ESP NOW failing using WIFI_AP_STA and WiFi.begin but working without the WiFi.begin - wifi

Question

I am using code derived from Rui Santos https://RandomNerdTutorials.com/esp-now-esp32-arduino-ide/
I am using ESP NOW to send readings from an ESP32 sender to an ESP32 receiver then using the ESP32 receiver to send an html message to a ESP32 web server. Per Rui's instructions I need to start WiFi with WIFI_AP_STA to allow both wifi connection methods.
The sender and receiver code is below.
If I run the code as is, i.e. the receiver setup as WIFI_AP_STA but with the WiFi.begin line commented out, I get a sender status of:
Send success, and a receive status of:Receive status. SO there is no problem sending an ESP NOW message from the sender to the receiver (also works with WIFI_STA).
If I use WIFI_AP_STA and uncomment the line in the receiver "WiFi.begin(SSIS, PASSWORD)" so that I can send a message to the ESP32 web server, I get a send status of:Send fail, and a receive status of:Receive status with failed send. The send fails but the receive is still successful. Same fail if I use WIFI_AP. It seems that in WIFI_AP_STA mode with a WiFi.begin, the receiver sends an incorrect status back to the sender.
In summary, on the receiver, using wifi mode WIFI_AP_STA without a WiFi.begin, works for sending an ESP NOW message from sender to receiver, as it should.
Using wifi mode WIFI_AP_STA and WiFi.begin on the receiver, the sender fails when sending an ESP NOW message. When I implement the web code the web html message send works. However the issue can be reproduced using the simplified code below.
Using WiFi#2.0.0.
I've run out of ideas, is anyone able to point me at further investigation areas?
My sender code is:
#include <Arduino.h>
#include <WiFi.h>
#include <esp_now.h>
// Rui Santos https://RandomNerdTutorials.com/esp-now-esp32-arduino-ide/
uint8_t broadcastAddress[] = {0x24, 0x6F, 0x28, 0xAA, 0x84, 0x10};
typedef struct struct_message
{
char ESP32NowText[33];
} struct_message;
struct_message ESP32NowMessage;
//
String text = "AAA000010000200003000040000500006";
esp_now_peer_info_t peerInfo;
// callback when data is sent
void OnDataSent(const uint8_t *mac_addr, esp_now_send_status_t status)
{
Serial.print("\r\nLast Packet Send Status:\t");
Serial.println(status == ESP_NOW_SEND_SUCCESS ? "Delivery Success" : "Delivery Fail");
}
void setup()
{
Serial.begin(115200);
WiFi.mode(WIFI_STA);
if (esp_now_init() != ESP_OK)
{
Serial.println("Error initializing ESP-NOW");
return;
}
esp_now_register_send_cb(OnDataSent);
// Register peer
memcpy(peerInfo.peer_addr, broadcastAddress, 6);
peerInfo.channel = 0;
peerInfo.encrypt = false;
// Add peer
if (esp_now_add_peer(&peerInfo) != ESP_OK)
{
Serial.println("Failed to add peer");
return;
}
}
void loop()
{
strncpy(ESP32NowMessage.ESP32NowText, text.c_str(), text.length());
Serial.println("Msg to send:" + String(ESP32NowMessage.ESP32NowText));
Serial.println("Snd Len:" + String(sizeof(ESP32NowMessage)));
// Send message via ESP-NOW
esp_err_t result = esp_now_send(broadcastAddress, (uint8_t *)&ESP32NowMessage, sizeof(ESP32NowMessage));
if (result == ESP_OK)
{
Serial.println("Sent with success");
}
else
{
Serial.println("Error sending the data");
}
delay(2000);
}
My receiver code is:
#include <Arduino.h>
#include <WiFi.h>
#include <esp_now.h>
// Rui Santos https://RandomNerdTutorials.com/esp-now-esp32-arduino-ide/
typedef struct struct_message
{
char ESP32NowValues[33];
} struct_message;
struct_message ESP32NowMessage;
// callback function that will be executed when data is received
void OnDataRecv(const uint8_t *mac, const uint8_t *incomingData, int len)
{
memcpy(&ESP32NowMessage, incomingData, sizeof(ESP32NowMessage));
Serial.println("Bytes received: " + String(len));
Serial.println("Values:" + String(ESP32NowMessage.ESP32NowValues));
Serial.println("---------------------------------------");
}
const char WiFiSSID[] = "SSID";
const char WiFiPassword[] = "PASSWORD";
//
void setup()
{
Serial.begin(115200);
WiFi.mode(WIFI_AP_STA);
// WiFi.begin(WiFiSSID, WiFiPassword);
// Init ESP-NOW
if (esp_now_init() != ESP_OK)
{
Serial.println("Error initializing ESP-NOW");
return;
}
esp_now_register_recv_cb(OnDataRecv);
}
void loop()
{
}