Skip to content

Onboarding: first device claim

Onboarding is a one-time procedure in which the ESP32 registers with the iDryer cloud and is claimed to your account. Once complete, the device appears in the portal with status Online and state Ready, and all subsequent power-ups are automatic.

What you will need

The REPL is available only in builds with the flag IDRYER_DEV_REPL=1. Open Serial Monitor, enter three commands — the device connects to WiFi, requests a PIN, and is ready to claim.

1. Flash the dev build

pio run -e esp32c3-super-mini-dev -t upload

Or use any env where -DIDRYER_DEV_REPL=1 is set.

2. Open Serial Monitor

pio device monitor -b 115200

After boot you will see the prompt:

[boot] iDryer dev REPL ready — type 'help'

Immediately after, cloud stack messages start appearing in the log:

[CLOUD] Init: serial=DEVICE_XXXXXXXXXXXX deviceId=(none)
[CLOUD] Connecting to WiFi...

3. Connect WiFi

Type in the Serial Monitor console:

wifi MyHomeWiFi MySecretPass

Response:

> wifi MyHomeWiFi MySecretPass
[wifi] saving 'MyHomeWiFi' / '****'

Credentials are written to NVS. The board immediately calls WiFi.begin(). The log will show:

[CLOUD] WiFi connected, IP: 192.168.1.42, RSSI: -51 dBm
[CLOUD] Provisioning device...
[CLOUD] Provision OK: isNew=1 isClaimed=0
[CLOUD] Registering device for claim...
[CLOUD] PIN: 3847291 (expires in 600s)

4. Get the PIN and claim in the portal

The device automatically provisions itself and registers a 7-digit PIN. The PIN is valid for 10 minutes.

  1. Open portal.idryer.org (or staging).
  2. Go to Add device.
  3. Enter the PIN from Serial Monitor.

After a successful claim, the log shows:

[CLOUD] Device claimed! deviceId=...
[CLOUD] Connecting to MQTT...
[CLOUD] MQTT connected!
[RT] Cloud Online

If the PIN expired before you entered it — run the claim command to get a new one.

Useful REPL commands

Command What it does When to use
help Show command list Remind yourself of syntax
status Current state: WiFi, IP, RSSI, online, serial Connection diagnostics
wifi <ssid> <password> Save WiFi credentials to NVS and reconnect First onboarding or network change
claim Manually start the claim flow, get a new PIN PIN expired or re-claim needed
wipe Erase NVS (credentials, claim, menu) and reboot Factory reset
restart Software reboot of the ESP Quick reboot without physical disconnect

Path 2. Via Improv-WiFi (Web Serial)

Improv-WiFi is built into all builds and does not depend on the IDRYER_DEV_REPL flag. Suitable for handing off a device to a user or when a terminal is inconvenient. Requires Chrome or Edge — the Web Serial API is not supported in Safari or Firefox.

1. Verify the board is flashed

Any prod build will do. Improv-WiFi is always active.

2. Open the web page

Go to https://www.improv-wifi.com/serial/, click Connect, and select the device's USB port in the browser dialog.

3. Enter SSID and password

The page will ask for the network name and password, transmit them to the board via Serial-Improv. The board saves credentials to NVS and connects to WiFi. Provisioning and PIN retrieval happen automatically — the same as in Path 1.

Note

Improv-WiFi cannot run claim, wipe, or check status. Use the REPL for manual claim flow and NVS management.

When to use each path

Situation Recommendation
Embedded developer with a terminal open REPL
Handing the device to a user Improv-WiFi
Need manual wipe or repeat claim REPL
Safari or Firefox browser REPL
PlatformIO not installed Improv-WiFi

If something went wrong

PIN not appearing in the log. Check that the device connected to WiFi: type status and verify that the ip= field in the response is not empty. Provisioning does not start without WiFi.

PIN expired. Enter the claim command — the device requests a new registration and prints a fresh PIN.

Device already claimed to another account. Enter wipe — NVS will be erased, the board will reboot and start onboarding from scratch.

PIN not accepted by the portal. Verify you copied all 7 digits with no spaces and that fewer than 10 minutes have passed since the PIN appeared.

Improv-WiFi does not see the device in the browser. Make sure you are using Chrome or Edge and that the ESP32 USB driver is installed.

What to do next