A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32: No serial data received

I updated my boards because I was getting errors, but now I am getting a NEW ERROR:
A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32: No serial data received.
For troubleshooting steps visit: Troubleshooting - ESP32 - — esptool.py latest documentation
the selected serial port For troubleshooting steps visit: Troubleshooting - ESP32 - — esptool.py latest documentation
does not exist or your board is not connected
I only get this error with the ESP32-CAM and not the ESP32-WROOM.
I have never seen this error before. How do I fix it?
(Also, I am using an ESP32-CAM-MB to upload the code to COM 3)
(Another thing, if I use the older version, neither boards will upload and the error is, "A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32: Timed out waiting for packet header.")
Code:

//Libraries
#include "esp_wifi.h"
#include "esp_camera.h"
#include <WiFi.h>
#include "esp_timer.h"
#include "img_converters.h"
#include "Arduino.h"
#include "fb_gfx.h"
#include "soc/soc.h"
#include "soc/rtc_cntl_reg.h"
#include "esp_http_server.h"
#include <esp_now.h>

// WiFi Password
const char* ssid1 = "VinnieWiFi";
const char* password1 = "Qwerty123!";
//ESP32-WROOM MAC ADDRESS
uint8_t broadcastAddress[] = {0xE0, 0x5A, 0x1B, 0xAC, 0x5A, 0xF8};
#define PART_BOUNDARY "123456789000000000000987654321"

#define CAMERA_MODEL_AI_THINKER

  #define PWDN_GPIO_NUM     32
  #define RESET_GPIO_NUM    -1
  #define XCLK_GPIO_NUM      0
  #define SIOD_GPIO_NUM     26
  #define SIOC_GPIO_NUM     27
  
  #define Y9_GPIO_NUM       35
  #define Y8_GPIO_NUM       34
  #define Y7_GPIO_NUM       39
  #define Y6_GPIO_NUM       36
  #define Y5_GPIO_NUM       21
  #define Y4_GPIO_NUM       19
  #define Y3_GPIO_NUM       18
  #define Y2_GPIO_NUM        5
  #define VSYNC_GPIO_NUM    25
  #define HREF_GPIO_NUM     23
  #define PCLK_GPIO_NUM     22
//ESP NOW
typedef struct struct_message {
  int b;
} struct_message;
struct_message myData;
esp_now_peer_info_t peerInfo;
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");
}
static const char* _STREAM_CONTENT_TYPE = "multipart/x-mixed-replace;boundary=" PART_BOUNDARY;
static const char* _STREAM_BOUNDARY = "\r\n--" PART_BOUNDARY "\r\n";
static const char* _STREAM_PART = "Content-Type: image/jpeg\r\nContent-Length: %u\r\n\r\n";

httpd_handle_t camera_httpd = NULL;
httpd_handle_t stream_httpd = NULL;

static const char PROGMEM INDEX_HTML[] = R"rawliteral(
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Vinnie</title>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
    <style>
      body { font-family: Arial; text-align: center; margin:0px auto; padding-top: 30px;}
      table { margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; }
      td { padding: 8 px; }
      .button {
        background-color: #842593;
        border: none;
        color: purple;
        padding: 10px 20px;
        text-align: center;
        text-decoration: none;
        display: inline-block;
        font-size: 18px;
        margin: 6px 3px;
        cursor: pointer;
        -webkit-touch-callout: none;
        -webkit-user-select: none;
        -khtml-user-select: none;
        -moz-user-select: none;
        -ms-user-select: none;
        user-select: none;
        -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0,0,0,0);
      }
      img {  width: auto ;
        max-width: 100% ;
        height: auto ; 
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Walking Robot</h1>
    <img src="" id="photo" >
    <table>
      <tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><button class="button" onmousedown="toggleCheckbox('forward');" ontouchstart="toggleCheckbox('forward');" onmouseup="toggleCheckbox('stop');" ontouchend="toggleCheckbox('stop');">Forward</button></td></tr>
      <tr><td align="center"><button class="button" onmousedown="toggleCheckbox('left');" ontouchstart="toggleCheckbox('left');" onmouseup="toggleCheckbox('stop');" ontouchend="toggleCheckbox('stop');">Left</button></td><td align="center"><button class="button" onmousedown="toggleCheckbox('stop');" ontouchstart="toggleCheckbox('stop');">Stop</button></td><td align="center"><button class="button" onmousedown="toggleCheckbox('right');" ontouchstart="toggleCheckbox('right');" onmouseup="toggleCheckbox('stop');" ontouchend="toggleCheckbox('stop');">Right</button></td></tr>
      <tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><button class="button" onmousedown="toggleCheckbox('backward');" ontouchstart="toggleCheckbox('backward');" onmouseup="toggleCheckbox('stop');" ontouchend="toggleCheckbox('stop');">Backward</button></td></tr>                   
    </table>
    </head>
    <body>
    
