diff --git a/core/archipelago/src/mesh/flash.rs b/core/archipelago/src/mesh/flash.rs
index 8b8ade67..57f18dca 100644
--- a/core/archipelago/src/mesh/flash.rs
+++ b/core/archipelago/src/mesh/flash.rs
@@ -47,6 +47,28 @@ impl FlashBoard {
             Self::HeltecV4 => "heltec-v4",
         }
     }
+
+    /// esptool's `--before` reset strategy to use when connecting.
+    ///
+    /// V3 exposes a CP2102 USB-UART bridge, which correctly wires DTR/RTS
+    /// through to the chip's reset/boot pins, so the classic
+    /// `default_reset` (toggle DTR/RTS over the serial port's ioctls) works.
+    ///
+    /// V4 has no UART bridge at all — the ESP32-S3's native USB-CDC
+    /// peripheral IS the serial port, and confirmed live against real
+    /// hardware (2026-09-17) it does not implement the USB CDC
+    /// SET_CONTROL_LINE_STATE request `default_reset` depends on: every
+    /// `TIOCMSET`/`TIOCMBIS` ioctl (pyserial's `setRTS`/`setDTR`) fails with
+    /// `OSError: [Errno 71] Protocol error`, and it fails identically on
+    /// retry since changing baud doesn't touch the DTR/RTS path at all.
+    /// `usb_reset` resets over a direct USB control transfer instead of
+    /// through the serial ioctls, which is what actually works here.
+    fn esptool_before_reset(self) -> &'static str {
+        match self {
+            Self::HeltecV3 => "default_reset",
+            Self::HeltecV4 => "usb_reset",
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 /// Map a detected USB vid:pid to a known flashable board, using the same
@@ -515,7 +537,7 @@ async fn run_flash(
     match family {
         DeviceType::Meshtastic | DeviceType::Meshcore => {
             let image = fetch_esptool_image(board, family, data_dir, job).await?;
-            esptool_erase_and_write(path, &image, job).await
+            esptool_erase_and_write(path, &image, job, board).await
         }
         DeviceType::Reticulum => {
             let lora_region = super::load_config(data_dir)
@@ -751,13 +773,19 @@ const ESPTOOL_FALLBACK_BAUD: &str = "115200";
 /// does not support function erase_flash", confirmed live 2026-07-23), since
 /// esptool's --erase-all is implemented as the same full-chip-erase command,
 /// not a per-sector loop.
-async fn esptool_erase_and_write(path: &str, image: &Path, job: &Arc<FlashJob>) -> Result<()> {
+async fn esptool_erase_and_write(
+    path: &str,
+    image: &Path,
+    job: &Arc<FlashJob>,
+    board: FlashBoard,
+) -> Result<()> {
     job.set_stage(FlashStage::Writing).await;
     let image_str = image.to_string_lossy().to_string();
     esptool_with_retry(
         path,
         &["write_flash", "--erase-all", "0x0", &image_str],
         job,
+        board,
     )
     .await
     .context("esptool write_flash failed")?;
@@ -786,8 +814,15 @@ async fn esptool_erase_and_write(path: &str, image: &Path, job: &Arc<FlashJob>)
 /// so --no-stub broke our "always erase before write" default outright
 /// rather than just being slower. Restoring the real stub file is the
 /// correct fix, not routing around its absence.
-fn esptool_global_args<'a>(path: &'a str, baud: Option<&'a str>) -> Vec<&'a str> {
-    let mut args = vec!["--chip", ESPTOOL_CHIP, "--port", path];
+fn esptool_global_args<'a>(path: &'a str, baud: Option<&'a str>, board: FlashBoard) -> Vec<&'a str> {
+    let mut args = vec![
+        "--chip",
+        ESPTOOL_CHIP,
+        "--port",
+        path,
+        "--before",
+        board.esptool_before_reset(),
+    ];
     if let Some(b) = baud {
         args.push("--baud");
         args.push(b);
@@ -795,9 +830,14 @@ fn esptool_global_args<'a>(path: &'a str, baud: Option<&'a str>) -> Vec<&'a str>
     args
 }
 
-async fn esptool_with_retry(path: &str, subcommand: &[&str], job: &Arc<FlashJob>) -> Result<()> {
+async fn esptool_with_retry(
+    path: &str,
+    subcommand: &[&str],
+    job: &Arc<FlashJob>,
+    board: FlashBoard,
+) -> Result<()> {
     let mut cmd = Command::new("esptool");
-    cmd.args(esptool_global_args(path, None));
+    cmd.args(esptool_global_args(path, None, board));
     cmd.args(subcommand);
     match run_streamed(cmd, None, job).await {
         Ok(()) => Ok(()),
@@ -807,7 +847,7 @@ async fn esptool_with_retry(path: &str, subcommand: &[&str], job: &Arc<FlashJob>
             ))
             .await;
             let mut retry = Command::new("esptool");
-            retry.args(esptool_global_args(path, Some(ESPTOOL_FALLBACK_BAUD)));
+            retry.args(esptool_global_args(path, Some(ESPTOOL_FALLBACK_BAUD), board));
             retry.args(subcommand);
             run_streamed(retry, None, job)
                 .await