Is there an alternate OS for the original Photon with no cloud needed?

Firmware
1

Hi everyone,
Just chasing down a rumor that maybe there is a way to use the dozens of old photons I have without needing any cloud connectivity. Is that true? Does such a solution exist?
Thanks for any tips or leads.

-B

2

The Photon 1 still has cloud support and can be programmed by all current environments (Workbench, CLI, Web IDE).

However you can also program the Photon 1 by USB and use

SYSTEM_MODE(MANUAL);

which will cause the device to breathe white instead of cyan and operate with no connectivity.

3

You are saying I can program and use a photon 1 without ever touching the cloud?

4

Yes. Use Particle Workbench with the local compile and flash by USB option, and use the line I included above in your firmware so it won't attempt cloud connectivity.

If you want Wi-Fi but not cloud, use:

SYSTEM_MODE(SEMI_AUTOMATIC);
SYSTEM_THREAD(ENABLED);

In setup(), do

WiFi.connect();

You can then use TCPClient, TCPServer, and UDP without any cloud access. Note that the real-time clock will never be set in this mode.

1 Like
5

Thank you!