    <br>
    <br>
        <section class="main">
        <figure>
      <div id="stream-container" class="image-container">
        <div class="close" id="close-stream">×</div>
        <img id="stream" src="" class="rotate90">
      </div>
    </figure>
    <br>
    <br>
    
            
            <section id="buttons">
 
                <div id="controls" class="control-container">
                  <table>
                  <tr><td align="center"><button class="button button6" id="get-still">Image</button></td><td align="center"><button id="toggle-stream">Start</button></td><td></td></tr>
                  <tr><td></td><td align="center"><button class="button button2" id="forward" onclick="fetch(document.location.origin+'/control?var=car&val=1');">FORWARD</button></td><td></td></tr>
                  <tr><td align="center"><button class="button button2" id="turnleft" onclick="fetch(document.location.origin+'/control?var=car&val=2');">LEFT</button></td><td align="center"></td><td align="center"><button class="button button2" id="turnright" onclick="fetch(document.location.origin+'/control?var=car&val=4');">RIGHT</button></td></tr>
                  <tr><td></td><td align="center"><button class="button button2" id="backward" onclick="fetch(document.location.origin+'/control?var=car&val=5');">REVERSE</button></td><td></td></tr>
                  <tr><td></td><td align="center"><button class="button button4" id="flash" onclick="fetch(document.location.origin+'/control?var=flash&val=1');">LIGHT ON</button></td><td></td></tr>
                  <tr><td></td><td align="center"><button class="button button4" id="flashoff" onclick="fetch(document.location.origin+'/control?var=flashoff&val=0');">LIGHT OFF</button></td><td></td></tr>
                  </table>
                </div>
               <br>
                <div id="sliders" class="slider-container">
                  <table>
                  <tr><td>Vid Quality:</td><td align="center" colspan="2"><input type="range" id="quality" min="10" max="63" value="10" onchange="try{fetch(document.location.origin+'/control?var=quality&val='+this.value);}catch(e){}"></td></tr>
                  <tr><td>Vid Size:</td><td align="center" colspan="2"><input type="range" id="framesize" min="0" max="6" value="5" onchange="try{fetch(document.location.origin+'/control?var=framesize&val='+this.value);}catch(e){}"></td></tr>
                  
                  
                  </table>
                </div>
            </section>         
        </section>
   <script>
   function toggleCheckbox(x) {
     var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
     xhr.open("GET", "/action?go=" + x, true);
     xhr.send();
   }
   window.onload = document.getElementById("photo").src = window.location.href.slice(0, -1) + ":81/stream";
  </script>
  </body>
</html>
)rawliteral";

static esp_err_t index_handler(httpd_req_t *req){
  httpd_resp_set_type(req, "text/html");
  return httpd_resp_send(req, (const char *)INDEX_HTML, strlen(INDEX_HTML));
}

static esp_err_t stream_handler(httpd_req_t *req){
  camera_fb_t * fb = NULL;
  esp_err_t res = ESP_OK;
  size_t _jpg_buf_len = 0;
  uint8_t * _jpg_buf = NULL;
  char * part_buf[64];

  res = httpd_resp_set_type(req, _STREAM_CONTENT_TYPE);
  if(res != ESP_OK){
    return res;
  }

