**BEFORE DOING BACKUP AND RESTORE, MAKE SURE FLASH MEM SIZE IS __CORRECT__**

To backup:

<code>
esptool.py --port COMx -b 115200 read_flash 0x000000 0x100000 c:\path\firmware.bin

or

esptool --port COM3 -b 115200 read_flash 0x000000 0x400000 ESP8266_TYPEC_4MB.bin
</code>
//** use 0x000000 0x400000 (4MB) for ESP8266 NodeMCU//


To restore:

<code>
esptool.py --port COMx -b 115200 write_flash --flash_freq 80m 0x000000 c:\path\firmware.bin

or

esptool --port COM3 -b 115200 write_flash 0x000000 ESP8266_TYPEC_4MB.bin
</code>