PX4 User Guide
  • Introduction
  • Getting Started
    • Basic Concepts
    • Vehicles/Frames
    • Flight Controllers
    • Sensors
    • Radio Systems
    • Flight Modes
    • Vehicle Status Notifications
      • LED Meanings
      • Tune/Sound Meanings
      • Preflight Checks
    • Payloads & Cameras
    • Flight Reporting
  • Basic Assembly
    • Mounting the Flight Controller
    • Mounting the GPS/Compass
    • Vibration Isolation
    • Cable Wiring
    • CUAV Pixhawk V6X Wiring QuickStart
    • CUAV V5+ Wiring Quickstart
    • CUAV V5 nano Wiring Quickstart
    • Holybro Pixhawk 6C Wiring Quickstart
    • Holybro Pixhawk 6X Wiring Quickstart
    • Holybro Pixhawk 5X Wiring Quickstart
    • Holybro Pixhawk 4 Wiring Quickstart - Discontinued
    • Holybro Pixhawk 4 Mini Wiring Quickstart - Discontinued
    • Holybro Durandal Wiring Quickstart
    • Holybro Pix32 v5 Wiring Quickstart
    • Cube Wiring Quickstart
    • Pixracer Wiring Quickstart
    • mRo (3DR) Pixhawk Wiring Quickstart
  • Standard Configuration
    • Firmware
    • Airframe
    • Sensor Orientation
    • Compass
    • Gyroscope
    • Accelerometer
    • Airspeed
    • Level Horizon Calibration
    • Radio Setup
    • Joystick Setup
    • Flight Modes
    • Battery
    • Safety
      • Failsafe Simulation
    • ESC Calibration
    • Actuators
    • Autotune
  • Vehicle Types & Setup
    • Multicopters
      • Multicopter Config/Tuning
        • MC Filter/Control Latency Tuning
        • MC PID Tuning (Manual/Basic)
        • MC PID Tuning Guide (Manual/Advanced)
        • MC Setpoint Tuning (Trajectory Generator)
          • MC Jerk-limited Type Trajectory
        • Multicopter Racer Setup
      • X500 v2 (Pixhawk 6C)
      • X500 v2 (Pixhawk 5X)
      • X500 (Pixhawk 4)
      • S500 V2 (Pixhawk 4)
      • DJI F450 (CUAV v5+)
      • DJI F450 (CUAV v5 nano)
      • QAV250 (Pixhawk4 Mini) - Discontinued
      • DJI F450 + RTK (Pixhawk 3 Pro)
      • QAV250 (Pixhawk Mini)
      • QAV-R 5" Racer (Pixracer)
      • Omnicopter
    • Planes
      • Fixed Wing Config/Tuning
        • Fixedwing PID Tuning Guide
        • Fixedwing Advanced Tuning Guide
        • Fixedwing Trimming Guide
      • Reptile Dragon 2 (ARK6X)
      • Turbo Timber Evolution (Pixhawk 4 Mini)
      • Wing Wing Z84 (Pixracer)
    • VTOL
      • VTOL Config/Tuning
        • QuadPlane Configuration
        • Back-transition Tuning
        • VTOL w/o Airspeed Sensor
        • VTOL Weather Vane
      • Standard VTOL
        • FunCub QuadPlane (Pixhawk)
        • Ranger QuadPlane (Pixhawk)
        • Falcon Vertigo QuadPlane (Dropix)
      • Tailsitter VTOL
        • Build: TBS Caipiroshka Tailsitter Build (Pixracer)
      • Tiltrotor VTOL
        • Build: Convergence Tiltrotor (Pixfalcon)
    • Airships (experimental)
    • Autogyros (experimental)
      • ThunderFly Auto-G2 (Holybro pix32)
    • Balloons (experimental)
    • Helicopter (experimental)
      • Helicopter Config/Tuning
    • Rovers (experimental)
      • Traxxas Stampede
    • Submarines (experimental)
      • BlueROV2
    • Airframes Reference
  • Flying
    • First Flight Guidelines
    • Flying 101
    • Missions
      • Package Delivery Mission
    • GeoFence
    • Safety Point Planning
    • Flight Modes
      • Position Mode (MC)
      • Altitude Mode (MC)
      • Manual/Stabilized Mode (MC)
      • Acro Mode (MC)
      • Orbit Mode (MC)
      • Position Mode (FW)
      • Altitude Mode (FW)
      • Stabilized Mode (FW)
      • Acro Mode (FW)
      • Manual Mode (FW)
      • Takeoff Mode
      • Land Mode
      • Return Mode
      • Hold Mode
      • Mission Mode
      • Follow Me Mode
      • Offboard Mode
    • Terrain Following/Holding
  • Flight Log Analysis
    • Log Analysis using Flight Review
    • Log Analysis using PlotJuggler
  • Advanced Configuration
    • Finding/Updating Parameters
    • Full Parameter Reference
    • ECL/EKF Overview & Tuning
    • Flight Termination Configuration
    • Bootloader Flashing onto Betaflight Systems
    • Land Detector Configuration
    • Prearm/Arm/Disarm Configuration
    • IMU Factory Calibration
    • Sensor Thermal Compensation
    • Compass Power Compensation
    • Advanced Controller Orientation
    • Static Pressure Buildup
    • Serial Port Configuration
    • MAVLink Telemetry (OSD/GCS)
    • PX4 Ethernet Setup
    • Bootloader Update
  • Hardware (Drones&Parts)
    • Complete Vehicles
      • ModalAI Starling
      • PX4 Vision Kit
      • MindRacer BNF & RTF
        • MindRacer 210
        • NanoMind 110
      • Holybro Kopis 2
      • Bitcraze Crazyflie 2.1
    • Flight Controllers (Autopilots)
      • Pixhawk Series
