Ok I need to report a bug to cloud support, anyone know how?
I just tried to add my new Arduino r4 wifi as a device to the CLoud. I had troubles in that it couldn't upgrade the firmware for some reason (none given) and now my Rr WiFi is detected as a STAMP-S3 (whatever that is) and cannot be added as a device. I have one other R4 WiFi but I am afraid to try it and brick it as well.
Anyone have any ideas on what I should do next?
I just got these a week ago, maybe I should return it as defective since Arduino.cc bricked it.
Ok after I let my frustration melt away, I researched how to reflash the R4 wifi. I had to do a command line reflash of the esp32 firmware to get the USB to work again so that the IDE could recognize it, and then reflashed the R4 firmware. So I am up and running. I think.
Hi @monsteroyd. Thanks for taking the time to post an update. Congratulations on recovering the board!
As @pennam mentioned, the board is put into a special mode when a firmware update is performed. While the board is in that mode, it will be identified as a random ESP32-based board (because the firmware update is being done on the board's ESP32-S3-based "bridge" module). This is why it was identified as a STAMP-S3 (this is a 3rd party board that uses an ESP32-S3 microcontroller).
The board should return to the normal operating mode after you power cycle it by unplugging the USB cable, which Arduino Cloud guides the user through performing. So the problem you encountered is unexpected.
It is certainly commendable to perform your own research when you encounter a problem. Since a tremendous amount of high quality information about every aspect of Arduino is available on the Internet, this will often be the most efficient approach, and you are likely to gain some interesting and valuable knowledge as a bonus.
However, I don't think it is fair to say "there is no support". You received a response from one of Arduino's developers, one of the world's foremost experts on this specific subject matter, in less than 24 hours. You are using a forum that is dedicated to providing support.
If you look at your cloud home page, there is no support button or a way to create a support ticket. I only found a link to the forum, which is usually a user-supported group. It would be better if something on that page said: if you are having trouble, post a request to the forum and someone from Arduino will respond within 24 hr. I would have done that. As it was, I just searched until I found a page on how to reflash the esp32 to get USB functionality back. I could not figure out how to get support directly from Arduino. This was especially concerning since I had just received the R4 from Arduino, so still under warranty, and then upon trying to use it in the Cloud, it bricked. So now I either need help on getting it fixed or get a replacement under warranty. I could find nothing to help me in this case.
The intended path for users who want to get support from Arduino technical support exclusively (as opposed to getting support from the community and Arduino technical support both here on the forum) would be:
Click the "Resources" link in the navigation panel on the left side of the Arduino Cloud homepage.
The "Resources" page will open.
Click the "Help Center" link on the "Resources" page.
The Arduino Help Center will open.
Search for a Help Center article that will allow you to autonomously resolve the problem.
If no resolution is found, click the "Contact Arduino" link on the Help Center page footer.
The "CONTACT US" page will open.
Submit a support ticket via the form on the "CONTACT US" page.
However, I see there is an error on the Arduino Cloud "Resources" page. The "Help Center" link leads to the Arduino documentation website instead of the intended target of the Arduino Help Center. I submitted a bug report to the Arduino Cloud developers about this.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this. I was under the impression that you have solved the problem. Is that correct, or do you still need assistance with this?
Hi @cri07. The UNO R4 WiFi board has a hardware module that provides Wi-Fi and BLE communication capabilities, and acts as a USB interface with the computer. The brain of this module is an ESP32-S3 microcontroller, which is running a custom firmware created by Arduino. Arduino periodically releases new versions of that firmware as enhancements and bug fixes are made to the firmware code.
Arduino Cloud automatically updates the firmware when it detects that your board has an outdated version. During the firmware update, the UNO R4 WiFi is put into a special mode. While the board is in that mode it will be identified as a random ESP32-based board. The board remains in this mode even after the firmware update process finishes.
You should be able to put the board into the normal mode where it is once more detected as an UNO R4 WiFi by power cycling the board.
Please try this:
Disconnect the USB cable of the UNO R4 WiFi board from your computer.
Connect the UNO R4 WiFi to your computer with the USB cable.
After doing that, try creating a Arduino Cloud IoT Device from the board once again, just as you did before when you encountered the problem. This time the Device creation should be successful. If it isn't, add a reply here on this forum topic to let us know and we'll provide further assistance in recovering the board from this state.