Customer:
I received an Inkplate 6 as a gift and recently started using it. I was able to get the Inkplate_6_Daily_Weather_Station example to work once, but now the screen is frozen and will not update anymore. I can upload new firmware successfully, but the screen never changes. I’ve also tried simpler examples like Inkplate6_Burn_In_Clean and Inkplate6_Black_And_White with no success.
I’ve confirmed I’m using the correct “e-radionica.com Inkplate6” board in ArduinoIDE. There are also some faint vertical lines that have appeared on the left side of the screen.
I’ve read through the documentation at inkplate.readthedocs.io and searched for other support sources without success. What options should I try?
Originally submitted via email support on 31 January 2024. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.
Soldered Support:
If your board is blue colored, your board definition is likely the e-radionica one. If it’s purple, it’s the Soldered one. More info on board definitions: Inkplate Features — Inkplate docs documentation
Since the example worked to update the screen at least once, you’ve probably used the correct board definition.
Let’s try the following: Do the basic examples work? These examples will always update the screen regardless of WiFi.
If not, I recommend reconnecting the flat cable which connects the ePaper panel to the board. It should be on the back of the board and could look slightly different depending on your board version. It’s held together magnetically. Try disconnecting it and reattaching it. This could fix the issue if there’s a bad flat-cable connection, which could also explain the vertical lines you mentioned. When reattaching, be careful - the flat cable is sensitive to creasing.
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Customer:
I have tried the basic Inkplate6_Black_And_White example project and it did not update the screen. I detached and reattached the cable as you described, then reran the project, but still no update.
Is there any way to get diagnostic information off the board without the screen? Perhaps via serial?
Would the Reset button be of any use?
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Soldered Support:
Try this modified grayscale example: gist:c9278aedbc790e1372c0b6e114fc4d40 · GitHub
This sketch will print to serial what it’s doing. Open the serial monitor at 115200 baud after uploading and run the sketch.
The Reset button resets the ESP32, causing the sketch to start from the beginning again.
If everything is OK except the ePaper display, it should output via Serial the printing actions without updating the display. If there’s another issue, you’ll see errors in the Serial monitor as the ESP32 prints critical faults automatically.
If everything seems good and it’s just the ePaper display not updating, try holding down the connector or the flat cable gently towards the board while the code is running and you’re watching the Serial monitor. This sometimes works to fix a bad connection.
Customer:
I ran the sketch and my serial output looks normal:
rst:0x1 (POWERON_RESET),boot:0x33 (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)
flash read err, 1000
ets_main.c 371
ets Jun 8 2016 00:22:57
rst:0x10 (RTCWDT_RTC_RESET),boot:0x32 (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)
configsip: 0, SPIWP:0xee
clk_drv:0x00,q_drv:0x00,d_drv:0x00,cs0_drv:0x00,hd_drv:0x00,wp_drv:0x00
mode:DIO, clock div:1
load:0x3fff0030,len:1344
load: ,len:13864
load: ,len:3608
entry 0x400805f0
800
Drawing a pixel
Drawing 600 random pixels in random colors
Drawing two diagonal lines
Drawing 50 random lines in random colors
Drawing 50 random lines in random colors and thickness
Drawing 50 random gradient lines in random colors and thickness
Drawing one horizontal line
Drawing one vertical line
Drawing a grid using horizontal and vertical lines in different colors
Drawing rectangle
Drawing many rectangles in random colors
Drawing gray rectangle
Drawing many filled rectangles randomly in random colors
Drawing a circle
Drawing many circles randomly in random colors
Drawing black-filled circle
Drawing many filled circles randomly in random colors
Drawing rectangle with rounded edges
Drawing many rounded edges rectangles
Drawing filled rectangle with rounded edges
Drawing many filled rectangle with rounded edges in random colors
Drawing filled triangle inside exsisting one
Drawing a bitmap image
Text in different sizes and shadings
Drawing an elipse
Drawing a filled elipse
Drawing a polygon
Drawing a filled polygon
However, pressing the flat cable did work! The screen updated and displayed all the output above. Depending on how hard I pressed it, sometimes only every other column would update, but when I got the pressure just right, it updated perfectly.
Now that we know there’s a bad connection between the cable and the board, what would you recommend?
Soldered Support:
These flat cables can unfortunately sometimes cause problems like this due to their delicate nature. Since the board is totally open with exposed components and pins on the back, this can happen even though every board gets tested.
Here’s a potential solution: tape the flat cable down to the board so it’s always pressed down similarly to how you pressed it with your hand. Even better, if you have an enclosure, place something like folded up paper between the enclosure and the flat cable to help press it down towards the board. This should help you use the Inkplate reliably.