ESP8266 (v2.5i) excessive Wi-Fi connection delay (hours) on ESPHome 2026.1.x

[fcastilloec]

Since updating to firmware built on ESPHome 2026.1.4, my ratgdo v2.5i (ESP8266) takes several hours to successfully connect to wifi. This occurs with both custom ESPHome builds and the official pre-compiled GitHub firmware.

After a successful upgrade using the OTA binary, I can immediately see the ratgdo AP to set the SSID and password, and after submitting that, the issues start. The device is sometimes visible in router logs but fails to "associate" or get an IP for long periods. I never had this issue with previous versions (2025.7.0).
Power cycling does not fix the issue; it only restarts the "waiting" period.
I was updating via the ESPHome add-on in Home Assistant, when I encountered the issue, it took me 12 to 24 hours before the device was available again. I decided to flash the GitHub firmware 1165 and everything went smoothly. Today, I updated to the 1166 release and the same problem started.

Some searching mentioned the changed from MD5 to SHA256, lack of memory, or the new roaming logic. I'm not knowledgeable enough to see what's causing it.

As mentioned in the title, I have a ratgdo v2.5i with secplusv1

[bdraco]

Maybe esphome/esphome#13656 -- You'll need to provide serial logs as well to confirm

[fcastilloec]

My device is not in an easy-to-access location, it's going to take me a while before I can provide serial logs. I can show you the logs from my router if that's helpful. These are for my boards MAC address:

Feb  6 11:07:51 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(685): wl0.1: Auth [MAC-ADDRESS], status: Successful (0), rssi:0
Feb  6 11:07:51 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(722): wl0.1: Assoc [MAC-ADDRESS], status: Successful (0), rssi:-43
Feb  6 11:08:30 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(662): wl0.1: Disassoc [MAC-ADDRESS], status: 0, reason: Disassociated because sending station is leaving (or has left) BSS (8), rssi:0
Feb  6 11:08:30 wlceventd: wlceventd_proc_event(645): wl0.1: Deauth_ind [MAC-ADDRESS], status: 0, reason: Deauthenticated because sending station is leaving (or has left) IBSS or ESS (3), rssi:0

Those are repeated constantly

[bdraco]

Likely serial logs are going to be needed to know for sure what is going on, otherwise we can only guess

[billraff]

I have noticed the same behavior and for now have decided I won’t be updating any longer. Like you it’s not easy for this old man to get up there where it is located. Just thought I’d let you know you’re not alone.

[fcastilloec]

As requested, here are the serial logs from my ratgdo v2.53i (black board). I’m seeing a persistent connection loop with a specific lwIP error -16 when it attempts to apply the hostname.

The board has been offline for over 24 hours now. I've confirmed that the WiFi credentials are correct (I re-verified them through the captive portal, as shown in the logs), but it consistently fails to associate.

Setup:
smartHome is a dedicated 2.4 GHz (WPA2-Personal) network. I have a DHCP reservation set for this MAC address for IP only (no host name changes).
Other ESPHome/smart devices on this same network are stable. I also tested a separate SSID (OurHouse) with "Smart Connect" enabled (all frequencies have the same SSID), but the behavior was the same.

What I've done:
I originally adopted the board via the ESPHome add-on, then updated using the latest OTA firmware from the GitHub release page.
I’ve tried flashing the latest firmware from the web serial flasher, and even used esptool to perform a full chip erase before rolling back to Release 1165 which was the latest one on ESPHome 2025.7.0. The error persisted, so I tried the oldest firmware available on GitHub Release 1129.

Note: If I restart the router while the ratgdo is powered on, it connects without issues! This is only a workaround, I can't restart the router every time the ratgdo disappears, or ESPHome is updated.

The error remains identical across all firmware versions I've tested. Here are the logs:

