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How to Build an ESP32-CAM Setup Portal Security Camera

A tiny camera that sets up its own Wi-Fi portal and can recover without rewriting code

Schematik

Published May 29, 2026 · Updated June 12, 2026

ESP32Intermediate35 minutes4 components5 assembly steps
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Photo of How to Build an ESP32-CAM Setup Portal Security Camera

What you'll build

This guide turns an ESP32-CAM into a small security camera that behaves more like a finished gadget than a loose development board. On first boot it creates its own setup Wi-Fi network, serves a browser page for your home Wi-Fi details, then joins that network so you can open the camera locally. If you need to move it to a new network, the sketch has a /reset page that clears the saved credentials and reboots back into setup mode — no USB, no code editing required.

The build uses the AI Thinker ESP32-CAM, its onboard OV2640 camera, and the built-in flash LED on GPIO 4. There is very little external wiring once the board is programmed. The guide pays particular attention to the parts that trip people up: stable 5 V power, how to enter upload mode, reading Serial Monitor, and why FLASH_LED_PIN is driven low on boot.

The result is a workshop or desk camera you can flash from Schematik, configure from your phone, and keep improving later with motion alerts, a printed enclosure, or a better mounting bracket.

What you are building

The firmware has five jobs:

  1. on first boot (no saved credentials), start a Wi-Fi access point named ESP32-CAM-Setup and serve a configuration form at http://192.168.4.1,
  2. save the submitted SSID and password to non-volatile storage using Preferences,
  3. on subsequent boots, read those credentials and join the home network in station mode,
  4. serve JPEG captures at /capture and a simple root page at /,
  5. clear credentials and reboot when /reset is requested, returning the board to setup mode.

Holding FLASH_LED_PIN low on boot prevents an unwanted flash burst during camera initialisation. The RESET_HOLD_SECONDS constant (currently 8) is defined but not used for a long-press reset in this version; the web /reset route is the recovery path.

Upload and calibrate

There are no Wi-Fi credentials to edit before the first flash — the portal handles that at runtime. The two constants worth knowing are:

#define FLASH_LED_PIN     4
#define RESET_HOLD_SECONDS 8

FLASH_LED_PIN is held LOW immediately in setup() to prevent a flash burst on boot. RESET_HOLD_SECONDS is defined for future use; the current recovery path is the web /reset route, not a long press.

After flashing and resetting:

  1. On your phone or laptop, join the ESP32-CAM-Setup Wi-Fi network.
  2. Open http://192.168.4.1 and enter your home 2.4 GHz network name and password.
  3. The board saves the credentials and reboots. Serial Monitor shows the local IP address once it connects.
  4. Open http://<local-ip> from a device on the same network. The root page links to /capture for a single frame and /reset to wipe credentials.

If the stream is slow, the frame size is set to FRAMESIZE_VGA. Reducing it to FRAMESIZE_QVGA in configureCamera() will speed up the response on crowded networks.

Troubleshooting

  • Board boots into setup portal every time even after saving credentials. The Preferences key "cam-portal" may not have written. Check that the save form posted to /save successfully (Serial Monitor shows a reboot message) and that the board is not browning out mid-save due to an underpowered supply.
  • "Camera init failed" in Serial Monitor. Wrong board profile selected, or the camera ribbon is not fully seated. Re-select AI Thinker ESP32-CAM and reseat the ribbon.
  • Cannot connect to ESP32-CAM-Setup network. The board may have silently joined a previously saved network. Check Serial Monitor — if it shows a local IP, the credentials were already saved from a previous session.
  • /reset page returns a response but the board does not reboot. Supply voltage may be dropping during the reboot. Ensure the 5 V rail can handle the inrush on restart.
  • ESP32-CAM resets during capture. The camera and Wi-Fi together draw significant current. Switch from USB to a dedicated 5 V supply rated at 1 A or more.
  • Flash LED turns on during boot unexpectedly. An earlier sketch left GPIO 4 in an unexpected state. The current sketch drives it LOW at the start of setup() — after reflashing this should not recur.