        • Silicon Errata
      • Pixhawk Standard Autopilots
        • CUAV Pixhawk V6X (FMUv6X)
        • Holybro Pixhawk 6X (FMUv6X)
        • Holybro Pixhawk 6C (FMUv6C)
        • Holybro Pixhawk 6C Mini(FMUv6C)
        • Holybro Pix32 v6 (FMUv6C)
        • Holybro Pixhawk 5X (FMUv5X)
        • Holybro Pixhawk 4 (FMUv5) - Discontinued
        • Holybro Pixhawk 4 Mini (FMUv5) - Discontinued
        • Drotek Pixhawk 3 Pro (FMUv4pro)
        • mRo Pixracer (FMUv4)
        • Hex Cube Black (FMUv3)
        • mRo Pixhawk (FMUv3)
        • Holybro Pixhawk Mini (FMUv3) - Discontinued
      • Manufacturer-Supported Autopilots
        • AirMind MindPX
        • AirMind MindRacer
        • ARK Electronics ARKV6X
        • CUAV X7
        • CUAV Nora
        • CUAV V5+ (FMUv5)
        • CUAV V5 nano (FMUv5)
        • CUAV Pixhack v3 (FMUv3)
        • CubePilot Cube Orange+ (CubePilot)
        • CubePilot Cube Orange (CubePilot)
        • CubePilot Cube Yellow (CubePilot)
        • Holybro Kakute H7v2
        • Holybro Kakute H7mini
        • Holybro Kakute H7
        • Holybro Durandal
        • Holybro Pix32 v5
        • ModalAI Flight Core v1
        • ModalAI VOXL Flight
        • ModalAI VOXL 2
        • mRobotics-X2.1 (FMUv2)
        • mRo Control Zero F7)
        • NXP RDDRONE-FMUK66 FMU
        • Sky-Drones AIRLink
        • SPRacing SPRacingH7EXTREME
        • ThePeach FCC-K1
        • ThePeach FCC-R1
      • Experimental Autopilots
        • BeagleBone Blue
        • Raspberry Pi 2/3 Navio2
        • Raspberry Pi 2/3/4 PilotPi
          • PilotPi with Raspberry Pi OS
          • PilotPi with Ubuntu Server
      • Discontinued Autopilots/Vehicles
        • Drotek Dropix (FMUv2)
        • Omnibus F4 SD
        • BetaFPV Beta75X 2S Brushless Whoop
        • Bitcraze Crazyflie 2.0
        • Aerotenna OcPoC-Zynq Mini
        • CUAV v5
        • Holybro Kakute F7 (Discontinued)
        • Holybro Pixfalcon
        • Holybro pix32 (FMUv2)
        • mRo AUAV-X2
        • 3DR Pixhawk 1
        • Snapdragon Flight
        • Intel® Aero RTF Drone (Discontinued)
      • Pixhawk Autopilot Bus (PAB) & Carriers
        • ARK Electronics Pixhawk Autopilot Bus Carrier
    • Flight Controller Peripherals
      • ADSB/FLARM (Traffic Avoidance)
      • Air Traffic Avoidance: ADSB/FLARM
      • Air Traffic Avoidance: UTM
      • Airspeed Sensors
        • TFSlot Airspeed Sensor
      • Barometers
      • Camera
      • Distance Sensors (Rangefinders)
        • Lightware SFxx Lidar
        • Ainstein US-D1 Standard Radar Altimeter
        • LeddarOne Lidar
        • Benewake TFmini Lidar
        • Lidar-Lite
        • TeraRanger
        • Lanbao PSK-CM8JL65-CC5
        • Avionics Anonymous Laser Altimeter UAVCAN Interface
      • ESCs & Motors
        • PWM ESCs and Servos
        • DShot ESCs
        • OneShot ESCs and Servos
        • DroneCAN ESCs
          • Zubax Telega
          • PX4 Sapog ESC Firmware
            • Holybro Kotleta
            • Zubax Orel
        • VESC
      • TBS Crossfire (CRSF) Telemetry
      • FrSky Telemetry
      • Gimbal (Mount) Configuration
      • GPS/Compass
        • ARK GPS
        • Holybro DroneCAN M8N GPS
        • LOCOSYS Hawk A1 GNSS
        • Hex Here2
        • Holybro M8N & M9N GPS
        • Sky-Drones SmartAP GPS
      • Grippers
        • Servo Gripper
      • Optical Flow
        • ARK Flow
        • PMW3901
        • PX4FLOW (Deprecated)
      • Precision Landing
      • Parachute
      • Power Modules/PDB
        • CUAV HV pm
        • CUAV CAN PMU
        • Holybro PM02
        • Holybro PM07
        • Holybro PM06 V2
        • Holybro PM02D (digital)
        • Holybro PM03D (digital)
        • Pomegranate Systems Power Module
        • Sky-Drones SmartAP PDB
      • Satellite Coms (Iridium/RockBlock)
      • Telemetry Radios
        • SiK Radio
          • RFD900 (SiK) Telemetry Radio
          • HolyBro (SIK) Telemetry Radio
        • Telemetry Wifi
          • ESP8266 WiFi Module
          • ESP32 WiFi Module
          • 3DR Telemetry Wifi (Discontinued)
        • Microhard Serial Telemetry Radio
          • ARK Electron Microhard Serial Telemetry Radio
          • Holybro Microhard P900 Telemetry Radio
        • CUAV P8 Telemetry Radio
        • HolyBro XBP9X - Discontinued
      • RTK GPS
        • ARK RTK GPS
        • RTK GPS Heading with Dual u-blox F9P
        • CUAV C-RTK
        • CUAV C-RTK2 PPK/RTK GNSS
        • CUAV C-RTK 9Ps
        • Femtones MINI2 Receiver
        • Freefly RTK GPS
        • Holybro H-RTK-F9P
        • Holybro H-RTK-M8P
        • Holybro H-RTK Unicore UM982 GPS
        • Locosys Hawk R1
        • Locosys Hawk R2
