New Counterfeit Arduino Zero Board?

Official Hardware Classic Zero
1

On Nov. 30 I purchased an Arduino Zero from the Amazon Arduino store.
I have tried to connect it to a Linux computer unsuccessfully (Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS). I have other Arduino boards which are detected as USB peripherals without problems. For the Zero I tried several combinations of udev rules without luck. Here are the latest:

#       Rules for the Arduino Programming Port
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="2341", ATTR{idProduct}=="804d", MODE="0666", GROUP="dialout"
#       Rules for the Arduino Native (comm) Port:
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="2341", ATTR{idProduct}=="804e", MODE="0666", GROUP="dialout"
#      Rules for the EDBG Debugger Port:
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="03eb", ATTR{idProduct}=="2157", MODE="0666", GROUP="dialout"

The odd thing is that neither lsusb or usb-devices can detect the board but the IDE seems to find something attached to port /dev/ttyS4. Either way I cannot upload any sketches (CMSIS_DAP device missing... No valid JTAG).

Connecting the Zero shouldn't be so hard, but I don't know what else to try. After looking at some online pictures of the Zero, it occurred to me that I may have unwittingly purchased a counterfeit. Here are pictures of the Zero I got (check out the placement of the RESET button -right over the etching):

Zero Front
Zero Back

Can someone please confirm whether my board looks real or counterfeit?
I have until January 31, 2025 to return it to Amazon.
Many thanks

2

Which Linux distro?

3

Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS

4

Doesn't look like the ones in the Arduino online store.

Screenshot 2024-12-23 at 2.25.47 PM
Screenshot 2024-12-23 at 2.25.47 PM854×986 688 KB

Screenshot 2024-12-23 at 2.26.37 PM
Screenshot 2024-12-23 at 2.26.37 PM934×708 564 KB

1 Like
5

Disconnect Arduino from computer, open a terminal and type:
dmesg -w|grep usb [ENTER].
Connect Arduino.
What does the last line on terminal read?

6

[ 9081.110006] usb 3-2.5: reset full-speed USB device number 4 using xhci_hcd

7

Hmmm, you may be getting interference from "britty", if so you need to uninstall it but I forget how.

8

The lsusb command should show you what the board is identifying itself as. Run the command before and after plugging in the board. There should be a one line difference. Please post that line.

Also do you get a /dev/ttyUSBx or /dev/ttyACMx port?

Finally, assuming it comes up as a port, run the command ls -al /dev/.... specifying whatever port it comes up as and post the result.

And yes, worth checking whether brltty or modemanager are running and disable and remove them if you find they are.

Just seen your photo as well. Which of the two ports are you plugging into?

9

I would return the Zero to Amazon.

When I look at an Amazon US or Amazon UK page for the Zero, they look like the official version(what @EmilyJane posted) and not what you posted.

Where did you get the Zero from?

10

Nope -no difference at all whether the board is pluged or unplugged. I usually plug the Zero programming port first, though I have tried both ports.

I can't imagine why the brltty daemon would be running by default, but in any case command 'ps -al | grep brltty' returns nothing. Same goes for the modem manager.

It shouln't be this difficult. I am inclined to agree with @EmilyJane that this board is counterfeit/defective.

11

Got the board from ostensibly the Arduino store at amazon US.

12

programming port (closest to the barrel power jack)

13

Ok, so the port nearest the DC jack is the debug port. The port that connects to the SAMD chip is the farthest from the DC jack. This is the one you want for uploading a sketch.

It does sounds like brltty and modemanager are not running which is good.

The board looks like a clone, but that does not mean it shouldn't work. I think the SAMD chip port should come up as /dev/ttyACM0 on Linux. However, it should also show in the lsusb output when plugged in. Sudo dmesg should show something like this after plugging it in:

[ 4341.418900] usb 1-5: new full-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd
[ 4341.600922] usb 1-5: New USB device found, idVendor=10c4, idProduct=ea60, bcdDevice= 1.00
[ 4341.600935] usb 1-5: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 4341.600941] usb 1-5: Product: CP2102 USB to UART Bridge Controller
[ 4341.600945] usb 1-5: Manufacturer: Silicon Labs
[ 4341.600949] usb 1-5: SerialNumber: 0001
[ 4342.191915] usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial_generic
[ 4342.191920] usbserial: USB Serial support registered for generic
[ 4342.193353] usbcore: registered new interface driver cp210x
[ 4342.193359] usbserial: USB Serial support registered for cp210x
[ 4342.193375] cp210x 1-5:1.0: cp210x converter detected
[ 4342.194157] usb 1-5: cp210x converter now attached to ttyUSB0

Of course the device information will be different and correspond to your actual device.

