Arduino + ESP8266 as Webserver

Question

I want to connect Arduino to my Home Wifi and make it serve as a server to access GPIO pins on Arduino from remote (like controlling LED connected to Arduino from remote).
I am using ESP8266 to connect to my wifi network.

I am facing some issues like:

• sometimes it doesn't connect to my wifi router.
• not connecting to my mobile Hotspot.
• not able to serve default and AP mode.

I am following tutorial from http://allaboutee.com/2014/12/30/esp8266-and-arduino-webserver/
Here is my code:

#include <SoftwareSerial.h> 
#define DEBUG true

SoftwareSerial esp8266(2,3); // make RX Arduino line is pin 2, make TX Arduino line is pin 3.
                             // This means that you need to connect the TX line from the esp to the Arduino's pin 2
                             // and the RX line from the esp to the Arduino's pin 3
void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600);
  esp8266.begin(115200); // your esp's baud rate might be different



  sendData("AT+RST\r\n",2000,DEBUG); // reset module
//  sendData("AT",2000,DEBUG); // send AT command
//  sendData("AT+GMR\r\n",2000,DEBUG); // returns firmware
//  Serial.println("checking mode");
//  sendData("AT+CWMODE=?\r\n",5000,DEBUG); // check supported modes
//
//  Serial.println("scanning APs");
//  sendData("AT+CWLAP\r\n",21000,DEBUG); // scan list of access points

  Serial.println("set mode 1");
  sendData("AT+CWMODE=1\r\n",5000,DEBUG); // configure as both mode

//  Serial.println("joining AP");
  sendData("AT+CWJAP=\"<MY_WIFI_SSID>\",\"<WIFI_PASSWORD>\"\r\n", 16000, DEBUG); // connect to wifi

  Serial.println("Testing CIFSR");
  sendData("AT+CIFSR\r\n",7000,DEBUG); // get ip address

  Serial.println("setting for multiple connection");
  sendData("AT+CIPMUX=1",2000,DEBUG); // configure for multiple connections

  Serial.println("print MAC address");
  sendData("AT+CIPSTAMAC?\r\n",2000,DEBUG); // print current MAC address

  Serial.println("set port 80 for server");
  sendData("AT+CIPSERVER=1\r\n,80",2000,DEBUG); // turn on server on port 80
}

void loop()
{
  if(esp8266.available()) // check if the esp is sending a message 
  {

    if(esp8266.find("+IPD,"))
    {
     delay(2000);

     int connectionId = esp8266.read()-48; // subtract 48 because the read() function returns 
                                           // the ASCII decimal value and 0 (the first decimal number) starts at 48

     String webpage = "<h1>Tyagi IoT</h1><button>LED1</button>";

     String cipSend = "AT+CIPSEND=";
     cipSend += connectionId;
     cipSend += ",";
     cipSend +=webpage.length();
     cipSend +="\r\n";

     sendData(cipSend,1000,DEBUG);
     sendData(webpage,1000,DEBUG);

     webpage="<button>LED2</button>";

     cipSend = "AT+CIPSEND=";
     cipSend += connectionId;
     cipSend += ",";
     cipSend +=webpage.length();
     cipSend +="\r\n";

     sendData(cipSend,1000,DEBUG);
     sendData(webpage,1000,DEBUG);

     String closeCommand = "AT+CIPCLOSE="; 
     closeCommand+=connectionId; // append connection id
     closeCommand+="\r\n";

     sendData(closeCommand,3000,DEBUG);
    }
  }
}


void sendData(String command, const int timeout, boolean debug)
{
    esp8266.print(command); // send the read character to the esp8266
    long int time = millis();

    while( (time+timeout) > millis())
    {
      while(esp8266.available())
      {
        // The esp has data so display its output to the serial window 
        Serial.write(esp8266.read());
      }  
    }
}

Answer 1

Are you using an arduino (as in UNO / mini / nano etc.) and communicating with a separate esp8266 via serial? I've found esp8266 module to be more reliable by using a 12e or such like and running arduino boot loader on it. There's more memory to play with, and I tend to formulate the data I need within the ESP8266 and then communicate with that via serial or I2C to get data / requests to and from.

Make sure you're supplying the ESP module with enough current - they're juicy little things, so good 300mA @3.3v and use a good 470uf 10v cap or something too.. They can splurge current on occasion, particularly when scanning networks.

Let me know what set up you're running

Cheers