        • Septentrio AsteRx-RIB
        • Septentrio mosaic-go
        • Trimble MB-Two
        • CubePilot Here+ (Discontined)
      • Remote ID
      • Smart Batteries
        • Rotoye Batmon Battery Smartification Kit
      • Tachometers (Revolution Counters)
        • ThunderFly TFRPM01 Tachometer Sensor
      • I2C Peripherals
        • I2C bus accelerators
        • TFI2CADT01 I2C address translator
      • CAN Peripherals
      • DroneCAN Peripherals
        • PX4 DroneCAN Firmware
        • ARK CANnode
    • Companion Computers
      • Pixhawk + Companion Setup
        • RasPi Pixhawk Companion
      • Companion Computer Peripherals
      • Holybro Pixhawk RPI CM4 Baseboard
      • Auterion Skynode
      • Computer Vision
        • Obstacle Avoidance
        • Safe Landing
        • Collision Prevention
        • Path Planning Interface
        • Motion Capture (MoCap)
        • Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO)
          • Realsense T265 Tracking Camera (VIO)
      • Video Streaming
  • Development
    • Getting Started
      • Recommended Hardware/Setup
      • Toolchain Installation
        • MacOS Setup
        • Ubuntu Setup
        • Windows Setup
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      • Building the Code
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    • Concepts
      • PX4 Architecture
      • PX4 Flight Stack Architecture
        • Controller Diagrams
      • Events Interface
      • Flight Modes
      • Flight Tasks
      • Control Allocation
      • PWM limit state machine
      • System Startup
      • SD Card Layout
    • Simulation
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        • Vehicles
        • Multi-Vehicle Sim
      • Gazebo Classic Simulation
        • Vehicles
        • Worlds
        • Multi-Vehicle Sim
      • FlightGear Simulation
        • FlightGear Vehicles
        • Multi-Vehicle Sim with FlightGear
      • JSBSim Simulation
      • AirSim Simulation
      • Multi-Vehicle Simulation
      • Simulate Failsafes
      • HITL Simulation
      • Simulation-In-Hardware
    • Hardware
      • Flight Controller Reference Design
      • Manufacturer’s Board Support Guide
      • Flight Controller Porting Guide
        • PX4 Board Configuration (kconfig)
        • NuttX Board Porting Guide
      • Serial Port Mapping
      • Airframes
        • Adding a New Airframe
      • Device Drivers
      • Telemetry Radio
        • SiK Radio
      • Sensor and Actuator I/O
        • DroneCAN
        • I2C Bus
        • UART/Serial Ports
          • Port-Configurable Serial Drivers
      • RTK GPS (Integration)
    • Middleware
      • uORB Messaging
      • uORB Graph
      • uORB Message Reference
        • ActionRequest
        • ActuatorArmed
        • ActuatorControlsStatus
        • ActuatorMotors
        • ActuatorOutputs
        • ActuatorServos
        • ActuatorServosTrim
        • ActuatorTest
        • AdcReport
        • Airspeed
        • AirspeedValidated
        • AirspeedWind
        • AutotuneAttitudeControlStatus
        • BatteryStatus
        • ButtonEvent
        • CameraCapture
        • CameraStatus
        • CameraTrigger
        • CellularStatus
        • CollisionConstraints
        • CollisionReport
        • ControlAllocatorStatus
        • Cpuload
        • DebugArray
        • DebugKeyValue
        • DebugValue
        • DebugVect
        • DifferentialPressure
        • DistanceSensor
        • Ekf2Timestamps
        • EscReport
        • EscStatus
        • EstimatorAidSource1d
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        • EstimatorBias
        • EstimatorBias3d
        • EstimatorEventFlags
        • EstimatorGpsStatus
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        • FollowTargetEstimator
        • FollowTargetStatus
        • GeneratorStatus
        • GeofenceResult
        • GimbalControls
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        • GimbalManagerInformation
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        • GpsDump
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        • Gripper
        • HealthReport
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On this page
  • Where to Buy
  • Pixhawk/PX4 Setup & Configuration
  • Connect via ESP8266 to QGC
  • Configure QGC with non-standard WiFi connections
  • Verify
  • ESP8266 Flashing/Firmware (Advanced)
  • Pre Built Binaries
  • Build From Sources
  • Updating the Firmware OTA
  • Flashing the ESP8266 Firmware
  • Wiring for Flashing the Firmware
  1. Hardware (Drones&Parts)
  2. Flight Controller Peripherals
  3. Telemetry Radios
  4. Telemetry Wifi

