ESP-12F responds only to a few basic AT commands I previously read a few guides and tutorials about the ESP8266 and i just started using the ESP-12F module as i think that it is a terrific replacement for Arduino with the added benefit of Wi-Fi. I only have the module itself which is basically a metal casing so, i wired up the ESP-12F module according to this schematic.

My USB-TTL board is operating at 3 V for its VCC and also for the TX and RX logic levels. I use Arduino IDE 1.8.9 (i made sure that i am using the latest stable version) and then set the COM port to the USB-TTL RS232 connected to the ESP12F and typed "AT" and got a response "OK". Then, i tried, "AT+RST" and got a big bunch of text which proved that there is successful communication with the ESP module. But then, i tried to connect the ESP-12F to my Wi-Fi network, so i entered: AT+CWJAP_CUR="SSID","password" replacing the SSID and password with my own and it gave the response "ERROR", so i tried the old format AT+CWJAP="SSID","password" and again i got "ERROR". So, what am i doing wrong? How to fix this? I was thinking that maybe the firmware on my ESP is old and needs to be updated, so i entered "AT+GMR" and i got this info:

19:07:27.560 -&gt; ready
19:07:27.560 -&gt; AT+GMR
19:07:27.560 -&gt; AT version:1.2.0.0(Jul  1 2016 20:04:45)
19:07:27.560 -&gt; SDK version:1.5.4.1(39cb9a32)
19:07:27.560 -&gt; Ai-Thinker Technology Co. Ltd.
19:07:27.560 -&gt; Dec  2 2016 14:21:16
19:07:27.560 -&gt; OK


Do i need to update my module to be able to connect it to my Wi-Fi? If yes, how? I want to update it as safely as possible as this is my only ESP module and i don't want to inadvertently damage it.
You can't connect to an access point until you put the module into Station mode.

AT+CWMODE=1


That will put it in STA mode.  You can alternatively make it an access point (AP mode) with:

AP+CWMODE=2