From a5a2ae3009eb6e339ed1dee451d8b6311063201d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: nick <coachward0742@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2026 23:31:05 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] debug: force AP-only WiFi for LilyGO S3 bringup

---
 firmware/esp32/overland-controller/config.h   |  5 +++
 .../overland-controller.ino                   | 31 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 36 insertions(+)

diff --git a/firmware/esp32/overland-controller/config.h b/firmware/esp32/overland-controller/config.h
index 8bd7398..6ebcc91 100644
--- a/firmware/esp32/overland-controller/config.h
+++ b/firmware/esp32/overland-controller/config.h
@@ -30,3 +30,8 @@
 
 // Bring-up safety: serve a tiny root page to avoid AP client/browser heap crashes.
 #define LILYGO_BRINGUP_MINIMAL_WEB 1
+
+// LilyGO ESP32-S3 bring-up: force AP-only WiFi until AP association is stable.
+#define LILYGO_AP_ONLY_BRINGUP 1
+#define LILYGO_AP_CHANNEL 6
+#define LILYGO_AP_MAX_CLIENTS 2
diff --git a/firmware/esp32/overland-controller/overland-controller.ino b/firmware/esp32/overland-controller/overland-controller.ino
index fcf188d..aa2f987 100644
--- a/firmware/esp32/overland-controller/overland-controller.ino
+++ b/firmware/esp32/overland-controller/overland-controller.ino
@@ -1611,7 +1611,32 @@ void resetApConfigToDefaults() {
 
 
 bool startAccessPoint() {
+#if LILYGO_AP_ONLY_BRINGUP
+    WiFi.persistent(false);
+    WiFi.setSleep(false);
+    WiFi.disconnect(true, true);
+    WiFi.softAPdisconnect(true);
+    delay(250);
+    WiFi.mode(WIFI_OFF);
+    delay(250);
+    WiFi.mode(WIFI_AP);
+    delay(250);
+
+    IPAddress apIp(192, 168, 4, 1);
+    IPAddress gateway(192, 168, 4, 1);
+    IPAddress subnet(255, 255, 255, 0);
+    WiFi.softAPConfig(apIp, gateway, subnet);
+
+    bool ok = WiFi.softAP(
+        apSsid.c_str(),
+        apPassword.c_str(),
+        LILYGO_AP_CHANNEL,
+        false,
+        LILYGO_AP_MAX_CLIENTS
+    );
+#else
     bool ok = WiFi.softAP(apSsid.c_str(), apPassword.c_str());
+#endif
 
     if (ok) {
         Serial.println("AP Started");
@@ -2085,8 +2110,10 @@ void connectStaWifi() {
 
         WiFi.disconnect(false, false);
         delay(500);
+#if !LILYGO_AP_ONLY_BRINGUP
         WiFi.mode(WIFI_AP_STA);
         delay(250);
+#endif
 
         WiFi.begin(staSsids[i].c_str(), staPasswords[i].c_str());
 
@@ -4102,7 +4129,11 @@ void setup() {
     loadWifiConfig();
     loadApConfig();
 
+#if LILYGO_AP_ONLY_BRINGUP
+    WiFi.mode(WIFI_AP);
+#else
     WiFi.mode(WIFI_AP_STA);
+#endif
     startAccessPoint();
     oledShowSetupPage();