Can't update the Nextion / Display Firmware using the 'id(nspanel).upload_tft(url);' service

[vmarquar]

I just bought a brand new Sonoff NS Panel and tried to flash the nspanel.tft firmware (version 53) onto it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to complete the display firmware update. I tried several attemps and all updates freezed at random percentages (6%, 18%, 47%, 2% etc.). I used the firmware v53, downloaded from this url, and hosted it on ha locally in the www-folder.

My workaround was to flash Tasmota onto the esp and using the FlashNextion http://my-ha-ip:8123/local/nspanel.tft command to successfully update the display firmware onto it. After that I was able to flash the esphome firmware onto the display as intended.

However, these little issues apart - thank you very much for this project! :) It looks really promising to me and I hope to get rid of the AppDaemon solution for my NS Panels.

[olicooper]

Hi, thanks for trying out the project! I recently discovered this issue too and I have been trying to figure out what the cause is without success so far!.. I did push an update yesterday which improved it (you can read more about the issue in the commit message), are you using the latest code?

[vmarquar]

Hi,
I was using the latest code from the dev branch - but I only tried it on 31.07. So probably your recent changes weren't included while I was trying to flash the tft firmware.

[vmarquar]

I tried searching for similar problems and found these issues:

• System Error DATA! on display unable to flash tft. joBr99/nspanel-lovelace-ui#862 (comment)
• Can only upload tft file with tasmota. sairon/esphome-nspanel-lovelace-ui#26 (comment)

Maybe this helps!

[onyxkyr]

Hello, I am facing a similar problem, for the me the upload process does not even start.
Setting the log-level of esphome to DEBUG I get the following log trying to upload the nspanel.tft :

[23:35:08][I][app:100]: ESPHome version 2024.7.3 compiled on Aug  5 2024, 23:31:22
[...]
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:194]: Nextion TFT upload requested
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:195]: URL: http://192.168.X.Y/nspanel.tft
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:209]: Exiting Nextion reparse mode
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:222]: Initializing HTTP client
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:223]: Free heap: 2154355
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:245]: Check if the client could connect
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:246]: Free heap: 2155479
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:255]: Check the HTTP Status Code
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:256]: Free heap: 2154971
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:264]: TFT file size: 297995 bytes
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:273]: File size check passed. Proceeding...
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:277]: Uploading Nextion
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:280]: Wake-up Nextion
[23:35:11][D][nspanel_lovelace:1130]: Sending: dimmode~100~100
[23:35:12][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:286]: Free heap: 2158347
[23:35:12][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:296]: Clear serial receive buffer
[23:35:12][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:303]: Free heap: 2158347
[23:35:12][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:305]: Send upload instruction: whmi-wris 297995,115200,1
[23:35:12][D][nspanel_lovelace:1130]: Sending: whmi-wris 297995,115200,1
[23:35:12][C][uart.idf:093]: Setting up UART 1...
[23:35:12][D][esp-idf:000]: I (21761) uart: queue free spaces: 20

[23:35:12][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:319]: Waiting for upgrade response
[23:35:17][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:325]: Upgrade response is [] - 0 byte(s)
[23:35:17][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:326]: Free heap: 2154803
[23:35:17][E][nspanel_lovelace_upload:331]: Preparation for TFT upload failed 0 ""
[23:35:17][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:332]: Close HTTP connection
[23:35:17][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:335]: Connection closed
[23:35:17][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:381]: Nextion TFT upload finished: NO
[23:35:17][D][nspanel_lovelace:1130]: Sending: rest
[23:35:17][E][nspanel_lovelace_upload:397]: Nextion TFT upload failed
[23:35:17][W][component:237]: Component api took a long time for an operation (5601 ms).
[23:35:17][W][component:238]: Components should block for at most 30 ms.

Reading the links above, I also tried to set the uart baud_rate to 9600, which makes no difference for me.
I reseated the flex cable to make sure its no connection issue, the display is turned on and shows a default screen; also it is possible to turn it off and on. I am wondering why the uart response is 0 byte(s) in size?

[olicooper]

It sounds like your issue is different because of the nextion response.. Do you have the original TFT firmware on your panel? Is the panel blank/off when you start the uploading? I will push an update based on a theory I have.

Also, the firmware size 297995 looks too small? Have you tried using these links from the nspanel setup page instead?

