Bitaxe Unboxing, Assembly and First Boot (AxeOS Setup)

The Bitaxe is an open-source Bitcoin ASIC miner that fits in your hand and runs off a phone charger socket. It won’t pay your electricity bill, but it connects you directly to the Bitcoin mining process — and on a lucky day, a single Bitaxe has found a full block worth 3.125 BTC. This guide gets you from unboxed hardware to active miner in about 25 minutes.

We’ll cover heatsink and fan mounting for DIY kits, power supply selection (this is where most beginners go wrong), connecting to your home Wi-Fi through AxeOS’s built-in access point, and a tour of the dashboard so you know what you’re looking at. Pool setup is a separate step — links at the end.

By the end you’ll have a Bitaxe displaying live hashrate on its AxeOS dashboard, submitting shares to a pool, and running at safe stock settings.

What you’ll need

A Bitaxe miner — Gamma 601, Supra, Ultra, or similar
A dedicated 5V DC power supply, 3A minimum, 5A recommended — see the power supply warning below
A USB-C cable
A case or stand (optional but recommended for airflow)
A computer or phone on the same Wi-Fi network as where you’ll run the Bitaxe
For DIY kits: a small Phillips-head screwdriver

Warning: Do not use a laptop USB-C charger. Laptop chargers negotiate Power Delivery voltages (9V, 15V, 20V) that will damage or destroy the Bitaxe’s power circuitry. You need a fixed 5V supply. The Meanwell GST60A05 (5V 5A, 30W) is the community-recommended choice. Cheap phone chargers are often unstable under sustained load — spend a few extra dollars on a quality supply.

Step 1 — Unbox and inspect

Open the box and lay everything out:

Bitaxe PCB (with ASIC and ESP32 already soldered)
Heatsink and/or fan (may be pre-installed on retail units; DIY kits supply these separately)
Mounting hardware (screws, thermal pad or paste)

Check the PCB visually for any damage from shipping — bent pins, loose components, or cracked solder joints. If anything looks wrong, contact your supplier before proceeding.

Retail Bitaxe units sold through Shop Bitcoin Australia typically arrive with the heatsink pre-installed. If yours is pre-assembled, skip to Step 3.

Step 2 — Mount heatsink and fan (DIY kits only)

Tip: Active cooling is mandatory. The heatsink alone is not sufficient — the BM1370, BM1368, and BM1366 ASICs produce enough heat to throttle and eventually damage themselves without a fan. Every Bitaxe requires a 40mm × 40mm × 20mm, 5V PWM fan.

If a thermal pad is included, peel the backing and stick it centred on the ASIC chip. If thermal paste is supplied instead, apply a small pea-sized amount to the centre of the ASIC.
Lower the heatsink onto the ASIC, aligning the mounting holes with the PCB standoffs.
Insert and finger-tighten the screws in a diagonal pattern (opposite corners first) to ensure even contact — do not overtighten.
Plug the fan’s JST connector into the fan header on the PCB. The connector is keyed and only fits one way.
Confirm the fan blades are positioned to blow air across the heatsink fins, not away from them. Airflow direction matters for temperature.

Step 3 — Connect power (do not connect to Wi-Fi yet)

Plug the USB-C cable into the Bitaxe’s USB-C port.
Plug the other end into your 5V power supply.
Power on the supply.

The Bitaxe will boot within a few seconds. If it has a small OLED display, you’ll see a splash screen followed by a self-test routine. The fan should spin up immediately.

If the unit has previously been configured (e.g. a used unit or one pre-flashed by the seller), it may attempt to connect to its last-known Wi-Fi network. For a fresh device, it will automatically fall through to AP mode — which is what we want.

Step 4 — Connect to the Bitaxe’s Wi-Fi access point

On a fresh Bitaxe, AxeOS v2.x broadcasts its own Wi-Fi access point so you can configure it without needing to know the network credentials first.

On your phone or laptop, open the Wi-Fi settings and scan for networks.
You’ll see a network named Bitaxe-#### (where #### is a short hex identifier unique to your device).
Connect to it. There is no password.
Open a browser and navigate to:

http://192.168.4.1

The AxeOS setup page will load. If your device auto-disconnects from the AP because it detects no internet, temporarily disable “Auto-Join” on your home network or confirm “Stay connected” when your OS prompts.