Going further

The setup portal pattern works well for any ESP32 project that needs field-configurable credentials. Once you are comfortable with the Preferences storage and the AP/STA mode switch, you can extend the portal form to capture other settings — MQTT broker address, frame rate, or a device name — without adding any libraries.

For a version of the camera with a physical doorbell button, a passive buzzer chime, and a ring counter in the browser page, see the ESP32 Video Doorbell guide.

Wiring diagram

Interactive · read-only

Pan and zoom to explore the wiring. Remix the project to edit it in your own workspace.

Parts list

Bill of materials
ComponentQtyNotes
ESP32-CAM board with OV2640 camera1ESP32-CAM board with OV2640 camera
USB serial programmer1USB serial programmer
5V power supply15V power supply
Small camera enclosure or mount1Small camera enclosure or mount

Assembly

5 steps

  1. Prepare the ESP32-CAM

    Fit the OV2640 camera ribbon firmly into the ESP32-CAM socket and mount the board so the antenna is not boxed in metal.

  2. Connect the USB serial programmer

    Wire programmer 5V to ESP32-CAM 5V, GND to GND, U0R to programmer TX, and U0T to programmer RX. Link IO0 to GND only while flashing.

  3. Flash and open Serial Monitor

    Upload the sketch, remove the IO0 to GND link, press reset, and watch Serial Monitor at 115200 baud.

  4. Join the setup portal

    On first boot, connect to the camera setup Wi-Fi network, open http://192.168.4.1, and save your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi name and password.

  5. Power and place the camera

    Move to a stable 5V supply. Use the printed local IP address from Serial Monitor or the setup page to open the private camera stream.

Pin assignments

Board wiring reference
PinConnectionType
5Vesp32-cam 5Vpower
GNDesp32-cam GNDground
GPIO 3esp32-cam U0Ruart
GPIO 1esp32-cam U0Tuart
GPIO 0esp32-cam IO0digital
GPIO 4esp32-cam FLASH_LEDdigital
GPIO 0esp32-cam XCLKdigital
GPIO 26esp32-cam SIODi2c
GPIO 27esp32-cam SIOCi2c
GPIO 5esp32-cam Y2data
GPIO 18esp32-cam Y3data
GPIO 19esp32-cam Y4data
GPIO 21esp32-cam Y5data
GPIO 36esp32-cam Y6data
GPIO 39esp32-cam Y7data
GPIO 34esp32-cam Y8data
GPIO 35esp32-cam Y9data
GPIO 25esp32-cam VSYNCdata
GPIO 23esp32-cam HREFdata
GPIO 22esp32-cam PCLKdata
GPIO 32esp32-cam PWDNdigital
5Vusb-serial 5Vpower
GNDusb-serial GNDground
GPIO 3usb-serial TXuart
GPIO 1usb-serial RXuart
GPIO 0usb-serial IO0_FLASH_LINKdigital
5Vpower-supply 5V_OUTpower
GNDpower-supply GNDground

Firmware

ESP32
schematik_esp32.inoDeploy to device
#include <WiFi.h>
#include <WebServer.h>
#include <Preferences.h>
#include "esp_camera.h"

#define FLASH_LED_PIN 4
#define RESET_HOLD_SECONDS 8

// AI Thinker ESP32-CAM pin map
#define PWDN_GPIO_NUM 32
#define RESET_GPIO_NUM -1
#define XCLK_GPIO_NUM 0
#define SIOD_GPIO_NUM 26
#define SIOC_GPIO_NUM 27
#define Y9_GPIO_NUM 35
#define Y8_GPIO_NUM 34
#define Y7_GPIO_NUM 39
#define Y6_GPIO_NUM 36
#define Y5_GPIO_NUM 21
#define Y4_GPIO_NUM 19
#define Y3_GPIO_NUM 18
#define Y2_GPIO_NUM 5
#define VSYNC_GPIO_NUM 25
#define HREF_GPIO_NUM 23
#define PCLK_GPIO_NUM 22