  while(true){
    fb = esp_camera_fb_get();
    if (!fb) {
      Serial.println("Camera capture failed");
      res = ESP_FAIL;
    } else {
      if(fb->width > 400){
        if(fb->format != PIXFORMAT_JPEG){
          bool jpeg_converted = frame2jpg(fb, 80, &_jpg_buf, &_jpg_buf_len);
          esp_camera_fb_return(fb);
          fb = NULL;
          if(!jpeg_converted){
            Serial.println("JPEG compression failed");
            res = ESP_FAIL;
          }
        } else {
          _jpg_buf_len = fb->len;
          _jpg_buf = fb->buf;
        }
      }
    }
    if(res == ESP_OK){
      size_t hlen = snprintf((char *)part_buf, 64, _STREAM_PART, _jpg_buf_len);
      res = httpd_resp_send_chunk(req, (const char *)part_buf, hlen);
    }
    if(res == ESP_OK){
      res = httpd_resp_send_chunk(req, (const char *)_jpg_buf, _jpg_buf_len);
    }
    if(res == ESP_OK){
      res = httpd_resp_send_chunk(req, _STREAM_BOUNDARY, strlen(_STREAM_BOUNDARY));
    }
    if(fb){
      esp_camera_fb_return(fb);
      fb = NULL;
      _jpg_buf = NULL;
    } else if(_jpg_buf){
      free(_jpg_buf);
      _jpg_buf = NULL;
    }
    if(res != ESP_OK){
      break;
    }
    //Serial.printf("MJPG: %uB\n",(uint32_t)(_jpg_buf_len));
  }
  return res;
}

static esp_err_t cmd_handler(httpd_req_t *req){
  char*  buf;
  size_t buf_len;
  char variable[32] = {0,};
  
  buf_len = httpd_req_get_url_query_len(req) + 1;
  if (buf_len > 1) {
    buf = (char*)malloc(buf_len);
    if(!buf){
      httpd_resp_send_500(req);
      return ESP_FAIL;
    }
    if (httpd_req_get_url_query_str(req, buf, buf_len) == ESP_OK) {
      if (httpd_query_key_value(buf, "go", variable, sizeof(variable)) == ESP_OK) {
      } else {
        free(buf);
        httpd_resp_send_404(req);
        return ESP_FAIL;
      }
    } else {
      free(buf);
      httpd_resp_send_404(req);
      return ESP_FAIL;
    }
    free(buf);
  } else {
    httpd_resp_send_404(req);
    return ESP_FAIL;
  }

  sensor_t * s = esp_camera_sensor_get();
  int res = 0;
  
  if(!strcmp(variable, "forward")) {
    Serial.println("Forward");
    // Set values to send
  myData.b =(1);
  // Send message via ESP-NOW
  esp_err_t result = esp_now_send(broadcastAddress, (uint8_t *) &myData, sizeof(myData));
  if (result == ESP_OK) {
    Serial.println("Sent with success");
  }
  else {
    Serial.println("Error sending the data");
  }
  }
  else if(!strcmp(variable, "left")) {
    Serial.println("Left");
    // Set values to send
  myData.b = (2);
  // Send message via ESP-NOW
  esp_err_t result = esp_now_send(broadcastAddress, (uint8_t *) &myData, sizeof(myData));
  if (result == ESP_OK) {
    Serial.println("Sent with success");
  }
  else {
    Serial.println("Error sending the data");
  }
  }
  else if(!strcmp(variable, "right")) {
    Serial.println("Right");
       // Set values to send
  myData.b = (3);
  // Send message via ESP-NOW
  esp_err_t result = esp_now_send(broadcastAddress, (uint8_t *) &myData, sizeof(myData));
  if (result == ESP_OK) {
    Serial.println("Sent with success");
  }
  else {
    Serial.println("Error sending the data");
  }
  }
  else if(!strcmp(variable, "backward")) {
    Serial.println("Backward");
       // Set values to send
  myData.b = (4);
  // Send message via ESP-NOW
  esp_err_t result = esp_now_send(broadcastAddress, (uint8_t *) &myData, sizeof(myData));
  if (result == ESP_OK) {
    Serial.println("Sent with success");
  }
  else {
    Serial.println("Error sending the data");
  }
  }
  else if(!strcmp(variable, "stop")) {
    Serial.println("Stop");
       // Set values to send
  myData.b = (5);
  // Send message via ESP-NOW
  esp_err_t result = esp_now_send(broadcastAddress, (uint8_t *) &myData, sizeof(myData));
  if (result == ESP_OK) {
    Serial.println("Sent with success");
  }
  else {
    Serial.println("Error sending the data");
  }
  }
  else {
    res = -1;
  }

  if(res){
    return httpd_resp_send_500(req);
  }

  httpd_resp_set_hdr(req, "Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*");
  return httpd_resp_send(req, NULL, 0);
}

void startCameraServer(){
  httpd_config_t config = HTTPD_DEFAULT_CONFIG();
  config.server_port = 80;
  httpd_uri_t index_uri = {
    .uri       = "/",
    .method    = HTTP_GET,
    .handler   = index_handler,
    .user_ctx  = NULL
  };

