Fake Arduino Nano Error

Development Tools Uploading
1

Hi all.
I am fairly new to Arduino, and i have 2 fake Nanos that a friend gave 2 years ago, but i never used.
Now, when i try and use them, the code does not upload.
I am trying to upload a code to control a SH1106G 1.3" blue OLED screen.
When i upload, this is the error message:

Sketch uses 14892 bytes (48%) of program storage space. Maximum is 30720 bytes.
Global variables use 1004 bytes (49%) of dynamic memory, leaving 1044 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 1 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 2 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 3 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 4 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 5 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 6 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 7 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 8 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 9 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 10 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: unable to open port COM1 for programmer arduino
Failed uploading: uploading error: exit status 1

Can someone please tell me why this is happening?

2

Hi @curiousranjan.

This error might be caused by having the wrong port selected from the Tools > Port menu in Arduino IDE.

Please perform this experiment to verify that the port you have selected is your Arduino board:

  1. Disconnect the USB cable of the Arduino board from your computer.
  2. Select Tools > Port from the Arduino IDE menus.
  3. Take note of the ports (if any) listed in the menu.
  4. Close the Tools menu.
    :red_exclamation_mark: The ports list is only updated when the Tools menu is re-opened, so this step is essential.
  5. Connect the Arduino board to your computer with a USB cable.
  6. Select Tools > Port from the Arduino IDE menus. - If a new port is listed in the menu, that is the port of your Arduino board.

If you saw a new port appear at the last step, select that port from the Tools > Port menu and try uploading again.

If this doesn't solve the problem, please reply here on this forum topic with the answers to the following questions:

  • While following those instructions, did you see a port in the Tools > Port menu at step (6) that was not present at step (3)?
  • If you did see a new port, was the upload successful after you selected that port?
4

I have a few fake nanos and on some I am getting this when I select Tools->Atmega320P (old bootloader)

Sketch uses 1046 bytes (3%) of program storage space. Maximum is 30720 bytes.
Global variables use 9 bytes (0%) of dynamic memory, leaving 2039 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.

Avrdude version 8.0-arduino.1
Copyright see https://github.com/avrdudes/avrdude/blob/main/AUTHORS

System wide configuration file is C:\Users\me\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\8.0.0-arduino1\etc\avrdude.conf

Using port            : COM20
Using programmer      : arduino
Setting baud rate     : 57600
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 1 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 2 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
Error: programmer is not responding
Warning: attempt 3 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00

if I then select Tools->Atmega320P things work

some other times Tools->Atmega320P (old bootloader) works

in other cases I need to use a minicore like AVRDude's

now, are you seeing the lines below before the "Error: programmer is not responding" or not?

Using port            : COMxx
Using programmer      : arduino
Setting baud rate     : 57600
5

Why put yourself through this?

With genuine Arduino boards, at least you know what you're dealing with.
With fake/cloned boards what you get is anyone's guess.

6

Hi @curiousranjan !

I second @time_document_3108 's post:

Changing to "old bootloader" in the Tools menu usually solves the issue:

image
image646×110 5.28 KB

Good luck!
ec2021

7

ATmega328P

8

Welcome!
I have used the old bootloader for years without any problems on the china boards. The "fake" boards are probably not fake at all, but compatible boards manufactured under Arduino's open-source hardware license.

As you know, most official Arduino board designs are released as open-source hardware under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. This allows anyone, including Chinese manufacturers, to legally produce compatible boards, provided they comply with the terms of the license.