TL;DR
Back in October I purchased a ESP32-CAM but put it aside. After a couple of setbacks I now have the device connecting to my Wi-Fi and my Home Assistant server using ESPHome, and updating OTA.
I followed your ESP32 IR-Triggered Camera with Home Assistant Integration tutorial. I can turn the LED on/off from Home Assistant, but I am not getting any image. The log from the camera is continually reporting “[esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!”.
After googling for possible solutions, the best response seems to be [W][esp32_camera:151]: Got invalid frame from camera! · Issue #1225 · esphome/issues · GitHub which suggests that the camera module may have a hardware fault.
I accept that because it’s been 8 months and I have installed ESPHome firmware, that the ESP32-CAMs warranty is not valid, and that you probably don’t support ESPHome anyway - well OK, at least it wasn’t too expensive.
I can purchase another ESP32-CAM (or a different camera component) … but I how can I test it without having to install and learn Arduino, ESP-IDF and/or manufacturers’ custom apps ? I do NOT want to learn Arduino or Espressif IDE (too many learning curves already).
OK, now the long version…
I use Raspberry Pis and Home Assistant. I have already experienced too many “learning curves”, so I want to avoid having to learn Arduino or Espressif IDE. I made the decision to use ESPHome for microcontrollers where a Raspberry Pi is overkill.
The ESP32-CAM is plugged into a USB power adaptor, with CHARGER Doctor reporting 4.9-5.03V and 0.15-0.17A supplied.
I copied and pasted the Ai-Thinker Camera Example configuration entry (and have since checked against other tutorials) - but I have never been able to get a picture from the camera.
# Ai-Thinker Camera - Example configuration entry
#
esp32_camera:
name: $devicename
external_clock:
pin: GPIO0
frequency: 20MHz
i2c_pins:
sda: GPIO26
scl: GPIO27
data_pins: [GPIO5, GPIO18, GPIO19, GPIO21, GPIO36, GPIO39, GPIO34, GPIO35]
vsync_pin: GPIO25
href_pin: GPIO23
pixel_clock_pin: GPIO22
power_down_pin: GPIO32
vertical_flip: false
horizontal_mirror: false
# resolution: 400x296
# max_framerate: 12 fps
#
# Flashlight
output:
- platform: gpio
pin: GPIO4
id: gpio_4
light:
- platform: binary
output: gpio_4
name: $devicename light
id: camera_flash
The code compiles and loads OTA.
INFO Reading configuration /config/esphome/esp32-cam.yaml...
WARNING GPIO0 is a Strapping PIN and should be avoided.
Attaching external pullup/down resistors to strapping pins can cause unexpected failures.
See https://esphome.io/guides/faq.html#why-am-i-getting-a-warning-about-strapping-pins
WARNING GPIO4 is a Strapping PIN and should be avoided.
Attaching external pullup/down resistors to strapping pins can cause unexpected failures.
See https://esphome.io/guides/faq.html#why-am-i-getting-a-warning-about-strapping-pins
INFO Generating C++ source...
INFO Compiling app...
Processing esp32-cam (board: esp32cam; framework: arduino; platform: platformio/espressif32 @ 3.5.0)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HARDWARE: ESP32 240MHz, 320KB RAM, 4MB Flash
LDF: Library Dependency Finder -> https://bit.ly/configure-pio-ldf
Dependency Graph
|-- <AsyncTCP-esphome> 1.2.2
|-- <WiFi> 1.0
|-- <FS> 1.0
|-- <Update> 1.0
|-- <ESPAsyncWebServer-esphome> 2.1.0
| |-- <AsyncTCP-esphome> 1.2.2
|-- <DNSServer> 1.1.0
|-- <ESPmDNS> 1.0
Compiling /data/esp32-cam/.pioenvs/esp32-cam/src/main.cpp.o
Linking /data/esp32-cam/.pioenvs/esp32-cam/firmware.elf
RAM: [= ] 14.2% (used 46592 bytes from 327680 bytes)
Flash: [====== ] 58.3% (used 1070242 bytes from 1835008 bytes)
Building /data/esp32-cam/.pioenvs/esp32-cam/firmware.bin
esp32_create_combined_bin(["/data/esp32-cam/.pioenvs/esp32-cam/firmware.bin"], ["/data/esp32-cam/.pioenvs/esp32-cam/firmware.elf"])
Wrote 0x115510 bytes to file /data/esp32-cam/.pioenvs/esp32-cam/firmware-factory.bin, ready to flash to offset 0x0
========================= [SUCCESS] Took 38.53 seconds =========================
INFO Successfully compiled program.