  httpd_uri_t cmd_uri = {
    .uri       = "/action",
    .method    = HTTP_GET,
    .handler   = cmd_handler,
    .user_ctx  = NULL
  };
  httpd_uri_t stream_uri = {
    .uri       = "/stream",
    .method    = HTTP_GET,
    .handler   = stream_handler,
    .user_ctx  = NULL
  };
  if (httpd_start(&camera_httpd, &config) == ESP_OK) {
    httpd_register_uri_handler(camera_httpd, &index_uri);
    httpd_register_uri_handler(camera_httpd, &cmd_uri);
  }
  config.server_port += 1;
  config.ctrl_port += 1;
  if (httpd_start(&stream_httpd, &config) == ESP_OK) {
    httpd_register_uri_handler(stream_httpd, &stream_uri);
  }
}

void setup() {
  WRITE_PERI_REG(RTC_CNTL_BROWN_OUT_REG, 0); //disable brownout detector
  
  
  Serial.begin(115200);
  Serial.setDebugOutput(false);
// Set device as a Wi-Fi Station
  WiFi.mode(WIFI_STA);

  // Init ESP-NOW
  if (esp_now_init() != ESP_OK) {
    Serial.println("Error initializing ESP-NOW");
    return;
  }

  // Once ESPNow is successfully Init, we will register for Send CB to
  // get the status of Trasnmitted packet
  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;
  }
  
  camera_config_t config;
  config.ledc_channel = LEDC_CHANNEL_0;
  config.ledc_timer = LEDC_TIMER_0;
  config.pin_d0 = Y2_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d1 = Y3_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d2 = Y4_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d3 = Y5_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d4 = Y6_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d5 = Y7_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d6 = Y8_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_d7 = Y9_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_xclk = XCLK_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_pclk = PCLK_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_vsync = VSYNC_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_href = HREF_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_sscb_sda = SIOD_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_sscb_scl = SIOC_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_pwdn = PWDN_GPIO_NUM;
  config.pin_reset = RESET_GPIO_NUM;
  config.xclk_freq_hz = 20000000;
  config.pixel_format = PIXFORMAT_JPEG; 
  
  if(psramFound()){
    config.frame_size = FRAMESIZE_VGA;
    config.jpeg_quality = 10;
    config.fb_count = 2;
  } else {
    config.frame_size = FRAMESIZE_SVGA;
    config.jpeg_quality = 12;
    config.fb_count = 1;
  }
  
  // Camera init
  esp_err_t err = esp_camera_init(&config);
  if (err != ESP_OK) {
    Serial.printf("Camera init failed with error 0x%x", err);
    return;
  }
  // Wi-Fi connection
  WiFi.softAP(ssid1, password1);
  IPAddress myIP = WiFi.softAPIP();
  Serial.print("AP IP address: ");
  Serial.println(myIP); 
  
  // Start streaming web server
  startCameraServer();
}

void loop() {
  
}

I have seen similar problems when serial drivers have been corrupted or the incorrect one selected

sometimes I have to uninstall the COM ports to make a device work

  1. open Device manager and expand Ports COM & LPT)

  2. click View > Show Hidden Devices – you get list such as
    image

  3. right click on each COM port - click Uninstal Device – click Uninstall

  4. when complete plug in your device and hopefully the COM port should appear

I tried this but it still does not seem to work. I'll keep trying to see if maybe it works.

when you plugin the USB connector does a COM port appear?
try a different USB port?
try a different USB cable?

the COM port appears, and I've tried different ports. I only have one cable for the ESP32-CAM-MB, but it is the same cable that I use for the WROOM, which has no issue, so I don't think the issue is which the cable. I've even tried with a FTDI Adapter, but it makes it worse.

Looks it I only get this problem with every ESP32-CAM board I have, but not other types of boards.

I've even tried uploading onto the ESP32-CAM using an Arduino Uno. Still doesn't work.

Ok, so I uninstalled and reinstalled the Arduino IDE and now the messages is clearer on what the error is. (A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32: No serial data received.
For troubleshooting steps visit: Troubleshooting - ESP32 - — esptool.py latest documentation
Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 2)

I'm starting to fear that the Camera is broken, as beforehand, I never had any problems with the camera, nothing is working, and I didn't change anything for this error to occur in the first place. IT can't connect to the Serial Monitor.

It was a hardware problem with the board. I bought a new board, and it worked.

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