• EU Version: FlashNextion http://nspanel.pky.eu/lui-release.tft
• US Version Portrait: FlashNextion http://nspanel.pky.eu/lui-us-p-release.tft
• US Version Landscape: FlashNextion http://nspanel.pky.eu/lui-us-l-release.tft

It should look something like this:

Send update instruction: whmi-wris 8373568,115200,1
Waiting for upgrade response
Upgrade response is [05] - 1 bytes

[onyxkyr]

I am quite sure, I bought a used NSPanel to test this, it appeared to be still with the default Sonoff firmware, I just flashed esphome with the basic configuration of this repo. The screen does not change at all. When I power on the device, a sonoff animation plays and then a default screen with time 0:00 and null temperatures etc. is displayed. The display can be toggled via esphome, but during flash it remains exactly like that.
I will check with the other tft file, the latest tft I tried was around 8MB in size.

[olicooper]

I have pushed a commit for you to test :) Try deleting the .esphome\.build directory before rebuilding too (sometimes platformio has issues with caching old versions of stuff).

[onyxkyr]

Is "clean build files" sufficient? Otherwise I need to find out where the build directory is.
If it is sufficient, I just tested it, and it makes no difference as far as I can tell.

[11:11:09][D][nspanel_lovelace:1157]: Sending: time~11:11
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:194]: Nextion TFT upload requested
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:195]: URL: http://nspanel.pky.eu/lui-release.tft
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:209]: Exiting Nextion reparse mode
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:222]: Initializing HTTP client
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:223]: Free heap: 2157639
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:245]: Check if the client could connect
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:246]: Free heap: 2155391
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:255]: Check the HTTP Status Code
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:256]: Free heap: 2156415
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:264]: TFT file size: 8373568 bytes
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:273]: File size check passed. Proceeding...
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:277]: Uploading Nextion
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:280]: Wake-up Nextion
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace:1130]: Sending: dimmode~100~100
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:286]: Free heap: 2158247
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:296]: Clear serial receive buffer
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:303]: Free heap: 2158247
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:305]: Send upload instruction: whmi-wris 8373568,115200,1
[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace:1130]: Sending: whmi-wris 8373568,115200,1
[11:11:31][C][uart.idf:093]: Setting up UART 1...
[11:11:31][D][esp-idf:000]: I (28643) uart: queue free spaces: 20

[11:11:31][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:319]: Waiting for upgrade response
[11:11:36][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:325]: Upgrade response is [] - 0 byte(s)
[11:11:36][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:326]: Free heap: 2155019
[11:11:36][E][nspanel_lovelace_upload:331]: Preparation for TFT upload failed 0 ""
[11:11:36][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:332]: Close HTTP connection
[11:11:36][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:335]: Connection closed
[11:11:36][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:381]: Nextion TFT upload finished: NO
[11:11:36][D][nspanel_lovelace:1130]: Sending: rest
[11:11:36][E][nspanel_lovelace_upload:397]: Nextion TFT upload failed
[11:11:36][W][component:237]: Component api took a long time for an operation (5639 ms).
[11:11:36][W][component:238]: Components should block for at most 30 ms.

Here is how the screen looks all the time after the bootup animation

[olicooper]

I only see Sending: dimmode~100~100 in the logs which means that your firmware doesn't include the latest commit..
Try changing the refresh property to something small on the esphome config?

      url: https://github.com/olicooper/esphome-nspanel-lovelace-native
      ref: dev
    refresh: 60s  <--

I'm not sure the update will change anything given that the screen is already awake though... I wonder if it has some other firmware on it so that update commands are slightly different? I'm not sure what the stock firmware looks like because I immediately deleted it when I got mine! I expected it to look like this: https://www.espthings.io/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/nspanel-1024x825.png?v=1633549657 ... I guess it is pretty similar?

Based on the links in the comment above, maybe the quickest solution for now is to temporarily upload Tasmota and use it to upload the TFT like vmarquar did? You can also try switching to the Arduino variant of the firmware if you want to try that but I assume that won't help in this case...

esp32:
...
  framework:
    type: arduino   <--

...
      url: https://github.com/olicooper/esphome-nspanel-lovelace-native
      ref: arduino-panic-fix   <--

It seems even esphome has issues with the TFT sometimes. It will need more investigation for sure.

[onyxkyr]

I tried again with the following config

esp32:
  board: esp32dev
  framework:
    type: arduino #esp-idf
    #sdkconfig_options:
      ## These are required to allow access to the PSRAM
      ## NOTE: This is temporary and will be removed in a 
      ##       future release when the build script is improved
    #  CONFIG_D0WD_PSRAM_CLK_IO: '5'
    #  CONFIG_D0WD_PSRAM_CS_IO: '18'

external_components:
  - source:
      type: git
      url: https://github.com/olicooper/esphome-nspanel-lovelace-native
      ref: arduino-panic-fix #dev
    refresh: 1s
    components: [nspanel_lovelace]



## UART for the Nextion display
uart:
  id: uart_nextion
  tx_pin: 16
  rx_pin: 17
  baud_rate: 9600

I tried the update command multiple times, getting the following feedback ( the currently updating part).

