[SOLVED] Problems connecting to WiFi module on MKR WiFi 1010

I recently got my hands on a MKR WiFi 1010, and I've been having some difficulties in getting it to cooperate. Before trying much else with it, I followed the instructions here to update the firmware on my board, and first ran into problems when opening Tools > WiFi 101 / WiFiNINA Firmware Updater. The window that appears is incredibly small and difficult to read, and doesn't let you expand it (image attached). I was able to select my board and correct firmware version, and "Upload Certificates to WiFi module" was successful, though I'm not sure if that is the same as updating the firmware. I then uploaded the example sketch WifiNINA > Tools > CheckFirmwareVersion, and was met with "Communication with WiFi module failed!" in the serial monitor. It seems that this occurs if WiFi.status() returns a value corresponding to WL_NO_MODULE when setup() is called. Similar example sketches using the WiFi module give the same error. If it helps, here is the output during upload:

Sketch uses 15216 bytes (5%) of program storage space. Maximum is 262144 bytes.
Atmel SMART device 0x10010005 found
Device       : ATSAMD21G18A
Chip ID      : 10010005
Version      : v2.0 [Arduino:XYZ] Mar 19 2018 09:45:14
Address      : 8192
Pages        : 3968
Page Size    : 64 bytes
Total Size   : 248KB
Planes       : 1
Lock Regions : 16
Locked       : none
Security     : false
Boot Flash   : true
BOD          : false
BOR          : false
Arduino      : FAST_CHIP_ERASE
Arduino      : FAST_MULTI_PAGE_WRITE
Arduino      : CAN_CHECKSUM_MEMORY_BUFFER
Erase flash
done in 0.797 seconds

Write 15856 bytes to flash (248 pages)

[=======                       ] 25% (64/248 pages)
[===============               ] 51% (128/248 pages)
[=======================       ] 77% (192/248 pages)
[==============================] 100% (248/248 pages)
done in 0.116 seconds

Verify 15856 bytes of flash with checksum.
Verify successful
done in 0.014 seconds
CPU reset.

In short, my questions are: Did I update the firmware on my board correctly? What is causing the communication failure? How can I fix it?

Thank you in advance.

You may have updated the firmware without error. See this post Firmware Update 1.2.1 - available now, with BLE mode - #18 by sandeepmistry - MKRWIFI1010 - Arduino Forum about that error.

Can you run any of the other examples from the WIFININA lib?

The other sketches from the WiFiNINA library upload just fine, but I get the same output in the serial monitor that appears when it can't connect to the WiFi module on the board. i.e. WiFi.status() == WL_NO_MODULE // returns true

sbaker:
The other sketches from the WiFiNINA library upload just fine, but I get the same output in the serial monitor that appears when it can't connect to the WiFi module on the board. i.e. WiFi.status() == WL_NO_MODULE // returns true

I should have read more carefully as I see that you did mention that in your first post. It looks like the upgrade went ok. Not sure that I can see the problem.

Can you give specifics about the OS and anything else about your setup that might help?

OS is Windows 10 Pro Version 1803, IDE is 1.8.9 Hourly Build 2018/12/19 06:33. What other information might be helpful? Is it possible I've got a faulty board?

sbaker:
OS is Windows 10 Pro Version 1803, IDE is 1.8.9 Hourly Build 2018/12/19 06:33. What other information might be helpful? Is it possible I've got a faulty board?

I don't know if your board is faulty. It is possible, but it is one of the last things I would suspect with a new board.

Have you ever used it to successfully run any code before trying to update the firmware? Was it running blink when first powered up new?

What does Windows call it - does it see it as the correct USB device? Have you tried connecting it to another USB port?

Frustrating I know.

DrGee:
Have you ever used it to successfully run any code before trying to update the firmware? Was it running blink when first powered up new?

Yep, blink was running when I first fired it up, and works now.

DrGee:
does it see it as the correct USB device? Have you tried connecting it to another USB port?

Yeah, Windows seems to recognize the device correctly and uploads to the right port (COM 7). Switching USB doesn't seem to have any effect. It seems that the problem lies solely on the ESP32 module, do you happen to know of some way to "reset" it?

sbaker:
Yep, blink was running when I first fired it up, and works now.

Yeah, Windows seems to recognize the device correctly and uploads to the right port (COM 7). Switching USB doesn't seem to have any effect. It seems that the problem lies solely on the ESP32 module, do you happen to know of some way to "reset" it?

You can try quickly double pressing the reset. Try the firmware upgrade again. I don't know. Maybe someone else will come by with some insight. Sorry.

No worries, thank you for your time and efforts!

The upgrade process is covered in the posts at the top of the forum.
Two of us also suffered an issue with the upgrade but resolved it.
Suggest you read those posts about the firmware.

As for your screen issue what resolution do you currently have your screen set to as you may need to increase it.

Solved it! As it turns out, the resolution (3840 x 2160) was too high, so I could not see the "Update Firmware" button. (The window was probably designed to be a certain amount of pixels wide, and so with a super high pixel density it was very small.) I tried turning down the resolution before, but it didn't change the window. What I tried this time was turning down the resolution, then restarting my computer, and that did the trick. I was able to update the firmware, and it works like a charm now! Thank you for your help!

I found out by chance that if you reboot the MKR1010 while the Serial Monitor is still opened it screws up all connectivity to/from the board. Both USB and especially the COMx port. Sketch uploads fails, etc.
So kill the serial monitor window before you upload or reboot.

Al Harper