ESP8266 WiFi Module

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Last updated 1 year ago

The ESP8266 and its clones are low-cost and readily available Wi-Fi modules with full TCP/IP stack and microcontroller capability. They can be used with any Pixhawk series controller.

:::tip ESP8266 is the defacto default WiFi module for use with (and is usually bundled with it). :::

Where to Buy

The ESP8266 module is readily available from a number of suppliers. A few vendors are listed below.

Most modules support 3.3 V input (only), while some flight controllers (e.g. Pixhawk 4) output at 5V (you will need to check compatibility and step down the voltage if needed).

Modules that accept 3.3V supply:

  • (Sparkfun)

  • - discontinued (GearBeast)

Modules that accept 5.0V supply:

  • (Banggood)

  • (Banggood)

Pixhawk/PX4 Setup & Configuration

:::tip You may first need to update the radio with PX4-compatible ESP8266 firmware (). The manufacture instructions should explain if this is needed. :::

Connect your ESP8266 to your Pixhawk-series flight controller (e.g. Pixracer) on any free UART.

Connect the flight controller to your ground station via USB (as WiFi is not yet fully set up).

Using QGroundControl:

Once you have configured the flight controller serial port used for connecting to the radio, you can remove the physical USB connection between the ground station and the vehicle.

Connect via ESP8266 to QGC

The module exposes a WiFi hotspot that your ground station computer can use to connect to the vehicle.

