NerdMiner – NerdMinerAP Not Visible After Setup

Hold the NerdMiner reset button for a full 5 seconds with power applied. On single-button boards (LILYGO T-Dongle S3, ESP32-S3-GEEK, M5-StampS3) it is the one button. On two-button boards (LILYGO T-Display S3 family, ESP32-WROOM-32 DevKit1, Wemos Lolin S3 Mini) hold the TOP button only - check the silkscreen. Hold the full 5 seconds, not 3 or 4. Release. Wait 30-60 s for the firmware to re-enter AP mode. `NerdMinerAP` should broadcast. This wipes NVS and is the fix for roughly 40% of AP-missing tickets - and the move almost no first-time NerdMiner owner knows.

Retype the password `MineYourCoins` case-perfect, manually, no paste. Default is `MineYourCoins` - uppercase `M`, uppercase `Y`, uppercase `C`, no spaces, no special characters. iOS autocorrect, iOS smart-quotes, and password-manager paste are the three most common silent failure modes. Type manually on a hardware keyboard (laptop preferred). If the password is rejected, confirm you are typing into the password field and not the SSID field - swap-typo is a real support pattern from GitHub issue `#215`.

Scan for Wi-Fi on a laptop, not just a phone. iOS 17+ and some Samsung / Xiaomi Android builds filter SSIDs with no internet access out of scan lists. The AP may be broadcasting while the phone hides it. Open Wi-Fi settings on a Windows, macOS, or Linux laptop near the NerdMiner. If `NerdMinerAP` appears on the laptop but not the phone, your AP is fine - the phone is the filter. Connect from the laptop, navigate to `http://4.3.2.1/` (or `http://192.168.4.1/` on older firmware) to reach the captive portal.

Power-cycle the NerdMiner from a known-good `5 V / 2 A` wall brick, not a USB hub and not a laptop USB-C port. Some hubs and laptop USB-C ports under-deliver during the ESP32 Wi-Fi TX burst required to start the AP. Unplug, wait 10 s, plug into a proper wall brick on a data-capable (not charge-only) cable. If the AP appears now, you had a power-delivery sag masquerading as a missing AP.

Put the NerdMiner within 1 m of your scanning device. ESP32 AP-mode transmit power is conservative. If your phone or laptop is across the room, behind walls, or sharing a crowded 2.4 GHz channel with a mesh system, the AP beacon can get lost. Scan from directly next to the NerdMiner as a sanity check before advancing to Tier 2 / 3.

USB-C / micro-USB the NerdMiner to a laptop and open a serial console at `115200 baud`. On Windows install the CH340 driver (most ESP32-WROOM-32 DevKit1 boards) or CP2102 driver (some variants) from the chip manufacturer (`wch.cn` for CH340, `silabs.com` for CP2102). Use PuTTY, Tera Term, Arduino Serial Monitor, `screen /dev/tty.usbmodem* 115200`, or `minicom`. Power-cycle the board. Look for `wifi softap: AP STARTED` within 10 seconds of boot. If you see it, the AP is up - go back to step 3. If not, advance.

Hold `BOOT`, tap `RESET`, release `BOOT` to enter ESP32 bootloader mode. Works on every NerdMiner board variant. Silkscreen labels the BOOT button (sometimes `IO0` on older boards). LILYGO T-Display S3: BOOT is the top button, RESET is the bottom. ESP32-WROOM-32 DevKit1: BOOT on the left, EN / RESET on the right. Once in bootloader mode, the ESP32 is ready to receive a Web Flasher payload. Do not power-cycle after entering bootloader mode.

Web Flash the CORRECT firmware target for your board variant via `https://nerdminer.io/` or the release assets at `https://github.com/BitMaker-hub/NerdMiner_v2/releases`. Pick the *exact* board target from the silkscreen. A `LILYGO_T-Display-S3` firmware will NOT work on a `LILYGO_T-Display-S3_AMOLED` board and vice versa - identical-looking boards with different power domains, display drivers, and peripheral pin assignments. Use a WebSerial browser (Chrome / Edge / Opera - not Firefox or Safari). Watch progress complete 100%, power-cycle. `NerdMinerAP` should broadcast within 30 s.

