HOW TO CONNECT AN

ESP8266 TO AN ARDUINO
UNO
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There are a lot of guides online on how to connect an ESP8266 to an Arduino uno but theres too
much confusion and not enough explanation. So Im going to give you the quick versionalong with
the details.

Connecting the ESP8266 to an Arduino

The steps you need to take are simple. This is written for the ESP8266-01 but you can find the
pinout for other models easily and use the same pins. First we will connect the Arduino UNO to a
breadboard:

1. Connect the Arduinos 3v3 (3.3V) output to the red line on a breadboard. The ESP8266 works
with 3.3V and not 5V, so this is necessary. If you want to connect other components that use 5V,
you can connect the 5V output to the other red line of the breadboard, just make sure you
dont connect the two.
2. Connect GND (ground) to the blue line.
 2. Connect GND (ground) to the blue line.
3. Connect the RES or RESET pin to the blue line. When you ground the reset pin, the Arduino
works as a dumb USB to serial connector, which is what we want to talk to the ESP8266.
4. Connect the RXD pin of the Arduino to the RX pin of the ESP8266 (yellow color in the picture).
5. Connect the TXD pin of the Arduino to the TX pin of the ESP (green color in the picture).
Usually, when we want two things to talk to each other over serial, we connectthe TX pin of
one to the RX of the other (send goes to receive and the opposite). Here we do not have the
Arduino talk to the ESP8266 though, our computer is talking to it via the Arduino.
6. Connect the GND pin of the ESP to the blue line and the VCC pin to the red line.
7. Finally CH_PD goes to the red line, supposedly it will not work if you do not connect this.
According to adiscussion (http://www.eevblog.com/forum/microcontrollers/esp8266-ch_pd-
useful-for-anything/msg681407/?
PHPSESSID=66231e7f2b5b7525e3c455cd5eef1a36#msg681407) I found:

ESP-01 and ESP-03 were initially meant to be used as an Arduino WiFi module. In that aspect
it made sense to break out CH_PD so that the user could disable the device when not in use (to
save power).

(http://www.teomaragakis.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/uno_esp_connection.png)

Usingthe Arduino IDE

In the Arduino IDE, you dont need to choose a board, as were not uploading anything to the
ESP8266. Just choose the right port in the Tools menuand go to Tools Serial Monitor. Then
simply set your baud rate to 115200 (the default ESP8266 firmware uses it) and your line endings to
Both NL & CR.

If you type AT in the message field and press enter, it should respond with OK .

And since we talked about the CH_PD pin, remember that if you want to flash the ESP8266 you
should connect the GPIO0 pin to GND (blue line), which putsthe ESP into flash mode.

So there you have it! If you have any questions, ask below and Ill do my best to answer!
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ABOUT TEO
Im Teo. Technology enthusiast, nerd, web
designer, programmer, apple fanboy and proud
(http://www.teomaragakis.com/author/admin/) dog owner. I like to make and improve things.

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26 thoughts on How to connect an ESP8266 to an Arduino

UNO
johnnyfrx wrote on September 21, 2016 at 9:44 pm
(http://www.teomaragakis.com/hardware/electronics/how-to-connect-an-esp8266-to-an-arduino-
()

uno/#comment-6451)
Reply (http://www.teomaragakis.com/hardware/electronics/how-to-connect-an-esp8266-to-an-
arduino-uno/?replytocom=6451#respond)
FINALLY! Thank You Man! So many other whacked out configurations on the web. Yours nailed
it on the FIRST SHOT!

Ronak (http://Next%20time) wrote on September 18, 2016 at 3:29 pm

(http://www.teomaragakis.com/hardware/electronics/how-to-connect-an-
(http://Next%20time) esp8266-to-an-arduino-uno/#comment-6447)

Reply (http://www.teomaragakis.com/hardware/electronics/how-to-
connect-an-esp8266-to-an-arduino-uno/?replytocom=6447#respond)
Hi Teo,

After a lot of trying from available information on internet. What seems

worked from your suggestion is connecting the RESET pin from Arduino to