If you are not getting anything in lsusb or dmesg, then usb port is not functioning correctly. I presume you have tried another cable?

14

Faulty usb cable! Thank you @BitSeeker !
and also thank you for the debug port clarification. It seems its reversed from the Arduino Due. Plugging the board with a different cable on the second port away from power now causes lsusb to see the board:

Bus 003 Device 011: ID 2341:804d Arduino SA Arduino Zero

With that cleared, I'm still bothered by believing I purchased a genuine Arduino product, not a clone. But that's a different story.
Many thanks for your help

15

Faulty usb cable! Thank you @BitSeeker !
and also thank you for the debug port clarification. It seems its reversed from the Arduino Due. Plugging the board with a different cable on the second port away from power now causes lsusb to see the board:

Bus 003 Device 011: ID 2341:804d Arduino SA Arduino Zero

and 'sudo dmesg -w | grep usb' shows

[15721.367495] usb 3-7: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[15721.367502] usb 3-7: Product: Arduino Zero
[15721.367507] usb 3-7: Manufacturer: Arduino LLC
[15721.367511] usb 3-7: SerialNumber: 065CB4715030534D4D2E3120FF15052B
16

Of course! Just to confuse you!

Yup, it happens sometimes. Have had to throw away a cable or two myself....

Hopefully you now have a serial port?

It is curious about the board looking a bit different. I believe you can get support or raise a return via Amazon. Can I ask what you paid approximately? Was it around $45? That's what the genuine ones cost but they do seem to have half of the back in white.

If you paid much less than that, then its going to be a clone, although I don't see any on Amazon UK.

17

Yeah, it does look different. I guess I still don't know for sure if its a clone.
As long as it works...

18

The back of my Zero has the same design as shown in @2square's picture:

And mine was sent directly from Arduino's distribution warehouse, and thus is indisputably genuine. So this tells us that official Zero boards have been made with this design (though it is also possible there are counterfeits with the same design).

I am confident that @2square's board is genuine. The reason is the PTC fuses shown on the picture of the front of the board:

image
image1555×1236 196 KB

This part with the ∞ symbol was custom manufactured exclusively for Arduino, so its presence is a reliably indicator of a genuine board:

https://support.arduino.cc/hc/en-us/articles/360020652100-How-to-spot-a-counterfeit-Arduino#:~:text=components%20are%20sloping.-,The%20PTC%20fuse,-(depicted%20below)%20should

Note that, although the presence of that part is proof of authenticity, Arduino also uses other designs of PTC fuses on official boards, so the absence of this part on other boards is not proof of that board being a counterfeit.

2 Likes
19

Thank you @ptillisch for the clarification.

1 Like
20

@2square Glad you got it working.

I do understand your concern about the authenticity. Wanting to try the IDE debugging I decided to get an ESP32 S3. While ordering I noticed they had the Zero at a price substantially less that a new UNO R3, I added it to the order. I was worried it may be clone but worth it at the price. It turned out to be exactly the same as yours.

Being different to the Arduino store pictures I also wondered about being original. Firstly were the two ESD varistors along the sides of the USB data lines. The store pictures, and schematics, showed single units straddling the data lines and include the 5V line. Also different were the pin connectors. The store showed two separate blocks per side, like the UNO, whereas mine had single units per side. Some component placements were also different.

Unlike the ESP, which I initially struggled to get working with the debugger, the Zero fired right up. I can download via each port (using the correct core) and the debugger works.

I did find new schematics, including the latest on the Arduino document site, which shows the two separate varistors. Now I do not know whether ours are newer or older units. My guess is they are the newer versions (considering the latest schematics from Arduino).

Interesting also are the silkscreen markings on the board. PWM are shown for all the pins. The markings on the connecter, though, show only pins 3, 5, 6 , 9, 10 and 11 are PWM. Only pins 2 and 7 are not PWM, see the pinout diagrams, so the markings are wrong for both the board and the connector. The connector markings, interestingly, matches the UNO R4 WiFi's board as well as its pin connector (??).

Other than that the Zero works well (some funnies with the I2C speeds though). At the price I ordered another (the listing marked stocks limited) and after my second order they were removed from the online store listing, no longer available and it seems they are not going to be available again (from that store).