[11:54:16][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:133]: Currently updating
[11:54:46][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:133]: Currently updating
[11:57:23][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:133]: Currently updating
[11:58:58][D][time:051]: Synchronized time: 2024-08-06 11:58:58
[11:58:58][D][time:051]: Synchronized time: 2024-08-06 11:58:58
[12:02:05][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:133]: Currently updating
[12:13:58][D][time:051]: Synchronized time: 2024-08-06 12:13:58
[12:13:58][D][time:051]: Synchronized time: 2024-08-06 12:13:58
[12:28:58][D][time:051]: Synchronized time: 2024-08-06 12:28:58
[12:28:58][D][time:051]: Synchronized time: 2024-08-06 12:28:58
[12:34:11][D][nspanel_lovelace_upload:133]: Currently updating

I probably missed the initial log. I assume it should not take more than 30 minutes? Should I give it some more time, or try after a reboot?

[olicooper]

You'll have to restart the esp to issue the update command again because the is_updating_ flag is set to stop the code from starting an update during an existing update. I'd have to see more of the logs to know what is happening but the display will show an update bar if it is working properly so I imagine it probably isn't working still..

Right now I think your quickest option is to use the NSPanel guide to flash Tasmota using a USB TTL like the CH340 and then flash ESPHome again after updating the TFT. The process is roughly as follows:

• Head over to https://tasmota.github.io/install/ and select Tasmota32 Sonoff-NSPanel (english) from the dropdown list, then follow the instructions to upload the firmware to your NSPanel
• Connect to the panel serial console and run this command to install the berry driver Backlog UrlFetch https://raw.githubusercontent.com/joBr99/nspanel-lovelace-ui/main/tasmota/autoexec.be; SetOption151 0;Restart 1
• Again in the serial console, upload the TFT FlashNextion http://nspanel.pky.eu/lui-release.tft
• Upload ESPHome using the USB TTL (not via the Tasmota webui as this doesn't work properly).

Once the custom TFT is uploaded, this issue shouldn't happen again based on what I've read online (although there are still other issues with the upload process I still need to fix).

[onyxkyr]

Flashing via Tasmota does indeed work without any troubles, looking forward to test your project now!

[olicooper]

I have added a commit which will hopefully address the issue you had. I haven't tested it though so I'm not sure it will work. Any testers out there that want to try this?

For anyone else reading this... If you have the stock TFT firmware installed on your device, please set the baud_rate to 9600 in the uart section of your esphome config before trying to use the TFT upload feature. This will trigger an upload using the old/legacy upload protocol.
It is a good idea to leave on DEBUG logging too so we have got more information to work with if there is an issue with the upload.
After the initial upload is complete, you are safe to set the baud_rate back to 115200 as the custom firmware uses this baud by default.

Also worth noting, I recently made some updates to the code which addressed memory usage and should also improve the reliability of the upload process too. If you are having issues with the upload failing part way through the upload, try to reduce the amount of cards and entities you have as these use up memory.

[vmarquar]

@olicooper Thanks for your effort! I will test the latest changes in the upcoming days and will let you know if it works. Just to make sure I understood you correctly:

• I would pull the latest dev branch and test it using following uart-config.
• then I would start the upload_tft service from HA and log the output of the esp / nextion display via the uart port.

My minimal config looks like this:

(...)

external_components:
  - source:
      type: git
      url: https://github.com/olicooper/esphome-nspanel-lovelace-native
      ref: dev
    refresh: 3h
    components: [nspanel_lovelace]

## UART for the Nextion display
uart:
  id: uart_nextion
  tx_pin: 16
  rx_pin: 17
  baud_rate: 115200 #baud-rate 115.200 should be ok, since I'm already on Firmware v53?

logger:
  baud_rate: 115200
  level: DEBUG

api:
  encryption:
    key: !secret password
    
  services:
    ## Service to update the TFT firmware using a URL that is accessible to the nspanel
    - service: upload_tft
      variables:
        url: string # in my case with the local HA webserver: http://192.xxx.xxx.xxx:8123/local/nspanel.tft 
      then:
        - lambda: 'id(nspanel).upload_tft(url);'

(...)

---

Referrring to the stock firmware issue: Maybe it would be a good idea to update the Readme.md with a little Warning section to inform new users there, e.g.:

Important

If you have the stock TFT firmware installed on your device, please set the baud_rate to 9600 in the uart section of your esphome config before trying to use the TFT upload feature.