Step 5 — Enter your home Wi-Fi credentials

On the AxeOS setup page:

Select your home Wi-Fi network from the dropdown (2.4 GHz only — the Bitaxe cannot use 5 GHz).
Enter your Wi-Fi password.
Click Save or Connect.

The Bitaxe will reboot and attempt to join your home network. The AP (Bitaxe-####) will disappear from your Wi-Fi list — this is normal.

Reconnect your phone or laptop to your home network.

Step 6 — Find the Bitaxe’s IP address on your LAN

Once the Bitaxe is on your home network, you need its local IP address to open the AxeOS dashboard.

Option A — Router admin page (easiest) Log into your router (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1, check the sticker on the router). Look for the DHCP client list or “connected devices” section. Find the device named bitaxe — its IP will be listed there.

Option B — Terminal command

arp -a

Look for a device with bitaxe in the hostname, or try each IP on your subnet in a browser until the AxeOS dashboard appears.

Option C — mDNS (if your network supports it) Navigate to:

http://bitaxe.local

This works on most home networks without needing the IP address.

Step 7 — Open AxeOS and set your hostname

Navigate to the Bitaxe’s IP address in your browser:

http://192.168.x.x

You’ll see the AxeOS dashboard. First, give the device a meaningful hostname so it’s easier to find on your network later:

Go to the Settings tab.
Find the Hostname field — it defaults to bitaxe.
Change it to something identifiable, e.g. bitaxe-lounge or bitaxe-01.
Click Save and let the device restart.

Step 8 — Review and apply stock settings

AxeOS ships with conservative factory defaults sourced from the ESP-Miner firmware config files. These are safe starting points — do not change them until you’ve confirmed stable operation for 24–48 hours.

Model	ASIC	Default Frequency	Default Voltage	Typical Hashrate
Gamma 601	BM1370	525 MHz	1150 mV	~1.2 TH/s
Supra (401)	BM1368	490 MHz	1166 mV	~500 GH/s
Ultra (201)	BM1366	485 MHz	1200 mV	~400 GH/s

In Settings, confirm:

Auto Fan Speed is enabled (the firmware adjusts fan speed based on ASIC temperature)
Overheat Mode is set to 0 (throttle, not shutdown) unless you have a specific reason to change it
Frequency and voltage match the table above for your model

Warning: To modify ASIC Frequency or Core Voltage, you must append ?oc to the Settings URL in your browser (e.g. http://192.168.x.x/settings?oc). These fields are locked by default to protect against accidental changes. Do not touch them during initial setup.

Click Save if you’ve made any changes. The device will restart.

Step 9 — Configure a pool (temporary placeholder)

Before you can mine, the Bitaxe needs a stratum pool address and your Bitcoin address as the username. The factory default points to public-pool.io:3333 — this will work and let you verify the unit is hashing while you decide which pool you want to use long-term.

Full pool setup is covered in the pool guides linked in the What’s next section below. For now, if you just want to confirm the device is working, leave the factory pool settings in place and move on to Step 10.

Step 10 — Verification — read the dashboard metrics

Once the Bitaxe has rebooted with pool settings configured, return to the AxeOS dashboard. Here’s what each metric means:

Hashrate — The number of SHA-256 hashes your ASIC computes per second. The Gamma 601 targets ~1.2 TH/s (terahashes per second) at stock settings. Expect the displayed value to fluctuate — it’s a rolling average, and variance is normal.

Shares — Valid proof-of-work results accepted by the pool. A healthy miner should be submitting shares within five minutes of connecting. If shares stay at zero after ten minutes, check your pool URL and port.

Best Difficulty — The highest difficulty share your miner has ever found in its session. This is the “lottery ticket” number — the higher it climbs relative to the current block difficulty, the closer you are to finding a block. A best-diff display of 10K means your best share was 10,000 times harder than the minimum.

Temperature — The ASIC junction temperature in °C. Stock settings keep the Gamma 601 well under 65°C with adequate airflow. If you’re seeing 75°C+ at stock, check that the fan is spinning and the heatsink is making proper contact with the ASIC.

Efficiency — Expressed in joules per terahash (J/TH). The BM1370 in the Gamma 601 is rated at ~15 J/TH by the manufacturer. Your real-world figure will depend on frequency, voltage, and ambient temperature. Lower is better — it means more hashing per watt.

