OurBrewbot

Install OurBrewbot

Plug the controller into this computer with a USB cable and install the latest release straight from this page. You only need a cable for the first install. After that, updates go over WiFi.

Back up first. Installing replaces the original MyBrewbot firmware. If you might want to go back to it, back up the whole flash before you start. The browser installer can't make a backup for you.

Your browser can't talk to USB devices. Use Chrome or Edge on a desktop or laptop computer, or flash it manually.

The installer only works on a secure (https://) page.

Loading the latest release…

Installing

  1. Connect the controller to this computer with a USB data cable.
  2. Click Connect & install and pick the controller's serial port. It's usually listed as CP2102, CH340 or USB Serial.
  3. When you're asked whether to erase the device, leave erase unticked to keep your existing settings. Erasing wipes all probe, fermenter and WiFi settings.
  4. Wait about a minute while it writes and verifies the firmware.
  5. When it's finished, the installer may say it can't set up WiFi. That's expected: OurBrewbot sets up WiFi through its own setup hotspot, described under first run.

If it won't connect

  • No port listed? The cable may be charge-only, so try another one. Windows may also need the CP210x or CH340 USB driver.
  • “Failed to connect”? Put the board into bootloader mode: hold FLASH, press and release RST, then release FLASH. Then try again.
  • Port busy? Close anything else that uses the port, such as the Arduino IDE, a PlatformIO serial monitor or another browser tab.

First run

  1. On first boot the controller opens a WiFi hotspot called OurBrewbot-XXXXXX. Make a note of that name.
  2. Connect to the hotspot from your phone or laptop. A setup page opens. If it doesn't, browse to http://192.168.4.1.
  3. Choose your WiFi network, which must be 2.4 GHz, and enter the password.
  4. The controller restarts and joins your network.
  5. Open http://ourbrewbot-xxxxxx.local in a browser, using your XXXXXX. If that name doesn't resolve on your network, find the controller's IP address in your router's admin page and browse to that instead.

The setup hotspot stays open for 3 minutes. If nobody connects in that time, the controller restarts and opens it again.

Updating later

Once OurBrewbot is running, you don't need the cable. Download the latest OurBrewbot_vX.Y.Z.bin from the releases page, open http://ourbrewbot-xxxxxx.local/update and upload the file. Your settings are kept.

Backing up the original firmware

This copies all 4 MB of flash, including the original firmware and its settings, into one file. Put the board into bootloader mode (see above), then run esptool: 

pip install esptool
esptool.py --port COM7 --baud 115200 read_flash 0x0 0x400000 mybrewbot_backup.bin

Replace COM7 with your port. On Linux or macOS it looks like /dev/ttyUSB0. Keep the 4 MB file somewhere safe. To restore it, write it back to address 0x0 with write_flash.

On Windows you can use the Espressif Flash Download Tool instead. Choose ESP8266 / Develop / UART, open the chipInfoDump tab and read from 0x0 with a length of 0x400000.

Installing manually

If you can't use the browser installer, download OurBrewbot_vX.Y.Z.bin from the releases page, put the board into bootloader mode and write it to address 0x0. The file already contains the correct flash settings, so don't override them: 

esptool.py --port COM7 --baud 115200 write_flash 0x0 OurBrewbot_vX.Y.Z.bin

With the Espressif Flash Download Tool, open the SPIDownload tab, add the .bin at address 0x0, and set SPI speed to 40 MHz and SPI mode to DIO. Then click START.