Feedback on Nano 33 BLE Sense and Arduino IDE Compatibility

Development Tools IDE 2.x
1

Hello Arduino Team,

I’m writing after spending several hours (and nights) trying to get the Nano 33 BLE Sense working with the Arduino IDE.

After extensive testing, I found that the board only works reliably with Arduino IDE 1.8.19, in ZIP format, and only if the Sense board package is not installed in IDE 2.x.

Installing the Sense package in IDE 2.x causes serious issues: the board is not detected, COM ports behave erratically, and uploads fail. This behavior is extremely confusing for users, especially since this is a modern board that should be better supported in the latest IDE.

I strongly urge you to:

  • Clarify documentation about real compatibility between Nano 33 BLE Sense and IDE 2.x
  • Fix the COM port instability and bootloader conflicts
  • Prevent users from wasting hours troubleshooting issues that are not their fault

This board is not cheap, and it’s unclear whether it was ever fully tested in IDE 2.x. It’s a powerful piece of hardware, but the software experience does not match the promise.

Thank you for your work — but please prioritize the user experience. Behind every board is a person trying to create, not just debug.

Best regards,
Lau — Passionate maker, supported by Copilot

2

Hi @lauyu. Thanks for your report.

I'm going to ask you to provide the output from a successful upload performed in the working environment, then the output from an upload that fails when performed in the non-working environment.

:red_exclamation_mark: This is not intended to solve the problem. The purpose is to gather more information.

Provide output from working environment

I assume you already have your system in the working "the Sense board package is not installed in IDE 2.x" configuration. If so, no preparation is needed for this procedure. If your system is in the non-working configuration (i.e., "Sense board package is installed in IDE 2.x"), then take the necessary measures to put your system into the working configuration.

Please do this:

  1. Start Arduino IDE 1.x.
  2. Select File > Preferences... (or Arduino > Settings... for macOS users) from the Arduino IDE menus.
    The "Preferences" dialog will open.
  3. Uncheck the box next to Show verbose output during: ☑ compilation in the "Preferences" dialog.
  4. Check the box next to Show verbose output during: ☐ upload.
  5. Click the "OK" button.
    The "Preferences" dialog will close.
  6. Perform an upload, as you did before.
  7. Wait for the upload process to finish.
  8. Click on the black output panel at the bottom of the Arduino IDE window.
  9. Press the Ctrl+A keyboard shortcut (Command+A for macOS users) to select all the text.
  10. Press the Ctrl+C keyboard shortcut (Command+C for macOS users).
    This will copy the selected text to the clipboard.
  11. Open a reply here on this forum topic by clicking the "Reply" button.
  12. Click the <CODE/> icon on the post composer toolbar.
    This will add the forum's code block markup (```) to your reply to make sure the error messages are correctly formatted.
    Code block icon on toolbar
    Code block icon on toolbar390×118 4.25 KB
  13. Press the Ctrl+V keyboard shortcut (Command+V for macOS users).
    This will paste the error output from the upload into the code block.
  14. Move the cursor outside of the code block markup before you add any additional text to your reply.
  15. Click the "Reply" button to publish the post.

Provide output from non-working environment

  1. Produce the conditions under the problem occurs by installing "the Sense board package in IDE 2.x".
  2. Start Arduino IDE 2.x.
  3. Select File > Preferences... (or Arduino IDE > Settings... for macOS users) from the Arduino IDE menus.
    The "Preferences" dialog will open.
  4. Uncheck the box next to Show verbose output during: ☑ compile in the "Preferences" dialog.
  5. Check the box next to Show verbose output during: ☐ upload.
  6. Click the "OK" button.
    The "Preferences" dialog will close.
  7. Attempt an upload, as you did before.
  8. Wait for the upload to fail.
  9. You will see an "Upload error: ..." notification at the bottom right corner of the Arduino IDE window. Click the "COPY ERROR MESSAGES" button on that notification.
  10. Open a reply here on this forum topic by clicking the "Reply" button.
  11. Click the <CODE/> icon on the post composer toolbar.
    This will add the forum's code block markup (```) to your reply to make sure the error messages are correctly formatted.
    Code block icon on toolbar
    Code block icon on toolbar390×118 4.25 KB
  12. Press the Ctrl+V keyboard shortcut (Command+V for macOS users).
    This will paste the error output from the upload into the code block.
  13. Move the cursor outside of the code block markup before you add any additional text to your reply.
  14. Click the "Reply" button to publish the post.

As far as we are aware, they are compatible. If we verify that there is truly some sort of incompatibility, then measures would be taken. Preferably that would be simply investing the time to fix the problem rather than to describing it in documentation.

It is. Arduino employees have been using Arduino IDE 2.x exclusively for years now, and that includes much testing of the Nano 33 BLE Sense board.

It is easy to extrapolate our own experiences to the assumption that the same experience is universal. In some cases, such a conclusion is valid. However, in other cases the experience is specific to unusual conditions present on your particular system, and others with more standard conditions. I say this, not in any way to diminish your own experience, which is of course paramount to your personally, but rather to help you understand the situation as it applies in the larger context of the Arduino community as a whole.