Board Firmware

Re-flash (reset) the firmware on your SentryNode Pilot board. Use this if the board is unresponsive, after a hardware change, or to roll back to a clean known-good build.

When to reset the firmware

  • The board does not respond to the app, even after a Wi-Fi reset.
  • You suspect the firmware was corrupted or partially flashed.
  • You added or changed a sensor and want a clean build.
  • You want to return the board to its factory firmware.
Most network/connection problems can be fixed by holding the BOOT button on the board for 5 seconds (Wi-Fi reset) or 15 seconds (full factory reset). Try that first — only re-flash if the board is still not behaving.

Step-by-step

Step 1: Install the Arduino IDE

Download the Arduino IDE from arduino.cc/en/software and install it for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).

Step 2: Add ESP32 board support

  1. Open the IDE and go to File → Preferences.
  2. In Additional Boards Manager URLs, paste: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json
  3. Open Tools → Board → Boards Manager, search for esp32, and install the latest esp32 by Espressif Systems.
  4. Select your board under Tools → Board → esp32 (for SentryNode Pilot use ESP32 Dev Module).

Step 3: Install the required libraries

Open Tools → Manage Libraries… and install:

  • Adafruit VL53L0X — distance sensor driver
  • NimBLE-Arduino — BLE provisioning stack

Step 4: Connect the PCB

  1. Power off the board (unplug the battery if one is attached).
  2. Plug a USB cable from your computer into the board's USB-C / micro-USB port.
  3. On macOS / Linux the board appears as /dev/tty.usbserial-* or /dev/ttyUSB*; on Windows it shows up as a new COM port. Select it in Tools → Port.
  4. If the port does not appear, install the USB-serial driver for your board (typically CP210x or CH340) and reconnect.

Step 5: Copy the firmware into the editor

  1. In the Arduino IDE, create a new sketch with File → New Sketch.
  2. Select the existing content and delete it.
  3. Use the Copy button on the code box below, then paste it into the empty sketch.
  4. Save the sketch as sentrynode_firmware.

Step 6: Upload to the board

  1. Confirm Tools → Board = ESP32 Dev Module and Tools → Port points at the connected board.
  2. Click the Upload button (the right-pointing arrow in the toolbar).
  3. If the IDE prints Connecting… for more than a few seconds, hold the BOOT button on the board until upload begins, then release.
  4. Wait for Done uploading. The board will reboot automatically.

Step 7: Verify

Open the Serial Monitor at 115200 baud. You should see the device ID, serial number, and either a Wi-Fi join attempt or a BLE provisioning message. Then re-pair the board in the SentryNode Pilot app.

Firmware source

Paste this into the Arduino IDE in Step 5.

For everyday board usage and pairing, see the SentryNode Pilot guide.