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Flashing the Firmware

A brand-new device gets the firmware exactly once over USB — every update afterwards happens over the air. Flashing takes about five minutes.

What You Need

  • Your display and a USB data cable
  • The factory image for your device (next section)
  • Espressif's free Flash Download Tool (Windows): download from Espressif — or esptool on Linux/macOS

Step 1: Download The Factory Image

Grab the file matching your device from the latest release:

Device File
M5Stack Tab5 hometiles_<version>_m5stacks_tab5_factory.bin
Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-4B hometiles_<version>_waveshare_4b_factory.bin
Waveshare ESP32-P4-86-Panel-ETH-2RO hometiles_<version>_waveshare_4b_factory.bin
Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-7 hometiles_<version>_waveshare_touch_lcd_7_factory.bin
Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-8 hometiles_<version>_waveshare_touch_lcd_8_factory.bin
Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-10.1 hometiles_<version>_waveshare_touch_lcd_10_1_factory.bin
Guition JC8012P4A1C_I_W_Y hometiles_<version>_guition_jc8012p4a1_factory.bin

factory.bin vs. plain .bin

The factory image is a complete flash image — bootloader, firmware, and empty configuration in one file. It is only for the first flash (or a full reset). The plain .bin of the same name is the small OTA update file used later by the on-device updater and the web admin — never flash that one over USB.

Step 2: Flash

Connect the device to your PC via USB, then in the Flash Download Tool:

  1. ChipType ESP32-P4, WorkMode Develop, LoadMode UART → OK.
  2. In the first file row: select the factory.bin, set the address to 0x0, and tick the row's checkbox.
  3. COM: pick the device's serial port (if none appears, try another cable/port). Leave BAUD at 115200.
  4. Click START and wait for FINISH.
  5. Unplug/replug or press the reset button — some boards don't restart on their own.
Linux / macOS: esptool instead 

esptool --chip esp32p4 --port <PORT> write_flash 0x0 hometiles_<version>_<device>_factory.bin
Replace <PORT> with the serial port (for example /dev/ttyACM0).

Step 3: First Boot

The device shows the boot splash (logo + firmware version) and starts with an empty dashboard. It is not on your network yet — open Settings → WiFi on the device and continue with the Home Assistant Setup, which walks through WiFi, MQTT, and pairing.

Resetting An Existing Device

Flashing the factory image again wipes everything: WiFi, MQTT, and all tiles — back up first via Import/Export if you want to keep the layout.

Re-pairing after a reset

Delete the device's old entry in Home Assistant before expecting a new "discovered device" card. The device ID is derived from the MAC address, which survives the flash — Home Assistant won't re-discover an ID it already knows.