FAQ
Short answers to the questions that come up most often.
Which browser do I need for the web installer?
Chrome or Edge — the installer uses the Web Serial API, which Firefox and Safari don't support. Any OS works as long as the browser is Chromium-based.
The board doesn't show up when I click Connect
Two usual suspects: the USB-serial driver (install CP210x or CH340 drivers depending on the adapter chip) and the cable — many USB cables are charge-only and carry no data. Try another cable before anything else. Also note most QuinLED and Gledopto boards have no onboard USB-serial chip and need an external USB-TTL adapter.
How do I flash a WT32-ETH01 (XDMX rev2.2)?
The WT32-ETH01 has no USB port. Connect a USB-TTL adapter to TX0/RX0/GND, tie GPIO0 to GND, then power the board up — it boots into the serial bootloader. Flash normally, remove the GPIO0 strap, and power-cycle.
How do I factory reset?
Boards with a physical reset button (e.g. XDMX): hold it for 10 seconds — the config is wiped and the defaults are loaded, including a fresh MAC-based device ID. Boards without a button: use the reset action in the web UI Settings while it is still reachable, or flash the merged image over USB, which clears the configuration as a side effect.
Does my config survive firmware updates?
Over the air, yes. The runtime config lives in NVS (flash key-value storage) rather than in the filesystem, so an OTA firmware update leaves it alone.
It does not survive a USB flash of the merged image, which is what the web installer writes: that image covers the whole 4 MB of flash including the NVS region, so the board comes back on factory defaults with a fresh device ID. Same for a full-chip erase or a factory reset. Export the config as JSON from Settings before any USB flash and upload it again afterwards.
Art-Net data isn't arriving
Check in this order:
- Universe numbering — RavLight universes are 0-based like Art-Net. If your software counts from 1, its universe 1 is RavLight's universe 0.
- Same subnet — sender and board must be on the same IP subnet; check the board's IP in the Network panel.
- Firewall — allow UDP 6454 (Art-Net) or 5568 (sACN) outbound on the sending machine.
- Open the DMX monitor page — if channels light up there, data is arriving and the issue is patching, not network.
ravXXXX.local doesn't resolve
mDNS works out of the box on Windows, macOS, Linux and iOS, but Android does not resolve .local hostnames in the browser. On Android use the board's IP address directly — it's shown in the Info popup and in your router's DHCP client list.
Where do I download release binaries?
From the GitHub releases page, grouped per fixture in release/{veyron,elyon,orion}/vX.Y.Z/. Each board gets two files, and which one you want depends only on whether the board has RavLight on it already:
| File | Use it for |
|---|---|
<board>.bin (merged) | First flash or recovery, over USB at offset 0x0. Contains bootloader, partition table and application — and wipes the configuration. |
<board>_fw_v<version>.bin | Every update after that: upload it in the web UI, or esptool at 0x10000. Keeps the configuration. |
There is no longer a separate _fs_ filesystem binary: the web UI is compiled into the firmware image, so one file is the whole update.
Can I always update over the air?
Yes, with one historical exception: a board still running firmware older than 2.23.3 needs a single USB flash of the merged image first. Version 2.23.3 unified the partition table, and an over-the-air update writes into an application slot that has to already exist — it cannot move the slots themselves. Once a board is on 2.23.3 or newer, it never needs USB again. See Getting started for the details.
How do I report a bug?
Open an issue on GitHub. Include the board, fixture, firmware version (Info popup), and what you were sending it (Art-Net/sACN source and universe layout) — that's usually enough to reproduce.