Power — Real-time wattage draw from the PSU. The Gamma 601 draws roughly 15–20W at stock settings.

Step 11 — Confirm stable operation

Leave the Bitaxe running for 30 minutes and revisit the dashboard. Healthy signs:

Hashrate is non-zero and roughly in line with the table in Step 8
Share count is incrementing
Temperature is stable under 70°C
No restart events in the AxeOS log (Settings → System Log)

If all of these look good, your Bitaxe is up and running.

Troubleshooting

The Bitaxe-#### AP never appears The device may already be configured with Wi-Fi credentials from a previous session. Hold the RESET button on the PCB for 5–10 seconds to clear config and trigger AP mode, or use the bitaxetool to flash a factory image.

Hashrate is zero after 10+ minutes Check: (1) pool URL and port are correct in Settings, (2) your router isn’t blocking outbound TCP port 3333 — some ASUS routers with AiProtection or IoT filtering block mining traffic by default. Disable those features and retry.

Temperature above 75°C at stock settings Confirm: (1) the fan is spinning — listen for it or check the fan RPM reading in AxeOS, (2) the heatsink is seated flat with no gap between it and the ASIC, (3) the Bitaxe isn’t inside a sealed enclosure with no airflow path.

Browser can’t reach the AxeOS dashboard Try the mDNS address http://bitaxe.local first. If that fails, log into your router and look up the assigned IP. If the device isn’t in the DHCP list at all, check the power supply — the Bitaxe may not be booting.

The Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting The ESP32 radio is 2.4 GHz only. If your SSID is a combined 2.4/5 GHz band on a modern router, make sure the router isn’t forcing the device onto 5 GHz. Create a dedicated 2.4 GHz SSID if necessary.

What’s next

Your Bitaxe is hashing, but you haven’t chosen a pool yet. Pick the setup that suits you:

Connect your Bitaxe to Parasite Pool — A community favourite with a small, fair fee and a good stats dashboard.
Connect your Bitaxe to ausolo.ckpool.org — Australia’s regional solo ckpool instance. Low latency, 2% fee taken only when you win a block.
Connect your Bitaxe to Public Pool — The factory default. Zero-fee solo mining with a clean web dashboard.

Want somewhere to put the Bitaxe? Browse stands and cases — a case with ventilation slots makes a real difference to temperatures and noise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a laptop USB-C charger to power the Bitaxe?

Most laptop chargers won't work reliably. They negotiate USB Power Delivery (PD) voltages like 9V, 15V, or 20V — voltages that will damage or destroy a Bitaxe. The Bitaxe requires a fixed 5V supply. Use a dedicated 5V PSU rated at 3A or higher, not a laptop charger. A quality 5V 5A supply (25W) gives you headroom for sustained load.

What Wi-Fi band does the Bitaxe use?

The ESP32 radio in every Bitaxe supports 2.4 GHz only — it cannot connect to 5 GHz networks. Make sure your router broadcasts a 2.4 GHz SSID and that you select that network during setup, not the 5 GHz band.

I can see the Bitaxe-#### AP but my phone keeps dropping it — what do I do?

The AP has no internet, so your phone or laptop may auto-reconnect to your home network. On iOS, disable 'Auto-Join' for your home network temporarily. On Android, confirm 'Stay connected to this network' when prompted. Once you've submitted your Wi-Fi credentials and the Bitaxe reboots, reconnect your device to your normal network.

The AxeOS dashboard shows 0 H/s — is it broken?

Wait two to three minutes after the Wi-Fi connects before worrying. The BM1370/1368/1366 ASIC runs a calibration routine on boot. If hashrate is still zero after five minutes, check that your pool settings are correct and that your router's firewall isn't blocking outbound TCP on port 3333.

What temperature should the Bitaxe run at?

Under 65°C at the ASIC is comfortable for stock settings. Above 75°C the device will begin throttling frequency automatically (overheat_mode). Above 85°C you're risking long-term reliability. Ensure the fan is spinning and airflow isn't blocked.

Should I overclock straight away?

No. Run stock settings for 24–48 hours first to confirm thermals and stability. Once you're confident the cooling is adequate and shares are being accepted cleanly, you can nudge frequency upward in small steps — 25 MHz at a time — watching temperature and rejected share rate.