An ESP32 WLAN cannot use both a STA and an AP simultaneously.

[lbuque]

The following code will reproduce the problem:

import network
wlan = network.WLAN()
wlan.active(True)
ap = network.WLAN(network.WLAN.IF_AP)
ap.config(ssid='ESP-AP')

[lbuque]

By modifying the source code, both STA and AP can be used simultaneously.

diff --git a/m5stack/network_wlan.c b/m5stack/network_wlan.c
index 42b2f1a7..520935f6 100644
--- a/m5stack/network_wlan.c
+++ b/m5stack/network_wlan.c
@@ -238,6 +238,7 @@ void esp_initialise_wifi(void) {
         #endif
         ESP_LOGD("modnetwork", "Initializing WiFi");
         esp_exceptions(esp_wifi_init(&cfg));
+        esp_exceptions(esp_wifi_set_mode(WIFI_MODE_APSTA));
         esp_exceptions(esp_wifi_set_storage(WIFI_STORAGE_RAM));
 
         ESP_LOGD("modnetwork", "Initialized");
@@ -281,7 +282,7 @@ static mp_obj_t network_wlan_active(size_t n_args, const mp_obj_t *args) {
                 wifi_started = false;
             }
         } else {
-            esp_exceptions(esp_wifi_set_mode(mode));
+            // esp_exceptions(esp_wifi_set_mode(mode));
             if (!wifi_started) {
                 esp_exceptions(esp_wifi_start());

[shariltumin]

I don't think it's necessary to modify the "network_wlan.c" code to enable both STA and AP simultaneously. All you need to do is the following:

import network
from time import sleep

STI, STK = "wifi-234", "KeyMeIn123"   # your Wifi cred
API, APK = "my_ap_id", "my_ap_pwd"    # what your AP looks like

APIP = ('10.10.6.1', '255.255.255.0', '10.10.6.1', '10.10.6.255')  # your AP network

# Station
sta = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)
sta.active(True)
sta.connect(STI, STK)
while (sta.isconnected() == False):
   print('Sta not ready!')
   sleep(1)
else:
   print('Connected to external Wi-Fi with IP:', sta.ifconfig()[0])

# Access point
ap = network.WLAN(network.AP_IF)
ap.active(True)
ap.config(essid=API, password=APK, authmode=3)
ap.ifconfig(APIP)
print("AP mode active with IP:", ap.ifconfig()[0])