Because the ESP-01 has a very limited number of pins available, it’s difficult to use it on its own to control things.
It’s usually used as a WiFi modem for other boards that don’t have internet connectivity such as the Arduino Uno and Mega.
I assume from this comment that you are trying to use it as a WiFi modem for something like an Uno or Mega, but you’ve not explained that part, or said how you’ve wired the two together and what code you’re running on the other board.
When you’re using the ESP-01 as a WiFi modem for another board it must be running the original factory firmware, often known as AT firmware because it communicates with the other board via AT commands.
If you’ve uploaded a sketch to the ESP-01 then you’ve overwritten the original AT firmware and it won’t work as a WiFi modem until you’ve re-flashed it with AT firmware. This can’t be done via the Arduino IDE, but if you do some googling you should find a suitable firmware file and re-flashing utility.
and yes I know that I need AT firmware but I’ve tried flashing different firmware’s with a flasher tool which says the flash is successful but when I try an AT command it doesn’t return anything
So how are you sending the AT command to the ESP-01?
Is this with it plugged-in to your USB adapter and typing the command into the IDE’s serial monitor?
I’m told that a for long-term reliable operation you should be powering the ESP-01 from a separate 3.3v power supply, with the GND of that supply connected to GND of the Uno. For initial testing, powering the ESP from the Uno should be fine, although when I’ve done this in the past never used all these resistors.
When I needed to flash an ESP-01 recently I used this method and it worked very well…
I tried both options in the serial monitor. i flashed my other esp01 (i have 2) and that ones not showing code weird code lines but its not responding to AT either and i cant seem to be able to type in the putty terminal
This garbage in your serial monitor is because you have the wrong baud rate set in the bottom right hand corner of the serial monitor screen.
The default baud rate for the ESP-01 is usually 115200 or 74880.
All but the latest version of the Arduino IDE will lose the connection to the ESP when you unplug it, so you will need to close and re-open the serial monitor if you unplug the ESP’s USB adapter from your PC.
There are lots of ESP-01 AT firmware versions on the Espressif website, but I think you would need to use the Espressif flash too to upload them, rather than the tool that was linked in the topic I referenced earlier.
The Espressif flash tool is much less intuitive.
If you go down the route of using a WiFi connected board then I can guarantee you’ll never go back to the Arduino and ESP-01 combo again!
I have used that tool but I get the same results (no response from at). Truth is I wish I had a wifi board but I already had an Arduino Uno on hand so I just purchased a esp01. I’ll try some of the other espressif firmware versions. Is there any other solutions I should try before changing the board completely
WiFi enabled boards such as the NodeMCU/Wemos D1 Mini are very cheap.
There are also many advantages to an all-in-one setup as it gives things like OTA updates.
You should read this…
