[mikegreen]

The quality and consistency of firmware/functionality/hidden stuff on the various 8266's I have leads me to avoid them. I had a pair that phoned home to some Chinese domain and registered all via HTTP, and a quick Wireshark yielded it phoned home for commands. Not on my network... You can pick them up cheaper on ebay, as well.

[tyingq]

Hmm. Something that survives a firmware overwrite?

[mikegreen]

It depends :-) Some seem to have a fall-back or fail-safe that isn't overwritten. Even with flashing known firmware, the reliability of the little guys was questionable. Random lockups and very touchy to power source.