Frequently Asked Questions

HashedMax is a line of educational Bitcoin solo mining devices built on ESP32 microcontrollers. They're designed to teach you about Bitcoin mining while giving you an astronomically small chance at finding a block and winning the full block reward!

Let's be real: the odds are extremely low. With a Nano Supreme at ~2 MH/s, you're competing against the network's ~500 EH/s. That's like winning the lottery... multiple times. But someone has to win, and these devices are fun, educational, and use minimal power!

Think of it as a Bitcoin lottery ticket that costs a few cents per day in electricity.

HashedMax Nano: Single ESP32-S3 with ~170 kH/s. Simple, compact, great for learning.

HashedMax Nano Supreme: ESP32-S3 master + up to 3 ESP32-D0 slaves. ~750 kH/s per slave, totaling 2+ MH/s. More complex but significantly higher hashrate.

• Nano: ~2-3 watts
• Nano Supreme (3 slaves): ~15-20 watts

At typical electricity rates, that's pennies per day!

When you first power on your HashedMax device, it hasn't been configured yet and will display setup instructions on the screen.

Step 1: Connect to the Setup Network

1. Power on your HashedMax device
2. On your phone or computer, go to WiFi settings
3. Look for a network named "HashedMax-Setup" or "HashedMax-XXXXXX"
4. Connect to this network (no password required)

Step 2: Access the Configuration Portal

1. Open a web browser
2. Go to: 192.168.4.1
3. You'll see the HashedMax setup interface

Step 3: Configure WiFi

1. Enter your home WiFi network name (SSID)
2. Enter your WiFi password
3. Click "Save WiFi Settings"
4. The device will restart and connect to your WiFi

Step 4: Configure Mining Pool

1. After WiFi connects, find your device's new IP address (shown on the display)
2. Go to that IP in your browser (e.g., http://192.168.1.100)
3. Navigate to "Pool Configuration"
4. Enter:
   • Pool URL: e.g., solo.ckpool.org:3333 or public-pool.io:21496
   • Wallet Address: Your Bitcoin address (where rewards go if you find a block!)
   • Worker Name: Optional, e.g., nano01
5. Click "Save Pool Config"

Step 5: Start Mining!

Once pool settings are saved, your device will automatically start mining. You'll see:

• ✅ Hashrate displayed on screen
• ✅ Pool connection status
• ✅ Share submissions
• ✅ Best difficulty found

Tip: Save the device's IP address so you can access it later for monitoring and configuration changes!

If the setup network doesn't appear:

1. Wait 30 seconds after power-on for the device to start
2. Check your device is powered: You should see lights or a display backlight
3. ESP32 only broadcasts 2.4 GHz WiFi - make sure your phone/computer is scanning 2.4 GHz networks, not just 5 GHz
4. Factory reset: Hold the BOOT button for 10 seconds to reset WiFi settings

There are several ways to find your device's IP:

1. On the display: Most HashedMax devices show the IP address on the main screen
2. Router admin panel: Log into your router and look for "HashedMax" or "ESP32" in the connected devices list
3. Network scanner: Use a tool like Fing or Advanced IP Scanner to find ESP32 devices on your network
4. mDNS (if enabled): Try http://hashedmax.local in your browser

Yes! Once your device is connected to WiFi, you can always access it at its IP address to change any settings:

• Pool URL and wallet address
• WiFi credentials
• Display brightness and theme
• Performance settings

Your settings are saved to non-volatile memory and persist across reboots and firmware updates.

The ESP32-D0 (original ESP32) has a hardware SHA-256 accelerator that's highly optimized for the double-SHA256 used in Bitcoin mining. The ESP32-S3, while newer, has a different SHA implementation that's actually slower for this specific use case.

That's why the Nano Supreme uses the S3 as a "brain" (handling WiFi, display, and stratum) while the D0s do the actual mining heavy lifting.

I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) is a simple two-wire communication protocol. The Nano Supreme uses it to connect the master ESP32-S3 to multiple slave ESP32-D0s. The master sends mining jobs over I2C, and the slaves report back their hashrate and any shares found.

Local shares: Low-difficulty shares found by your device. These don't mean anything to the pool but show your device is working. Think of them as "progress indicators."

Pool shares: Shares that meet the pool's difficulty requirement and are accepted by the pool. For solo pools, these are your actual "lottery tickets."

Hashrate naturally varies due to the random nature of mining. The display shows a smoothed average (EMA - Exponential Moving Average) to reduce jumpiness, but some variation is normal. If you see wild swings (like jumping to GH/s), that's usually a communication error, not actual hashrate.

Technically yes, but there are practical limits:

• Power: Each D0 draws ~500mA. A 5V 6A supply can handle 4-5 devices total.
• I2C bus: Works well up to 4-5 devices with proper pull-ups.
• Firmware: Currently configured for 3 slaves (addresses 0x40-0x42). Adding more requires firmware changes.

For Nano: Check that WiFi is connected and pool settings are correct.

For Nano Supreme:

• Check I2C wiring (SDA, SCL, and common GND)
• Verify pull-up resistors (4.7kΩ to 3.3V)
• Ensure slaves have correct I2C addresses
• Check that slaves are powered and not crash-looping

This is almost always a power issue:

• Don't power multiple ESP32s from a single USB port
• Use a dedicated 5V power supply (6A for 3 slaves + master + display)
• Add 100µF decoupling capacitors on the power rails
• Check for loose connections

I2C errors can be caused by:

• Missing pull-ups: Add 4.7kΩ resistors between SDA→3.3V and SCL→3.3V
• Long wires: Keep I2C wires under 30cm
• Electrical noise: Route I2C wires away from power lines
• Wrong addresses: Verify each slave has a unique address

Occasional errors are normal and handled by the firmware. Constant errors indicate a hardware issue.

Check your display wiring:

• Verify all SPI pins are connected correctly
• Ensure backlight pin is connected (LED/BL to GPIO 3)
• Check that display is powered with 3.3V, not 5V
• Try reflashing the firmware

• ESP32 only supports 2.4 GHz networks (not 5 GHz)
• Double-check your WiFi password
• Try moving the device closer to your router
• Some special characters in passwords may cause issues
• Reset WiFi settings by holding BOOT for 5 seconds

For solo mining (recommended for the lottery experience):

• Public Pool (public-pool.io:21496) - Low difficulty, good for seeing shares
• CK Pool Solo (solo.ckpool.org:3333) - True solo mining

Note: Traditional mining pools won't accept such low hashrate devices.

Use your Bitcoin address! For solo pools, if you find a block, the reward goes to the address you specified as your worker name. Don't use an exchange address - use a wallet you control.

This shows the highest difficulty share your device has found. Bitcoin's current network difficulty is around 100 trillion. Your device finding a share with difficulty of even 1 million is exciting! Finding one that matches network difficulty would be a block.

With a Nano Supreme at 2 MH/s against a 500 EH/s network... statistically, about 4 million years on average. But that's the average! You could theoretically find one on your first hash, or never. That's what makes it a lottery!

Three options:

1. Web Flasher (easiest): Use Chrome/Edge and the web-based flasher
2. OTA Update: Through the device's web portal (coming soon!)
3. PlatformIO: For developers with the source code

See the Downloads page for detailed instructions.

WiFi credentials and pool settings are stored in a separate partition and usually survive firmware updates. However, it's always good practice to note your settings before updating, just in case.

The HashedMax firmware is based on the open-source NerdMiner project with significant modifications. Source code will be available on GitHub.