PicPak Web Flasher

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This browser can’t flash

Flashing needs the Web Serial API, which only exists in Chrome or Edge on a computer (not Firefox, not Safari, not phones or tablets). Open this page there and it will light up.

1

Back up the stock firmware first

Without a backup there is no way back — ever. Installing this firmware erases the factory firmware, which cannot be re-downloaded from anywhere — and part of it is unique to your exact frame, so nobody else’s copy can restore yours. If you might ever want the frame back the way it came out of the box, treat the backup as a must: stop here and follow the backup guide first — a one-time terminal job, roughly 2 hours; this page cannot do it for you.

Your frame, your call — the flasher won’t stop you. Already backed up, or updating a frame that already runs this firmware? Carry on.

2

Plug in & connect

Connect the frame with a USB-C data cable, directly (no hub). If the frame is asleep, hold its button for a moment so the USB port shows up. Then:

Pick the frame in the browser popup — it appears as a USB JTAG/serial debug unit (or usbmodem…). The flasher checks it’s really an ESP32-C3 before anything is written. Monitor log just listens to the frame’s serial output in the console below (nothing is flashed) — the frame deep-sleeps between wakes, so expect silence until a timer wake or a button press; the monitor reattaches by itself when the frame returns.

3

Install the firmware

Fresh install / factory reset
Wipes saved WiFi/server settings — the setup portal returns on first boot. For first installs (coming from the stock firmware) and clean restarts. Update — keep my settings
Installs the new firmware without touching your saved WiFi and server settings — after the update the frame simply reboots and keeps showing photos as before, no setup needed. Unlocks after you connect a frame that already runs this firmware.

serial console

— log will appear here when you connect —

✓

Flashed! Now set it up

The frame reboots into the setup screen. On a first-time flash the Tesserae-Setup WiFi network can take up to a minute to appear after the screen repaints — give it a moment before you go looking for it on your phone.

Still not showing after a minute or two? Unplug the USB-C cable and plug it back in — a full power cycle brings it up right away. You only ever need this on the very first flash.

Once it appears, join Tesserae-Setup (password tesserae) on your phone — the setup form pops up by itself (or browse to 192.168.4.1). Enter your WiFi and your Tesserae server, and save.

Then approve the frame in Tesserae: open Settings → Devices and click Register on the new device. Finally, push a photo to it from Tesserae — the frame picks it up on its next wake.

Typo’d the WiFi password or network name? The frame reopens its setup screen by itself with an error banner. Stuck on “waiting for first frame”? Make sure your Tesserae server is running and the frame is registered — it retries by itself.

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Using your frame

Day to day, everything runs from the frame’s single button:

Quick tap: A plain press-and-release — wakes now and checks the server for a new photo. This is the “just show me the latest” press: a photo you just pushed comes through on this tap.
Brief hold (~½ s): Flip to the next page of your Deck in Tesserae (manual deck navigation). Any hold shorter than the ~5 s refresh counts; with no Deck set up for the frame it just behaves like a quick tap.
Hold ~5 s: Force a refresh — the server re-renders the current page with fresh data and the frame repaints.
Hold ~20 s: Reopen the setup screen to change your WiFi or server.

Deck-flip and force-refresh need the frame on the REST transport (the recommended default). A still screen is normal, not frozen — the frame deep-sleeps between updates and the e-paper holds the last image, so it changes only on its wake interval (or when you press the button). Battery low? It shows a “charge me” screen and slows down until charged. To update the firmware later, come back here and pick Update — keep my settings.