Although this guide is all about installing new firmware on the Xteink X4, what about the stock firmware? You can use ESPTool to dump the flash contents of the ESP32-C3 and save it as a .BIN file. You can then reinstall this .BIN file later if you ever want to go back to the default firmware.
If you got too excited, though, and already installed CircuitPython, you can download the .BIN file below:
ESPTool
You can use ESPTool to read the flash over USB serial. After plugging in the Xteink X4 into your computer with a known data USB cable, use this command:
python -m esptool --chip esp32c3 --port COM4 read_flash 0x0 0x1000000 firmware_backup.bin
Replace COM4 with the serial port for the Xteink X4 on your system. You'll see the read_flash program start running. There are 16 MB of flash on the eReader, so this will take a few minutes.
When it's done, you'll be prompted to reset the board. You should see the .BIN file in your file directory. Now you have a backup of the stock firmware that you can refer back to.
Page last edited March 18, 2026
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