Verify your board silkscreen matches the firmware target string exactly. Check the sticker on the back of the board AND the PCB silkscreen near the display for the exact model number. `LILYGO T-Display S3` vs `T-Display S3 AMOLED` vs `AMOLED Touch` are three different builds and the firmware will not fall back gracefully across them. Match the NerdMiner release list at the BitMaker-hub repo. Wrong-target firmware is the #2 cause of AP-missing tickets after stored-cred NVS state.

Install `esptool.py` and run a full flash erase before reflashing. Install: `pip install esptool` (or `pipx install esptool` on PEP 668 / Debian / Ubuntu 22.04+). With the board in bootloader mode (step 7), run `esptool.py --chip esp32 erase_flash` (or `--chip esp32s3` / `--chip esp32c3` for S-family / C-family). Wait for `Chip erase completed successfully.` Then re-run Web Flasher with the correct board target. This recovers from partition-table corruption that kills AP mode silently - typical on LILYGO T-Dongle S3 (`#665`) and after any interrupted Web Flasher session.

Inspect the bootloader log for panic or watchdog traces. With serial at `115200 baud`, watch the full boot from power-on. A healthy NerdMiner logs: `ESP-ROM:esp32s3-...`, `rst:0x1 (POWERON)`, bootloader second-stage init, partition-table load, application start, peripheral init, and finally `wifi` lines ending in `AP STARTED`. If you see `Guru Meditation Error`, `Rebooting...`, `assert failed`, or `load 0x40... expected 0x...` before the `wifi` lines, you have a firmware-level fault - reflash with the correct target (step 8 / 10). If you see WiFi init start but no `AP STARTED`, you are likely on wrong-target firmware.

PSU and cable sanity check with a power meter. NerdMiner variants draw ~`250-500 mA` at `5 V` during Wi-Fi AP mode. A known-good USB-C wall brick rated `5 V / 2 A` (`10 W`) or better is the Mining Hacker default. Avoid laptop USB-C ports during provisioning - they often rate-limit silently. Use a data-capable cable, not charge-only (many cheap cables are power-only). A sagging supply causes ESP32 brownout during Wi-Fi radio TX burst, which manifests as AP never starting even with correct firmware. Bench-swap to known-good PSU + cable before concluding hardware failure.

Capture a full boot log and reference / file a GitHub issue. With serial console running, capture the complete boot log from power-on through failed AP start. Include firmware version, exact board variant from silkscreen, board revision if printed, USB chipset (CH340 / CP2102 / native USB-C), host OS. Search `https://github.com/BitMaker-hub/NerdMiner_v2/issues` for matching patterns (`#215`, `#369`, `#665`, `#330` are common neighbours). If no match, file a new issue with your log attached. BitMaker-hub maintainers track AP / Wi-Fi bugs closely and D-Central contributes reproducers upstream.

When to stop DIY. If you have: (a) held reset for 5 full seconds; (b) verified `MineYourCoins` case-perfect; (c) confirmed visibility from at least two devices including a laptop; (d) serial console at `115200 baud` shows no `AP STARTED` or shows ESP32 panic traces; (e) reflashed correct board-target via Web Flasher; (f) run full `esptool.py erase_flash` + clean reflash; (g) swapped to known-good PSU and data-capable cable - and `NerdMinerAP` still does not broadcast - you have exhausted standard playbook. Open D-Central support ticket with serial log attached or drop into D-Central Discord `#nerd-family` channel.

When it is hardware. Hardware AP failure on NerdMiner is uncommon but real: ESP32 radio damage from ESD, reversed polarity on improvised power input, brownout during flash corrupting the radio calibration partition, physical damage to PCB antenna. Signature: full flash erase + clean reflash of correct target + known-good PSU + still no `AP STARTED` in serial log. That is warranty / bench territory. Most NerdMiner boards are cheap enough that replacement is rational if radio is damaged. D-Central stocks NerdMiner variants and can ship replacement inside Canada in 3-5 business days.

Ship safely if the NerdMiner is heading to the D-Central bench. Anti-static bag, 5 cm of foam on every side of the outer box. Include a note with exact board variant (printed on silkscreen), NerdMiner firmware version attempted, host OS used for Web Flasher, observed symptoms, and contact info. Context saves triage time and triage time saves your bench dollar. Canada-wide turnaround on NerdMiner-class work is typically 3-7 business days. US / international welcomed - D-Central ships worldwide from Canada.