[I][captive_portal:050]: Requested WiFi Settings Change:
[I][captive_portal:051]:   SSID='SmartHome'
[I][captive_portal:052]:   Password='**************'
[D][esp8266.preferences:240]: Saving
[D][wifi:692]: Exiting cooldown early due to new WiFi credentials
[D][wifi:1290]: Retry phase: RESTARTING → RETRY_HIDDEN
[I][wifi:707]: Connecting to 'SmartHome' (any) (priority 0, attempt 1/1 in phase RETRY_HIDDEN)...
[W][wifi_esp8266:220]: wifi_apply_hostname_(ratgdov25i-18fd79): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][component:454]: captive_portal took a long time for an operation (70 ms)
[W][component:457]: Components should block for at most 30 ms
[W][wifi:1139]: Connecting to network failed (callback)
[D][wifi:1290]: Retry phase: RETRY_HIDDEN → RESTARTING
[W][wifi:1139]: Connecting to network failed (callback)
[D][wifi:1290]: Retry phase: RESTARTING → RETRY_HIDDEN
[I][wifi:707]: Connecting to 'SmartHome' (any) (priority 0, attempt 1/1 in phase RETRY_HIDDEN)...
[W][wifi_esp8266:220]: wifi_apply_hostname_(ratgdov25i-18fd79): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][component:454]: mdns took a long time for an operation (112 ms)
[W][component:457]: Components should block for at most 30 ms
[W][wifi:1133]: Connection timeout
[D][wifi:1290]: Retry phase: RETRY_HIDDEN → RESTARTING
...
[E][api:136]: No clients; rebooting
[I][app:217]: Forcing a reboot

Logs for the "Smart Connect" not-hidden network:

[I][wifi:707]: Connecting to 'OurHouse' (*******) (priority 0, attempt 1/2 in phase SCAN_CONNECTING)...
[W][wifi_esp8266:220]: wifi_apply_hostname_(ratgdov25i-18fd79): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][component:454]: wifi took a long time for an operation (390 ms)
[W][component:457]: Components should block for at most 30 ms
[W][ratgdo_secplus1:062]: Triggering sync failed actions.
[I][safe_mode:042]: Boot seems successful; resetting boot loop counter
[W][wifi:1133]: Connection timeout
[D][wifi:1455]: Failed 'OurHouse' (*******), priority 0 → 0
[D][wifi:1526]: Retry attempt 2/2 in phase SCAN_CONNECTING
[I][wifi:707]: Connecting to 'OurHouse' (*******) (priority 0, attempt 2/2 in phase SCAN_CONNECTING)...
[W][wifi_esp8266:220]: wifi_apply_hostname_(ratgdov25i-18fd79): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi:1139]: Connecting to network failed (callback)
[D][wifi:1455]: Failed 'OurHouse' (*******), priority 0 → -1
[D][wifi:289]: Skipping hidden retry for visible network 'OurHouse'
[D][wifi:1290]: Retry phase: SCAN_CONNECTING → RESTARTING
[W][wifi:425]: Restarting adapter
[W][wifi:1160]: Unknown connection status 0
[D][wifi:1290]: Retry phase: RESTARTING → SCAN_CONNECTING
[D][wifi:888]: Starting scan
[D][wifi:998]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:971]: - 'OurHouse' (*******) ▂▄▆█
[D][wifi:974]:   Channel:  1, RSSI: -24 dB, Priority:   -1
[I][wifi:971]: - 'OurHouse' (*******) ▂▄▆█
[D][wifi:974]:   Channel:  1, RSSI: -60 dB, Priority:   -1
...
[I][wifi:707]: Connecting to 'OurHouse' (*******) (priority -1, attempt 1/2 in phase SCAN_CONNECTING)...
[W][wifi_esp8266:220]: wifi_apply_hostname_(ratgdov25i-18fd79): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[I][wifi:499]: Starting fallback AP
[C][wifi:580]: Setting up AP:
  AP SSID: 'ratgdo'
  AP Password: ''
  IP Address: 192.168.4.1
[W][wifi:1133]: Connection timeout
[D][wifi:1455]: Failed 'OurHouse' (*******), priority -1 → -1
[D][wifi:1526]: Retry attempt 2/2 in phase SCAN_CONNECTING

[fcastilloec]

I see that there's a new version of ESPHome with the wifi fix. Is there a chance you can trigger an automatic build of firmwares using the new version? I no longer use ESPHome just to avoid constant updates of the firmware if the device is working perfectly fine.

[bdraco]

A new release would need to be made here

[bdraco]

We will probably wait for 2026.2.1 here before doing another ratgdo release

[bdraco]

probably friday ish.. or maybe monday if it drags

[bdraco]

2026.2 didn't have anything concerning in the issue reports so https://github.com/ratgdo/esphome-ratgdo/releases/tag/v1199 is published

🤞 that it helps this case

[fcastilloec]

Before I saw the new firmware published, I adopted it to ESPHome to updated it as soon as possible and stop the random disconnects. It seems to be working fine with v2026.2.0, but I guess I'll have to wait a couple of days to confirm that it doesn't disconnect anymore.

[fcastilloec]

Unfortunately, today it got disconnected again, and a router reboot was the only thing that made it come back... It's going to take me a while before I can check more logs again. It was adopted and compile with ESPHome v2026.2.1, not with the firmware release here.