Strange v2.x crashes in recent revisions with ESP32-WROOM-32D

[joshuaboniface]

Of my 12 current units, 9 are running an older ESP32-WROOM-32 (no D/S/U), while 3 are running the ESP32-WROOM-32D. These were all purchased from the same seller in the same HW-395 form factor (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006019875837.html as linked in the README) but at varying times, and it seems they've silently switched over.

There have been several major problems I've been encountering with Supersensor2 units made with these newer chips:

1. Random failures to initialize the microphone with repeated (100+/second) "Cannot allocate ring buffer" messages.
2. Random crashes (abort() panic during voice_assistance on ESP32-WROOM-32D (but not WROOM-32) esphome/esphome#11026 and some others) during voice operations.
3. More random crashes/panics when trying to free up heap memory (e.g. disabling Bluetooth, tweaking other settings, etc.)

Some tweaks I've done solve 1, but introduce their own unique crashes, though none of these problems exist on the non-D board.

I believe the issue is related to the lost ~15kb of heap memory on the 32D revision due to Espressif's memory allocation changes, but I can't truly be certain if that's the cause of 2, or if I have a bad batch.

I have several more on order (6 from the original seller, 5 from another, much more expensive, seller that still advertises as non-D/S/U models) to continue testing, but until this is sorted I DO NOT recommend folks buy the listed model to make Supersensor2's or you may have a bad time.

I see two ways forward:

• Be extremely careful about what HW-395 modules are purchased, and pay the premium for the older ESP32-WROOM-32.
• Move towards a Supersensor "2.5"/3, that would feature a much more robust chip directly SMD'd onto the PCB, but otherwise preserving the sensor package.

I like the idea of the second option long-term, even if it is a lot more development effort, but given that I already have "all" 12 Supersensor2's that I need in my house, and I just need to find 3 more non-D/S/U revisions, it might be too much cost for me personally. But if the project gets popular in any degree I may just do this to bite the bullet.

[joshuaboniface]

This has been "solved" by removing the dummy speaker config. This absolutely does stop the crashes on the 32D, but we simply must accept that the Assist satellite sensor in HASS will be broken (always "Responding") until some fix for home-assistant/core#142363 is found.

[joshuaboniface]

Worth noting that even after removing the dummy speaker, one of my 32D units kept crashing. But I suspect that's just a bad chip.

I was also able to find another Aliexpress seller with ESP32 HW-395 boards that are running a "classic" WROOM chip, though presumably knockoff given the lack of official markings. But so far from some cursory testing these are working. Their stock is relatively low though so if anyone sees this, grab some now (I just got 10 myself for future use).

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007546914400.html

[joshuaboniface]

Final update: I am indeed planning to move forward with a V3, using an ESP32-S3, which will hopefully solve all of these problems. More info will come from that once its ready.