Could USB 3.2 Gen 1 a problem programming dev boards ?

Using Arduino Installation & Troubleshooting
#1

Hi,

I have real problems programming my esp8266 nodemcu and my maple mini dev boards.

My laptop is pretty new that uses new USB ports gen.

Could that be a problem ?

I get this error with my esp8266 nodemcu board.

esptool.FatalError:Failed to connect to ESP8266: TIMED OUT WAITING FOR PACKET HEADER

And the maple mini is set to DFU under Microchip tools and not with COM ports that requires me to disable this driver and unplug/plug the board to get it in COM ports. And when I unplug/plug the board, the board get the DFU category again !

What to do ?

#2

USB 3.x has been seen to cause issues with various hardware not just dev boards.

Usual fix is a powered USB 2.0 hub between the item having issues and the USB 3.x port.

It is quite well documented and a lot is down to the implementation of the USB 3.x so some people will not even notice the difference but others may struggle.

#3

My mistake is that my laptop is new with these 3.2 ports and I didn't know that they would cause problems.

So before packing my stuff for the trip I took the esp8266 and the maple mini. So when I plugged both boards, I really couldn't program anyone of them !

I had no issues on my desktop rig. I'm concluding that it could be either 3.2 ports problems or usb drivers on windows are dedicated for something that I have no idea about.

I'm now diving in ubuntu os I just installed yesterday to know if it's driver issue or a hardware problem.

#4

It could be either / or.

There are some slightly flakey drivers out there and also some not fully compliant hardware.

#5

Yep, I gave up actually. If it's because of the usb ports then there's no use of trying all the time, I better do something else until I return to my apartment and start to investigate with my rig.

Recently I bought extra Arduino nano, mega and maple mini boards + I have 2 nodemcu from previous purchases.

So everything should be good :slight_smile:

I can now do something with processing or try to arrange my files ... etc.

Thanks for the support,

#6

The powered USB 2.0 hub is about the quickest and cheapest fix I know of and also handy for many other uses too.

#7

Yeah, hmmm I don't know if I can find one around. I'm travelling now, in another city. I don't know if I can find one in the local market I have a little experience in this city.

Also buying one online won't be so efficient because I may not stay here more than two days. But I'm not in a hurry because I'm going back to my apartment in a few days for God's will.

I can play some games now :slight_smile:

I want to know what is the reason that the maple mini and the esp8266 couldn't connect to the usb port ? even if the COM port is 3.2 gen 1 which means that it's pretty fast, but communication done from Arduino IDE would be according to the baud rate of the board, 9600 or 115200. I don't know what is the exact problem !

#8

Sometimes it is "chipset" dependant as the cause. No clear fix other than HUB.

Other times it seems to be a Microsoft driver at fault. Rollback to official hardware vendor driver or get latest direct from them

Some occasions involve both the chipset and the official hardware driver. 70% chance hub will still fix that.

Also mentioned in a few other places but sparkfun will confirm what I said.

Some Pi users have also seen the issues

#9

ballscrewbob:
Sometimes it is "chipset" dependant as the cause. No clear fix other than HUB.

Yep, I've put this thing in my Aliexpress cart.

USB 3.0 HUB Adapter Extender Mini Splitter

Other times it seems to be a Microsoft driver at fault. Rollback to official hardware vendor driver or get latest direct from them

The hardware vendor is msi, I went to their website, didn't find what I want.

And to eliminate the doubts that it could be windows drivers, I installed ubuntu and tried to rely on their drivers. Couldn't do much as I'm not a linux expert, otherwise I could hack/track some usb protocol stuff to solve my problem.

When I went back to windows, things got better. When I connect my maple mini, it doesn't get the DFU dirver under Microchip category like before installing Ubuntu. Now the maple mini is at COM7 all the time which is a pretty nice thing. But I can't upload a sketch.

Some occasions involve both the chipset and the official hardware driver. 70% chance hub will still fix that.

Yep, I agree with you at this point, I'm pretty sure it's a hardware problem.

USB 3.2 gen 1 would have some stuff that the boards I have can't synch with.

Also mentioned in a few other places but sparkfun will confirm what I said.

Some Pi users have also seen the issues

Yep, that should be a serious issue.

I'm pretty sure that devices that are designed to work on USB 3.2 gen 1 would have drivers that are different than devices which are programmed to work only on 2.0/3.0.

A device programmed to work on 3.2 would have flexibility to work on previous versions of USB up to 2.0.

#10

That is not really the sort of hub I had in mind but it may work.
I always recommend a proper external hub with its own PSU.

#11

OK, just got back home. After a quick search I solved the nodemcu problem by connecting 220ohms resistor between D3 and GND.

Still working on the maple mini, it's like locked or something, can't upload anything to it. Even from my rig which had no problems before the travel.

#12

Recent update for my boards:

  1. Nodemcu V2 amica: I flashed the board with connecting 220ohms resistor between D3 and GND. And now it’s working directly no Arduino IDE.

  2. Maple mini: I fried the board because it was stuck in the DFU mode, I did a method by Carl Roger which is to unplug the maple mini then press upload sketch on Arduino IDE then plug the maple mini before uploading finishes, it worked but later I tried to get change the USB drivers and I heard a crack and smell burnt. But I have couple more ones.

So basically USB 3.2 gen 1 isn’t a problem pretty much as I can tell.

#13