
esptool.py v4.5.1
Serial port COM14
Connecting......................................

A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32-S3: Wrong boot mode detected (0xb)! The chip needs to be in download mode.
For troubleshooting steps visit: https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esptool/en/latest/troubleshooting.html
Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 2

[lbernstone]

It looks like they have the pair of transistors that should automatically put it into the correct mode, but something isn't working.

Connect the device. Open serial monitor in Arduino IDE.
Press the reset, you should see a boot log in the monitor with lots of cryptic info
Hold down both buttons and release the reset. You should see "waiting for download".
Now you can upload.

[minhtran1092]

Thanks for the response. I came across a reddit post that worded the instructions in a way that made sense to me. It seems this two-button program-upload shenanigan is common for esp32 boards.

Press and hold the FLASH button down. While FLASH button is held down, press and release the RST button exactly once. At this point, you should still be holding down the FLASH button (while it's held down, you're in "programming mode" - DO NOT LET GO). While keeping the FLASH button pressed down, in the Arduino IDE, click the "Upload" button and wait until you see "Upload Done". Then you can let go of the FLASH button.