:::note The settings for the ESP8266 hotspot should be provided with the board (e.g. typically printed on the reverse side of the board or on the packaging).

A common factory network setting is:

  • SSID: PixRacer

  • Password: pixracer

  • WiFi Channel: 11

  • UART speed: 921600

Other modules may use settings like this:

  • SSID: IFFRC_xxxxxxxx

  • Password: 12345678

  • IP: 192.168.4.1

  • Port: 6789 (TCP)

Examples of boards from AlphaUILink and DOITING are shown below:

On your wifi-enabled QGroundControl ground station computer/tablet, find and connect to the open wireless network for your ESP8266. On a Windows computer the connection settings for a network with name Pixracer and default password pixracer point will look like this:

QGroundControl will automatically connect to the vehicle when the ground station computer is attached to a WiFi access point named "Pixracer".

If you're using a module with any other WiFi name you will need to manually set up the QGroundControl WiFi connection, as shown in the following section.

Configure QGC with non-standard WiFi connections

QGroundControl will automatically connect to the vehicle when the ground station computer is attached to the "Pixracer" WiFi access point. For any other access point name you will need to manually create a custom comm link:

  1. Add new connection with appropriate settings.

  2. Select the new connection, and click Connect.

  3. The vehicle should now connect

Verify

You should now see HUD movement on your QGC computer via wireless link and be able to view the summary panel for the ESP8266 WiFi Bridge (as shown below).

ESP8266 Flashing/Firmware (Advanced)

ESP8266 modules from different manufacturers may not have appropriate ESP8266 firmware pre-installed. The instructions below explain how to update radios with the correct version.

Pre Built Binaries

Build From Sources

Updating the Firmware OTA

If you have firmware 1.0.4 or greater installed, you can do the update using the ESP's Over The Air Update feature. Just connect to its AP WiFi link and browse to: http://192.168.4.1/update. You can then select the firmware file you downloaded above and upload it to the WiFi Module.

:::tip This is the easiest way to update firmware! :::

Flashing the ESP8266 Firmware

esptool.py --baud 921600 --port /dev/your_serial_port write_flash 0x00000 firmware_xxxxx.bin

Where:

  • firmware_xxxxx.bin is the firmware you downloaded above

  • your_serial_port is the name of the serial port where the ESP8266 is connected to (/dev/cu.usbmodem for example)

Wiring for Flashing the Firmware

:::warning Most ESP8266 modules support 3.3 volts (only), while some flight controllers (e.g. Pixhawk 4) output at 5V. Check compatibility and step down the voltage if needed. :::

There are various methods for setting the ESP8266 into Flash Mode but not all USB/UART adapters provide all the necessary pins for automatic mode switching. In order to boot the ESP8266 in Flash Mode, the GPIO-0 pin must be set low (GND) and the CH_PD pin must be set high (VCC). This is what my own setup looks like:

I built a cable where RX, TX, VCC, and GND are properly wired directly from the FTDI adapter to the ESP8266. From the ESP8266, I left two wires connected to GPIO-0 and CH_PD free so I can boot it either normally or in flash mode by connecting them to GND and VCC respectively.

ESP8266 (ESP-01) Pinout

Flashing Diagram using an FTDI USB/UART Adapter

.

used to connect the ESP8266. Remember to set the baud rate to 921600 in order to match the value set for the ESP8266.

on the corresponding serial port in order to receive telemetry and transmit commands over the ESP8266.

:::

Go to

:::tip If you have any problem connecting, see . :::

The contains instructions and all the tools needed for building and flashing the ESP8266 firmware.

Before flashing, make sure you boot the ESP8266 in Flash Mode as described below. If you cloned the repository, you can build and flash the firmware using the provided tools and environment. If you downloaded the pre-built firmware above, download the utility and use the command line below:

Load recent PX4 firmware onto the flight controller
Configure the serial port
Configure MAVLink
Application Settings > Comm Links
QGC Usage Problems
MavLink ESP8266 Firmware V 1.2.2
firmware repository
MavESP8266
PlatformIO
esptool
Pixracer
WRL-17146
AI Cloud
AI Thinker
AlphaUAVLink
see below
Windows Network Setup: Connection
Windows Network Setup: Security
QGC Summary showing Wifi Bridge
esp8266 flashing rig
esp8266 wifi module pinout
esp8266 flashing
AlphaUAVLink - Back
AlphaUAVLink - Front
DOITING EPS 12F - Back
DOITING EPS 12F - Front