ZeroTrace AirLeak
Hardware Overview
What's inside the AirLeak unit
The AirLeak hardware is intentionally simple: an ESP32-S3 module on a custom carrier board, packaged in a small enclosure, powered and connected over USB-C.
Antenna (U.FL)
│
┌───────────────────────────┴──────┐
│ ESP32-S3 module │
│ │
USB-C ──┤ Dual-core 240 MHz │
│ 16 MB flash + 8 MB PSRAM │
│ 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 + BLE 5.0 │
│ USB OTG full-speed │
└──────────────────────────────────┘
│ │ │
Status Reset Boot
LED button button
Quick specs
| Connector | USB-C (data + power) |
| Antenna | External U.FL, 3 dBi dipole bundled |
| Power input | 5 V via USB-C |
| Operating current | 75–220 mA depending on activity |
| Operating temperature | -20 °C to +70 °C |
| Dimensions | 60 × 40 × 12 mm (enclosure) |
| Weight | ~22 g with antenna |
| Indicator | Multi-color status LED |
The unit is shipped pre-flashed and pre-tuned. There's no setup required on the hardware side — plug it in and the desktop app takes over.
What the buttons do
| Button | Use |
|---|---|
| Reset | Hardware reset. Equivalent to a power cycle. Use this if the unit ever stops responding. |
| Boot | Recovery only. Hold while pressing Reset to enter the ROM bootloader for manual reflash. You'll almost never need this. |
The status LED shows:
- Rainbow pulse during boot
- Solid green while capturing
- Solid blue while idle in Setup mode
- Red if the firmware enters safe mode
Heat and airflow
In normal Monitor-mode use the module sits around 50–55 °C in still air at room temperature — comfortably warm to touch but well within the silicon's thermal envelope. No active cooling needed.
If you run long captures in a closed enclosure or in direct sunlight, give the unit a little airflow. The chip auto-throttles its CPU clock above 110 °C to protect itself, but throttling tanks capture throughput, so it's worth avoiding.
Connecting to a computer
Any USB-C port that supplies 5 V at 500 mA is sufficient. That covers essentially every laptop, desktop USB port, and powered hub.
You can also power the unit from a phone via USB-C OTG for portable captures. Expect 3–4 hours per 1500 mAh of phone battery.
Reflashing recovery
If a firmware update is interrupted and the unit fails to boot:
- Hold Boot.
- Press and release Reset.
- Release Boot about a second later.
The unit is now in ROM bootloader mode and will accept any firmware via the Web Flasher. The ROM bootloader is permanent silicon — it can't be bricked, so the unit is always recoverable.
Curious why we chose the ESP32-S3 specifically — including over the newer ESP32-C5 with 5 GHz WiFi? See Why ESP32-S3.