Dump the Firmware
Although this guide is all about installing new firmware on the Yoto Mini, what about the stock firmware? You can use ESPTool to dump the flash contents of the ESP32 and save it as a .BIN file. You can then reinstall this .BIN file later if you ever want to go back to the Yoto 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. I found this guide while I was researching what other folks had done with the Yoto Mini.
After getting the Yoto Mini into bootloader mode, use this command:
esptool.py -p COM34 read_flash 0 ALL yoto_mini_v2.bin
Replace COM34 with the serial port for the Yoto Mini on your system. You'll see the read_flash program start running. There are 8 MB of flash on the ESP32 module, so this will take a few minutes.
Detecting chip type... ESP32 Chip is ESP32-D0WD-V3 (revision v3.1) Features: WiFi, BT, Dual Core, 240MHz, VRef calibration in efuse, Coding Scheme None Crystal is 40MHz MAC: 78:1c:3c:e7:48:50 Uploading stub... Running stub... Stub running... Configuring flash size... Detected flash size: 8MB 8388608 (100 %) 8388608 (100 %) Read 8388608 bytes at 0x00000000 in 786.3 seconds (85.3 kbit/s)... Hard resetting via RTS pin...
When its 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 February 05, 2026
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