Install the firmware
Every board needs the PropMesh firmware installed once, over USB. After that, updates go out over the air from the console.
- Close anything using the board's port, including a console tab connected over USB.
- Unplug the board. Hold BOOT, plug it in, keep holding for a second, release. Allow the connection if your computer asks.
On a C6 SuperMini this only works some of the time, because the chip also reads pin 8 at that moment and nothing on the board holds it. Make it certain: while holding BOOT, touch a jumper wire from the pin marked 8 to 3V3 as you plug in, then remove it. A 10 kΩ resistor soldered between those two pins makes it permanent. - Press Install PropMesh and pick the port that just appeared.
- When it finishes, press RESET or unplug and replug: the new firmware doesn't start on its own.
Already running PropMesh? You don't need to plug it in: update it over the air from the console, which loads this release by itself. (The update file is here too, for doing it by hand.)
There's no firmware for this board on the site yet.
When you press Install PropMesh, the browser asks which USB device to use. Pick the one that appears when you plug the board in. It is often named CP210x, CH340 or USB JTAG/serial. Installing takes about a minute.
When it finishes, the installer shows a small menu for the board that is still plugged in. Install PropMesh for … there means install it again on this same board, which you don’t need. Logs & Console shows the board’s own log live in the browser, handy if something isn’t working. Close the menu with the ×, press RESET on a C3 or C6, and connect to the board from the console.
If it doesn’t work
Section titled “If it doesn’t work”No device shows up in the list, or it keeps appearing and disappearing. A port that comes and goes is the board’s current firmware restarting over and over, which is common on a brand-new C3 or C6 with its factory demo program. Put the board in install mode by hand (below) and it holds still.
- Try another USB cable. Many cables only carry power.
- Some boards need a USB driver on Windows or on older versions of macOS. Which one depends on the chip next to the USB socket: the CP210x driver from Silicon Labs or the CH340 driver from WCH.
- Close anything else that might be using the board, such as the Arduino IDE’s serial monitor or another console tab.
It starts, then fails to connect, or says “Failed to initialize.” The board isn’t in install mode. On a DevKit or Feather: hold BOOT, press and release EN (or RST), let go of BOOT, and press Install again. On a C3 or C6 SuperMini, whose USB port is part of the chip, the installer can’t restart it for you: unplug it, hold BOOT while plugging it in, then press Install and pick the port that just appeared. After installing, press RESET to start the new firmware. The steps show above the Install button when one of those boards is selected. On a C6 SuperMini the BOOT trick only works some of the time, because the chip also reads pin 8 as it starts and nothing on the board holds that pin either way. Touch a jumper wire from pin 8 to 3V3 while you hold BOOT and plug in, and it works every time. If an LED next to the USB socket lights as you plug it in, that attempt didn’t take: unplug and try again with the jumper.
A C3 or C6 that already runs PropMesh: don’t hold BOOT. Once PropMesh is on the board, the installer restarts it into install mode by itself, so plug it in normally and press Install. Holding BOOT while plugging in a board that runs PropMesh leaves the chip stopped with the blue LED lit and no USB device showing; unplug it and plug it back in without BOOT. Holding BOOT is only for the factory program on a brand-new board.
The page says this browser isn’t supported. The installer needs Chrome or Edge on a desktop or laptop. Safari, Firefox and phone browsers can’t talk to USB devices.