Which ESP32 works with MikRouter?
Not every board with "ESP32" on the box runs the agent firmware. Here's what to buy, what to avoid, and how to tell which one you already have.
MikRouter has separate agent firmware targets for four Espressif chip families — classic ESP32, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C6 and ESP32-C3. Anything else sold under the “ESP32” name either has no firmware to install or cannot run the agent at all. Buying the wrong one is the single most common false start.
Three things every compatible board needs
- One of the four exact chip families listed below. SRAM alone is not a reliable name test — nor is it what sets a board's capacity: the C3 is the smallest supported target yet carries the same six connections at once as the roomier classic ESP32, and some other ESP32-named chips still have no compatible firmware or, in the H2's case, no Wi-Fi radio. All four families send data at the same speed and carry the same six connections, so that count is a firmware setting, not a faster or slower radio — and not a reason to pick one of the four over another.
- 4 MB of flash or more. Separate from SRAM — this is storage. The firmware keeps two update slots so a bad update can roll itself back, and boards with 2 MB cannot hold them.
- 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Every supported chip is 2.4 GHz only — point the agent at your router's 2.4 GHz network, not the 5 GHz one.
PSRAM is optional (it is extra memory, not a substitute for SRAM), and the colour or brand of the board does not matter. What matters is the chip.
Compatible boards
Sold as: ESP32 DevKit V1 / DevKitC, NodeMCU-32S, DOIT ESP32, MH-ET Live MiniKit, ESP32-CAM, ESP32 Uno R32, ESP32-WROOM-32 / -32D / -32U, ESP32-WROVER, ESP32-PICO-KIT
The original and by far the most common board — the cheap 30/38-pin one with a micro-USB port. A shield printed ESP32-WROOM-32 (or ESP-32S, the same chip under a different name) is what you want.
The compact MH-ET Live MiniKit shown below is also a classic dual-core ESP32 and uses the same firmware.
Avoid within this family: ESP32-SOLO-1 — a single-core version of the same chip that the standard firmware does not run on — and any module with less than 4 MB flash.
More Classic ESP32 boards
Sold as: ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1, ESP32-S3-DevKitM-1, ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 / -1U, ESP32-S3 SuperMini, ESP32-S3-Zero
The best all-round choice: dual-core, more memory, and optional PSRAM — though it carries the same six connections as the other three. Pictured is the ESP32-S3 SuperMini; confirm ESP32-S3 on the chip or back before buying. Full-size S3 boards and models with or without PSRAM also work. A board marked ESP-32S is the classic ESP32, not an S3.
Sold as: ESP32-C6-DevKitC-1, ESP32-C6-DevKitM-1, ESP32-C6-WROOM-1, ESP32-C6 SuperMini, ESP32-C6-Zero
The newest supported part (Wi-Fi 6, still 2.4 GHz). The full-size board looks almost identical to the ESP32-S3 one, so read the shield — C6 and S3 take different firmware. C3 also has its own image; H2 below has no Wi-Fi and is not supported.
ESP32-C6 SuperMini and ESP32-C6-Zero boards work as well — see the mini-board warning below.
Sold as: ESP32-C3 SuperMini, ESP32-C3-Zero, ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1, ESP32-C3-WROOM-02
The C3 uses its own single-core firmware. The fixed build pins the Arduino 3.x Wi-Fi core and uses a cooperative portal sender so the setup SSID, DHCP, and large setup page no longer use the retired C3 path.
Release status: firmware for the C3 is published and installable, but final repeated portal, LED/reset, flasher, and OTA hardware acceptance is still required before the C3 is recommended for a new purchase.
SuperMini and Zero boards: same shape, four different chips
The thumbnail-sized boards sold as SuperMini or Zero come with C3, S3, C6 or H2 inside, and they look nearly identical — no metal shield, so there is no module name to read. S3, C6, and C3 each need their own image; H2 cannot work because it has no Wi-Fi. Buy by the chip named in the listing, never by the photo:
✓ ESP32-S3 Zero
✓ ESP32-C6 Zero
✓ ESP32-C3 Zero
✕ ESP32-H2 SuperMini
The H2 one is the worst buy of the four: it has no Wi-Fi radio at all, so it can never connect. Also check the listing says 4 MB flash or more — mini boards are where the undersized ones turn up. If a seller will not say which chip it is, assume it is one of the two that do not work and skip it.
Not a microcontroller person?
Not compatible — do not buy these for MikRouter
Sold as: NodeMCU v2/v3, Wemos D1 mini, ESP-01, ESP-12E / -12F
Not an ESP32 at all — an older, much smaller chip with roughly 80 KB of usable SRAM, nowhere near the 400 KB floor. It cannot run the tunnel, so there is no ESP8266 firmware and there never will be. It is often sold next to ESP32 boards at a lower price; check the shield before paying.
Sold as: ESP32-H2-DevKitM-1, ESP32-H2-WROOM-03
It has no Wi-Fi radio — only Thread/Zigbee and Bluetooth. The agent reaches MikRouter over Wi-Fi, so this chip can never work, no matter which firmware you try. It is easy to buy by mistake because the board looks like a C6.
Sold as: ESP32-S2-Saola-1, ESP32-S2-DevKitM-1, ESP32-S2-WROOM
Single-core, under the SRAM floor at 320 KB, and no firmware is published for it. Worse, it reports itself simply as an ESP32-family chip, so it can look supported at first glance — check for the S2 on the shield.
Already have a board? Two ways to check
Read the metal shield
ESP32-WROOM-32, ESP32-S3-WROOM-1, ESP32-C6-WROOM-1, and so on. That name, not the seller's listing, is the truth.