Chris Brewer asked 5 years ago
All your courses that I’ve looked at briefly (so, 2 of them) instruct me to plug my ESP32 into my computer. Your instructions look like they’re nicely done, but there’s an assumption being made that I understand how to plug this in.
Sara Santos Staff answered 5 years ago
Hi Chris.
I’ve already answered your comment on our website comment’s section.
But, I’ll answer it here too.
Basically, almost all ESP32 boards come with a USB socket. That USB socket can be used both to power the ESP32 or to establish a serial communication.
In all our projects we mention to connect the ESP32 to your computer so that you can upload new code to the board via serial communication.
To connect the ESP32 to your computer just connect a USB cable from the ESP32 to one of the USB ports on your computer.
The USB cable must have data wires (not just a power USB cable), so that you can transfer data to and from the ESP32.
For example, some USB cables from power banks don’t have data wires (these won’t work to upload code).
I hope this is clear.
Let me know if you need further help.
Regards,
Sara
Chris Brewer answered 5 years ago
Hi Sara. That’s super helpful. I was under the impression that the ESP32 needed external power supply, and hadn’t considered that USB would provide power and data. Silly, in hindsight. Thank you!
Sara Santos Staff answered 5 years ago
Hi Chris.
Yes, USB can provide both power and data.
I’ll mark this question as resolved. If you need further help, you just need to open a new question in our forum.
Regards,
Sara