Programming Tutorials

  Few things are more demoralizing in firmware development than a generic error code during a critical phase. In the ESP32 Matter ecosystem,   CHIP_ERROR_INTERNAL   (0xAC) during the PASE (Passcode Authenticated Session Establishment) or commissioning phase is a notorious showstopper. You see the BLE connection succeed, the credentials exchange begin, and then the process hangs until the commissioner (Google Home, Apple Home, or  chip-tool ) throws  0xAC  and disconnects. This is almost never an internal memory error. It is usually a networking identity crisis caused by  stale Thread Operational Datasets . The Root Cause: Thread Dataset Mismatches To understand why  0xAC  occurs, you must look at how Matter commissioning hands over credentials. BLE Handshake:  The phone connects to the ESP32 via BLE. Thread Provisioning:  The phone sends the Thread Network credentials (PAN ID, Channel, Network Key) to the ESP32. Network Switch: ...