Mixed Reviews for HiLetgo ESP8266 NodeMCU Development Boards

it was not easy to flash this. Have to download drivers to make it detectable, from a site that is slow and unreliable. The flasher also doesn't have this model or the settings that are in the instructions.

I am not the kind of programmer that does this stuff but I am a programmer. As far as laymen go I am probably one of the better suited for this kind of stuff. It still took me 2 hours to get it all sorted so I could follow a youtube guide on controlling LED lights.

I recommend buying a more popular board. ESP8266 is a type, but there are multiple brands that make them.

This little board has more computing power then an Arduino uno, plus WIFI with the ESP-NOW protocol which is ownsome for remote control and communication between projects, which is exactly what I wanted it for.
I thought I was going to have to make a hole wireless network just to get two projects to communicate. Instead, with ESP-NOW, All I needed was to have each project keep a record of the mac addresses it needed to communicate with. I highly recommend the ESP-NOW protocol and any device that implement's it if you are looking for an easy and effective way to create remote control or simple communication.

I had one bad one that didn't work at all out of the 3 pack. Otherwise, I loaded WLED on to them to run LEDs. When the board isn't bad it works very well.

After several hours of swapping cables, trying several of these boards, etc I've come to the conclusion that these things just won't work with the Arduino IDE on Windows 7, or even talk to Putty when the Hold Boot/Press EN/Release EN, release Boot dance is done. Nothing shows up in the serial window and I'm not about to spend a week trying different drivers, etc. Serial port over USB is ancient tech and it should work every time, from any OS, with no fussing. Other arduinos don't need you to press any buttons to download, let alone fuss with settings and drivers.

Edit: They didn't work from one of my linux systems, either, but a new linux laptop running ubintu had no problem connecting and downloading to them, without any button presses needed. Same cable and everything; all that changed was the laptop and version of Arduino IDE. So I'm raising this to 2 stars because I did get it to work, but caveat emptor. If you can't get them to take a download, you will need to try different laptops, and who knows why.

These are excellent project boards for DIYers and anyone interested in learning computers, electronics or coding. I used these to make some code projects and never had an issue with them.

These ESP's are basically Arduino's with built-in Wi-Fi. They are ideal for projects that utilize real-time updates to the internet such as for time/temperature and other stats. We use them as weather stations through out our house along with the DST-22 temp/humidity sensors. Paired with a OLED display one couldn't ask for anything more! We highly recommend them. Be sure to select the appropriate device within your Arduino software when uploading, otherwise it will not work.