Preferences prefs;
WebServer server(80);
String ssid;
String pass;

void startSetupPortal();
void startCameraServer();

bool configureCamera() {
  camera_config_t config;
  config.ledc_channel = LEDC_CHANNEL_0;
  config.ledc_timer = LEDC_TIMER_0;
  config.pin_d0 = Y2_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d1 = Y3_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d2 = Y4_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d3 = Y5_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d4 = Y6_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d5 = Y7_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d6 = Y8_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d7 = Y9_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_xclk = XCLK_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_pclk = PCLK_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_vsync = VSYNC_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_href = HREF_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_sscb_sda = SIOD_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_sscb_scl = SIOC_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_pwdn = PWDN_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_reset = RESET_GPIO_NUM;
  config.xclk_freq_hz = 20000000;
  config.pixel_format = PIXFORMAT_JPEG;
  config.frame_size = FRAMESIZE_VGA;
  config.jpeg_quality = 12;
  config.fb_count = psramFound() ? 2 : 1;
  config.fb_location = CAMERA_FB_IN_PSRAM;
  return esp_camera_init(&config) == ESP_OK;
}

void handleRoot() {
  server.send(200, "text/html", "<h1>ESP32-CAM</h1><p><a href='/capture'>Capture frame</a></p><p><a href='/reset'>Reset Wi-Fi setup</a></p>");
}

void handleCapture() {
  camera_fb_t *fb = esp_camera_fb_get();
  if (!fb) {
    server.send(503, "text/plain", "Camera capture failed");
    return;
  }
  server.sendHeader("Content-Disposition", "inline; filename=capture.jpg");
  server.send_P(200, "image/jpeg", (const char *)fb->buf, fb->len);
  esp_camera_fb_return(fb);
}

void setup() {
  pinMode(FLASH_LED_PIN, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(FLASH_LED_PIN, LOW);
  Serial.begin(115200);
  delay(200);

  prefs.begin("cam-portal", false);
  ssid = prefs.getString("ssid", "");
  pass = prefs.getString("pass", "");

  if (ssid.length() == 0) {
    startSetupPortal();
    return;
  }

  WiFi.mode(WIFI_STA);
  WiFi.begin(ssid.c_str(), pass.c_str());
  Serial.print("Joining Wi-Fi");
  for (int i = 0; i < 40 && WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED; i++) {
    delay(250);
    Serial.print('.');
  }
  Serial.println();

  if (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED || !configureCamera()) {
    startSetupPortal();
    return;
  }
  startCameraServer();
}

void startSetupPortal() {
  WiFi.mode(WIFI_AP);
  WiFi.softAP("ESP32-CAM-Setup");
  server.on("/", HTTP_GET, []() {
    server.send(200, "text/html", "<form method='post' action='/save'><label>Wi-Fi name <input name='s'></label><br><label>Password <input name='p' type='password'></label><br><button>Save</button></form>");
  });
  server.on("/save", HTTP_POST, []() {
    prefs.putString("ssid", server.arg("s"));
    prefs.putString("pass", server.arg("p"));
    server.send(200, "text/plain", "Saved. Rebooting into camera mode.");
    delay(500);
    ESP.restart();
  });
  server.begin();
  Serial.println("Setup portal: http://192.168.4.1");
}

void startCameraServer() {
  server.on("/", handleRoot);
  server.on("/capture", handleCapture);
  server.on("/reset", []() {
    prefs.clear();
    server.send(200, "text/plain", "Wi-Fi settings cleared. Rebooting.");
    delay(500);
    ESP.restart();
  });
  server.begin();
  Serial.print("Camera page: http://");
  Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());
}

void loop() {
  server.handleClient();
}

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