[ESP32C3] Allow GPIO 11, 12, 13 to be used on specific boards

[TD-er]

As discussed on the forum

[Alex-Orts]

Doesn't work after filling ESP_Easy_mega_20241210_neopixel_ESP32c3_4M316k_LittleFS_CDC_ETH

[TD-er]

Just to be sure, you did use the one from the GH Actions build of this PR?
And not the one uploaded to the web flasher?

[Alex-Orts]

https://github.com/letscontrolit/ESPEasy/actions/runs/12253694421

[TD-er]

GPIO-11 is selectable?

[Alex-Orts]

ESP-ROM:esp32c3-api1-20210207
Build:Feb 7 2021
rst:0x8 (TG1WDT_SYS_RST),boot:0xc (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)
Saved PC:0x40380138
SPIWP:0xee
mode:DIO, clock div:1
load:0x3fcd5820,len:0x98
load:0x403cc710,len:0x86c
load:0x403ce710,len:0x2138
entry 0x403cc710
00.165 : (264960) Info :

INIT : Booting version: ESP_Easy_mega_20241210_neopixel_ESP32c3_4M316k_LittleFS_ CDC_ETH, (GitHub Actions) HEAD_4677a9e (ESP32 SDK 5.3.1.241024)
00.166 : (264816) Info : INIT : Free RAM:264816
00.178 : (264640) Info : INIT : External Watchdog #3 Last Action before Reboot : Background Task Last systime: 0 - Restart Reason: CPU0: Timer Group1 Watch dog reset digital core
00.190 : (264624) Info : FS : Mounting...
00.217 : (262640) Info : FS : LittleFS mount successful, used 151552 bytes o f 323584

Build changed!

And so on in a circle

[TD-er]

But does GPIO-11 show up in the GPIO selection combobox?

[Alex-Orts]

The device does not boot.

[Alex-Orts]

Flashed from ESP_Easy_mega_20241210_neopixel_ESP32c3_4M316k_LittleFS_CDC_ETH.factory It doesn't work

[TD-er]

Hmm did you have LittleFS build installed before, so it is not just a wrong file system issue?

Flashed from ESP_Easy_mega_20241210_neopixel_ESP32c3_4M316k_LittleFS_CDC_ETH.factory It doesn't work

That 'factory' is for flashing via serial.

Can you switch back to before this change using the build on the webflasher page?

https://td-er.nl/ESPEasy/latest/

[TD-er]

The build now building is now using a later ESP-IDF5.3 SDK and latest Arduino3.x code for LittleFS builds.
So maybe you can also test that one as it has some fixes regarding releasing allocated resources to a GPIO pin.

[Alex-Orts]

It has been established Build: [ESP_Easy_mega_20241210_neopixel_ESP32c3_4M316k_LittleFS_CDC_ETH Dec 10 2024]
It doesn't have 11,12,13 but 20,21 in gray.

[TD-er]

That's the build from the web flasher or the one of this pull request?

[Alex-Orts]

https://td-er.nl/ESPEasy/latest/

[TD-er]

OK, that one does not have these changes, so at least you have a way to recover easily :)

Now could you test again with the latest build from here: https://github.com/letscontrolit/ESPEasy/actions/runs/12260984392 ?
This has a newer ESP-IDF5.3 SDK

Remember you need to select a build without "factory" in the name when upgrading via the tools page of ESPEasy.

To be honest, I have no clue why your node was rebooting with these changes.
Or did you have one of those 'forbidden' GPIO pins selected to do something and then the reboots started?

[Alex-Orts]

Flashed via web, works. 12,13 checked on Wifi Status LED works. And 20,21 remained gray. How does Wifi Status LED work? For some reason on all firmware it periodically dims for a short time.

[TD-er]

The status LED acts on network activity.
Depening on whether it is inverted or not, it lights up to max brightness on network activity and then gradually fades out.

The USB pins can be 'freed' by going to the tools->Advanced page and then for the ESPEasy console settings set the primary serial port to "HW Serial0" and uncheck the fallback option.

[Alex-Orts]

But USB is 18,19. They are available on the contrary. And 20,21 are grey.

WiFi works very poorly. With USB connected

84 WiFiStatus: WL_CONNECTED 3 ESPeasy internal wifi status: Conn. IP Init
00:17:09.657 : (198452) Info : WD : Uptime 8 ConnectFailures 0 FreeMem 1985 96 WiFiStatus: WL_CONNECTED 3 ESPeasy internal wifi status: Conn. IP Init
00:17:39.657 : (198640) Info : WD : Uptime 8 ConnectFailures 0 FreeMem 198784 WiFiStatus: WL_CONNECTED 3 ESPeasy internal wifi status: Conn. IP Init
00:18:09.658 : (196844) Info : WD : Uptime 9 ConnectFailures 0 FreeMem 196988 WiFiStatus: WL_CONNECTED 3 ESPeasy internal wifi status: Conn. IP Init

[TD-er]

What is working poorly for wifi?
Does it respond slow? Missing ping packets when you send pings to it?
Pages not loading?
The messages you show are just status info messages shown every 30 seconds.

I will have a look at GPIO 20/21 why they may be greyed out.
Can you share a screenshot of the GPIO boot state settings on the Hardware tab? This also shows what might be conflicting.

On my ESP32-C3 it shows RX0 and TX0 there, so those are default used for Serial0 and thus used by the ESPEasy console.
If your board doesn't use Serial0 but only USB-CDC, then you can set the console to use the CDC port and uncheck the "serial0 fallback" on the tools->Advanced page.

[Alex-Orts]

After unchecking the box Fallback to Serial 0: , they became available. Wifi also started working.

[TD-er]

Hmm strange that changing that section would affect WiFi stability.
Maybe it was receiving lots of noise on those pins?

[Alex-Orts]

It seems that the USB connection is the one that has an effect. Even without starting the console.

[TD-er]

Hmm that's odd as the console should not stall when nothing is reading from the USB CDC port.
Maybe worth looking into that code to see if there has been some changes in either the Arduino or the ESP-IDF code.
I thought only this code for ESP32-S2 was changed (which is using a completely different way of USB handling compared to all other ESP32-xx)