Flashing the ESPixelStick Firmware

<updated 2026-02-20>

The development version of ESPixelStick will allow you to use your Sol2Go, Tetra2Go, or Octa2Go controller as an FPP Remote! You will also need the SD Card Module to take advantage of this functionality. This will NOT work on the Duo2Go, since it does not have an expansion header to use for the SD modue.

Please note! Version 4 of the ESPixelStick software has not yet been officially released! You may experience issues. We recommend fully testing any setup upon which you install this software.

You will need the following software installed prior to installing ESPixelSTick:

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Once the above software is installed you can use ESPixelStick's online installer:

1. Make sure that power is DISCONNECTED from your controller, then use a USB data cable (not just a charging cable) to connect the ESP32 to your PC.
   
   
2. Use a web browser to open the online installer page:
   https://espixelstickwebflasher.from-ct.com:5000/
   
   
3.  Under "Version" you can choose which version you would like to install. I typically suggest the latest "non-Experimental" version.
   
   
4. Under "Platform", choose the board that matches your controller:
   "ESP32 Solo2Go", "ESP32 Tetra2Go", or "ESP32 Octa2Go"
   
   
5. Under "Wi-Fi Configuration" enter your SSID and password. 
   You should also set an AP password in case you need to connect directly to the controller's built-in access point.
   
   
6.  Click the "Flash Device" button. It will prompt you to select the correct COM port. (It's usually the one marked as a "USB-type port". Please select that. and press CONNECT. The click "Install ESPixelStick" and "Install".  It will take a couple of minutes to finish flashing.
   
   
7. Once finished, click on the option to view "Logs & Console". This will give you the IP address assigned to your controller by your WIfi router. (yours will be different than mine)
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Once you have located the IP address, open a web browser and enter this IP in the address bar. This will open the ESPixelStick Web interface
   
   
   
9.  If you see a "File Management" tab, then it confirms that your SD Card module is installed and a properly formatted SD card has been inserted.
   
   
10.  Click on the "Device Setup" tab
    
    
    
11. Set your Primary Input to DDP (E1.31 is also supported, but requires additional configuration. DDP is much easier!)
    
    
12. Set your Secondary Input to FPP Remote
    
    
13. Set outputs each to "WS2811". 
    Solo2Go:  Output 1
    Tetra2Go: Outputs 1-4
    Octa2Go: Outputs 1-8
    
    
14. Click the "Save Changes" button
    
    
15. Click on  the "Admin" tab in the upper right corner of the window
    
    
16. Click the "Reboot" button and wait a minute or so, and wait until the web site refreshes.
    
    

You are ready to go!  It can now be "discovered" in the Controller setup section of Xlights. You can also use Tools->FPP Connect to upload your sequences to the SD Card.

Also - be aware that if you "Upload Output" from Xlights, the pixel counts will be updated in the ESPixelStick firmware.