ESP32-Cam "A fatal error occurred: Timed out waiting for packet header" SOLVED

[kgray9]

Hi all!
I just got two ESP32-Cams from LCSC.com a couple days ago. I've tried both so far but they both keep giving me the same error when I try to program them. I looked the error up, but got nowhere. What's strange is that the error is not caused from misconnection like everyone else who has the same error. It gets all the way to "Configuring flash size..." before it returns that error. The sketch is the camera web server demo sketch. Here is the IDE output:

esptool.py v2.6
Serial port /dev/cu.usbmodem14101
Connecting....
Chip is ESP32D0WDQ5 (revision 1)
Features: WiFi, BT, Dual Core, 240MHz, VRef calibration in efuse, Coding Scheme None
MAC: 9c:9c:1f:24:47:e0
Uploading stub...
Running stub...
Stub running...
Changing baud rate to 921600
Changed.
Configuring flash size...

A fatal error occurred: Timed out waiting for packet header
A fatal error occurred: Timed out waiting for packet header

Any help would be great. Thanks ahead of time!

[davidlevi]

I don't know what the problem is but you may be able to rule out a hardware problem with the ESP32 cam if you can connect to it via your pc. I connected to a new unprogrammed ESP32 cam module yesterday without loading any program. How to do it is described in this YouTube video:-

Cheap Wi-Fi IP Surveillance Camera (Very little DIY needed) - YouTube

The connection wasn't exactly as described. I got the address from the properties of the wifi after connecting. When I put the DNS server address from the properties into a web browser I got the OV2640 camera interface. In other words, I didn't have to type /jpg or /jpg_stream.

[kgray9]

Hi David,
Thanks for the response. I was using a Arduino Uno with the atmega328 removed as the programmer. I switched it out and it seems to be working fine now with a cp2102 usb to ttl.