Cannot connect through Port

I am using a Seeed Studio XIAO nRF52840 Sense board that I used successfully about 9 months ago. I recently connected it to my Windows 11 laptop again (with my Arduino 2.3.2 IDE), and the Arduino sketch (that I also previously used) still compiles successfully, but it will not upload to my board. I get the following message:

Waiting for upload port...
No upload port found, using COM4 as fallback
"C:\Users\bryan\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\Seeeduino\hardware\nrf52\1.1.8/tools/adafruit-nrfutil/win32/adafruit-nrfutil.exe" --verbose dfu serial -pkg "C:\Users\bryan\AppData\Local\Temp\arduino\sketches\7D29119FB5364DAD14AEF7B1AB459B04/BodyMotionRespiratoryRate.ino.zip" -p COM4 -b 115200 --singlebank
Upgrading target on COM4 with DFU package C:\Users\bryan\AppData\Local\Temp\arduino\sketches\7D29119FB5364DAD14AEF7B1AB459B04\BodyMotionRespiratoryRate.ino.zip. Flow control is disabled, Single bank, Touch disabled

Failed to upgrade target. Error is: Serial port could not be opened on COM4. Reason: could not open port 'COM4': FileNotFoundError(2, 'The system cannot find the file specified.', None, 2)
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "dfu\dfu_transport_serial.py", line 113, in open
  File "serial\serialwin32.py", line 33, in __init__
  File "serial\serialutil.py", line 244, in __init__
  File "serial\serialwin32.py", line 64, in open
serial.serialutil.SerialException: could not open port 'COM4': FileNotFoundError(2, 'The system cannot find the file specified.', None, 2)

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "__main__.py", line 296, in serial
  File "dfu\dfu.py", line 235, in dfu_send_images
  File "dfu\dfu.py", line 157, in _dfu_send_image
  File "dfu\dfu_transport_serial.py", line 115, in open
nordicsemi.exceptions.NordicSemiException: Serial port could not be opened on COM4. Reason: could not open port 'COM4': FileNotFoundError(2, 'The system cannot find the file specified.', None, 2)

Possible causes:
- Selected Bootloader version does not match the one on Bluefruit device.
    Please upgrade the Bootloader or select correct version in Tools->Bootloader.
- Baud rate must be 115200, Flow control must be off.
- Target is not in DFU mode. Ground DFU pin and RESET and release both to enter DFU mode.

I notice that when I plug or unplug the USB connector from my board to my laptop USB, it makes no sound (when I plug or unplug my mouse to my laptop USB, it always makes a sound).

On my Arduino 2.3.2 IDE, when I go to "Tools", I see "Port: COM4", but it is grayed out so that when I hover my cursor above it, it does not react.

When I go to Device Manager on my laptop, I see (under "Universal Serial Bus controllers"):
"Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)"
When I right-click on this, I see the following options:
Update driver, Disable device, Uninstall device, Scan for hardware changes, Properties.

I do not understand what has changed. I did upgrade my Arduino IDE twice since I last used it for this board. Any advice that anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Hi @BryAB. Please try this experiment and then report back with the results:

  1. Connect your Arduino board to your computer with the USB cable.
  2. Press and release the reset button on your Arduino board quickly twice.
  3. If it is already open, close the Tools > Port menu in Arduino IDE.
  4. Open the Tools > Port menu in Arduino IDE.

Now please reply here on the forum thread with the answer to the following question:

  • Do you see a serial port for the board in the Tools > Port menu?
1 Like

I find these portable apps invaluable for quick checks on USB issues.

Does that entry in device manager disappear when you disconnect the board?

Maybe a charge-only cable? You need a data/sync cable.

I did exactly what you advised, and that worked! When I went to Tools > Port, I saw "Port: COM6". I was then able to compile and upload my Arduino sketch to the Seeed Studio XIAO nRF52840 Sense board, and the board began to display my data in the Serial Monitor as it had done several months ago. Thanks so much for your help! I really appreciate your advice.

I guess I should clarify what I did. I pressed the reset button twice quickly. The reset button on this board is so small that I needed a magnifying glass to see it. Anyway, thanks again for your advice!

You are welcome. I'm glad it is working now.

Yeah, that button is crazy small! I bought one of these XIAO boards some months ago just to have one on hand, but haven't used it much. I only noticed the button when I was testing those instructions and was quite amazed. I thought at first the button might have broken off my board.

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