I'm dealing with an issue with my Type-C ESP32 Device where it is only turning on when connected to a computer with a serial port. I can connect the device to my desktop where I use PlatformIO to upload my code and it works perfectly fine. However, when I unplug it from my desktop and try to use a portable battery pack or an outlet, it doesn't turn on at all. (even when nothing is connect to the GPIO ports or any of the pins)
I've tried to switch charging bricks, cables, and outlets. I bought 20 of these ESP32 devices and so far I've tried two of them and getting the same results. I had bought a different ESP32 device awhile ago and it works with the charging brick and cable but it also looks a little different (still Type-C) it's just a 36 pin device instead of the new one I'm trying to use which is a 30 pin device. I've read some other posts where they had to override the bootmode by pressing the boot button or attaching a capacitor between ground and the "EN" pin but still had no luck. I've also tried adding some PlatformIO configuration settings and still didn't work: build_flags = -D ARDUINO_USB_MODE=0 -D ARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT=0
Also thought it could be a firmware issue but I downloaded the ESP-IDF program & Visual Studio Code extension but once again still could not get it to work. I did double check that there's a voltage regulator and it's getting the correct input & output when connect to my PC but it doesn't look like anything is coming in when I tried plugging it into an outlet. Please help.
Here's the link to where I bought the device: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005953505528.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.74a01802SLpuEB
I got the TYPE-C CH340C one.