INFO Connecting to 192.168.1.163
INFO Uploading /data/esp32-cam/.pioenvs/esp32-cam/firmware.bin (1070352 bytes)
Uploading: [============================================================] 100% Done...
INFO Waiting for result...
INFO OTA successful
INFO Successfully uploaded program.
INFO Starting log output from 192.168.1.163 using esphome API
INFO Successfully connected to 192.168.1.163
[17:16:49][I][app:102]: ESPHome version 2022.5.1 compiled on Jun 7 2022, 17:15:47
[17:16:49][C][wifi:491]: WiFi:
[17:16:49][C][wifi:353]: Local MAC: A4:E5:7C:D5:4A:14
[17:16:49][C][wifi:354]: SSID: 'erykah'[redacted]
[17:16:49][C][wifi:355]: IP Address: 192.168.1.163
[17:16:49][C][wifi:357]: BSSID: 18:D6:C7:56:D5:64[redacted]
[17:16:49][C][wifi:358]: Hostname: 'esp32-cam'
[17:16:49][C][wifi:360]: Signal strength: -43 dB ▂▄▆█
[17:16:49][C][wifi:364]: Channel: 1
[17:16:49][C][wifi:365]: Subnet: 255.255.255.0
[17:16:49][C][wifi:366]: Gateway: 192.168.1.1
[17:16:49][C][wifi:367]: DNS1: 192.168.1.1
[17:16:49][C][wifi:368]: DNS2: 0.0.0.0
[17:16:49][C][logger:274]: Logger:
[17:16:49][C][logger:275]: Level: DEBUG
[17:16:49][C][logger:276]: Log Baud Rate: 115200
[17:16:49][C][logger:277]: Hardware UART: UART0
[17:16:49][C][gpio.output:010]: GPIO Binary Output:
[17:16:49][C][gpio.output:011]: Pin: GPIO4
[17:16:49][C][light:104]: Light 'esp32-cam light'
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:048]: ESP32 Camera:
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:049]: Name: esp32-cam
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:050]: Internal: NO
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:052]: Data Pins: D0:5 D1:18 D2:19 D3:21 D4:36 D5:39 D6:34 D7:35
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:053]: VSYNC Pin: 25
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:054]: HREF Pin: 23
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:055]: Pixel Clock Pin: 22
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:056]: External Clock: Pin:0 Frequency:20000000
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:057]: I2C Pins: SDA:26 SCL:27
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:058]: Reset Pin: -1
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:076]: Resolution: 640x480 (VGA)
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:101]: JPEG Quality: 10
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:103]: Contrast: 0
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:104]: Brightness: 0
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:105]: Saturation: 0
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:106]: Vertical Flip: OFF
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:107]: Horizontal Mirror: OFF
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:108]: Special Effect: 0
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:109]: White Balance Mode: 0
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:112]: Auto Exposure Control: 1
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:113]: Auto Exposure Control 2: 0
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:114]: Auto Exposure Level: 0
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:115]: Auto Exposure Value: 300
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:116]: AGC: 1
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:117]: AGC Gain: 0
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:118]: Gain Ceiling: 0
[17:16:49][C][esp32_camera:124]: Test Pattern: NO
[17:16:49][C][psram:020]: PSRAM:
[17:16:49][C][psram:021]: Available: YES
[17:16:49][C][captive_portal:088]: Captive Portal:
[17:16:49][C][mdns:084]: mDNS:
[17:16:49][C][mdns:085]: Hostname: esp32-cam
[17:16:49][C][ota:085]: Over-The-Air Updates:
[17:16:49][C][ota:086]: Address: 192.168.1.163:3232
[17:16:49][C][api:138]: API Server:
[17:16:49][C][api:139]: Address: 192.168.1.163:6053
[17:16:49][C][api:143]: Using noise encryption: NO
[17:16:51][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:16:55][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:16:59][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:03][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:07][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:11][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:15][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:19][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:23][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:27][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:31][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:35][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:39][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:43][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:47][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:51][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
[17:17:55][W][esp32_camera:162]: Got invalid frame from camera!
In Home Assistant the integration does work to turn the ESP32-CAM’s LED on and off, so it is definitely communicating correctly - but the camera is “unavailable”.
After googling for possible solutions, the best response seems to be [W][esp32_camera:151]: Got invalid frame from camera! · Issue #1225 · esphome/issues · GitHub which suggests that the camera module may have a hardware fault.
