In the past ive connected an esp32 to a local node ws server, recently bought an esp8266 and tried running my orginal server and arduino code. The esp8266 simply wont connect to the server.
What I know:
Esp connects to wifi
Node server connects to simple ws client no problem
All devices conected to same network
Ip address correctly copied to arduino code
Ive not made any edits to the standard ArduinoWebsockets client example.
The node server code is also below.
Been two days and getting nowhere 
Ive looked all over the web for solutions
Is there a way to debug the esp8266 ws connection, force a connection?
Im running a mac m1, Im now wondering if its a security issue. Firewall is off tho.
/*
Esp8266 Websockets Client
This sketch:
1. Connects to a WiFi network
2. Connects to a Websockets server
3. Sends the websockets server a message ("Hello Server")
4. Prints all incoming messages while the connection is open
Hardware:
For this sketch you only need an ESP8266 board.
Created 15/02/2019
By Gil Maimon
https://github.com/gilmaimon/ArduinoWebsockets
*/
#include <ArduinoWebsockets.h>
#include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
const char* ssid = "SKYF57NT";
const char* password = "hcM3yHAqAN5a";
const char* websockets_server_host = "192.168.0.35"; //Enter server adress
const uint16_t websockets_server_port = 8080; // Enter server port
using namespace websockets;
WebsocketsClient client;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
// Connect to wifi
WiFi.begin(ssid, password);
// Wait some time to connect to wifi
for(int i = 0; i < 10 && WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED; i++) {
Serial.print(".");
delay(1000);
}
// Check if connected to wifi
if(WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {
Serial.println("No Wifi!");
return;
}
Serial.println("Connected to Wifi, Connecting to server.");
// try to connect to Websockets server
bool connected = client.connect(websockets_server_host, websockets_server_port, "/");
if(connected) {
Serial.println("Connecetd!");
client.send("Hello Server");
} else {
Serial.println("Not Connected!");
}
// run callback when messages are received
client.onMessage([&](WebsocketsMessage message) {
Serial.print("Got Message: ");
Serial.println(message.data());
});
}
void loop() {
// let the websockets client check for incoming messages
if(client.available()) {
client.poll();
}
delay(500);
}
Here is my node server
"use strict";
const serverPort = 8080,
http = require("http"),
express = require("express"),
app = express(),
server = http.createServer(app),
WebSocket = require("ws"),
websocketServer = new WebSocket.Server({ server });
// Console Log the address that we need to put into our ESP later on
require("dns").lookup(require("os").hostname(), function (err, add, fam) {
console.log("Your webSocket IP Address: " + add + ":" + serverPort);
});
//when a websocket connection is established
websocketServer.on('connection', (webSocketClient) => {
//send feedback to the incoming connection
webSocketClient.send('{ "connection" : "ok"}');
//when a message is received
webSocketClient.on('message', (message) => {
// Now we have the message we parse it to change it from a string, into an object
const msgObj = JSON.parse(message);
console.log(msgObj);
//for each websocket client
websocketServer
.clients
.forEach( client => {
//send the client the current message
client.send(`{ "message" : ${message} }`);
});
});
});
//start the web server
server.listen(serverPort, () => {
console.log(`Websocket server started on port ` + serverPort);
});
