I am working with the Arduino Plug and Make Kit and am having problems loading the first project (Eco Watch).
I am reasonably competent in both Electronics and Computing and am able to write basic programs for PIC, Arduino,
Raspberry Pi and ESP32 using Assembler, C and Python. I have no knowledge or experience of IoT and hence my purchase
of the Arduino Kit. I have used Arduino Cloud but only for basic Arduino Programming via a USB cable. I have
successfully run the "Getting Started Template"
My hardware is a Dell Dimension PC running Windows 10, an Arduino Uno R4 WiFi. My internet access is to a BT Internet Wireless Router with reasonable signal strength to where I am working (full signal strength shown on my Apple iPhone.
The Arduino is connected directly to my computer using the Arduino supplied USB C cable.
To work with the Eco Watch project I am doing the following.
Set up the workspace including both the Modulino Thermo and Modulino Pixels boards and connect the Arduino to my PC with the USB cable. The Arduino gives me a cloud and an unhappy face. The TX / RX light flashes.
Use the "Go to template" link in the Arduino documentation. This switches to the Eco Watch Template Tab.
Click on the "Use Template" link. I have already installed the Agent and a "Arduino UNO R4 WiFi found message is displayed. The detected port is as shown in Device Manager.
Click on "Configure" Link. I am advised that my board has already been configured and is ready to be used.
Click on the "Associate" link. I am advised that I am already associated so I detach and reset the Network Parameters.
I revceive the following message
Multiple libraries were found for "Wire.h"
Used: /home/builder/.arduino15/packages/
arduino/hardware/renesas_uno/1.2.1/
libraries/Wire Not used: /home/builder/opt/
libraries/flexwire_1_2_1 Multiple libraries
were found for "SPI.h" Used: /home/
I try again as suggested and get the message "We were not able to upload the template sketch."
"Something went wrong!". I try again ....
Eventually it loads and I get the message
"Connection to the Cloud
To use the Eco Watch template, the only thing missing is
the connection to the Cloud. Once the template is
imported, the device associated will automatically
connect to make the template work."
I click on "Done"
The first Eco Watch Dashboard displays. All appers to be working ok.
I now progress to Step 2 - Add scrolling text. I navigate to "Things" in the side bar and highlight "Eco Watch" and look at the sketch. To avoid any typing problems I copy in the sketch from the tutorial.
The sketch tab advises me that there is no associated device yet. Is this important? I imagine so, so I go to Setup tab, detach and renter my wifi credentials.
I return to the sketch tab and get the following Console message
"Console- Scheduled upload, waiting for the device to reconnect..."
Thereafter nothing happens. It suggests to me that the WiFi connection has dropped out but only to the Arduino board.
Both my phone and computer show a good connection. Is is possible to the load the sketch using the USB connection?
What should I do now ?
The Setup tab shows the Arduino as being Online and the Network details are correct.
I have disconnected and reconnected the board and reset the board (double tap) to no avail.
I am sorry that this report is so long but I must be doing something wrong so I hope the detail helps analyse the problem.
@avine So if I understand correctly, the template was imported successfully and when you go to the sketch tab to modify the code for step 2, the device appears unavailable? if so, you can select the USB icon next to the Upload button, by default the cloud icon is selected which means the upload process will happen OTA, but if you select the USB icon the Upload will happen in the classic way. Please let me know if this is actually your issue
Your understanding is correct. You have solved the immediate problem for which I am most grateful. I can now upload the sketch and it all works as expected. I had not realized the significance of the USB / Cloud icon. I had clearly missed the mention of it in the tutorial.
One question remains and that is whether or not the Uno R4 WiFi should have been able to load the sketch over the air. If so I may still have a problem which may come clear to me as I progress with the project.
@avine can you share with us the device ID, you can find it on the Thing main menu, can you confirm if your username here is the same as the one using in the Arduino Cloud environment?
Sorry for my late reply. So our dev team suggest to check the internet connection and no filters are in place in it’s connectivity. Like firewall rules for the egress traffic, or DNS filtering (at customer router or internet provider level)
Hello, I wanted to check in and see if you're still experiencing the same issue with running the Plug and Make Kit project, or if the problem has been resolved. Let me know if you need further assistance!
Thank you for enquiring. At the moment the Project that I was having problems with is working as expected. I have been having problems with voice half of my BT telephone line which has now been fixed. Whilst the Internet always appeared to be working the problem that I was experiencing in getting my UNO R4 WIFI to communicate over the air appears to have gone away. Many thanks for your help.
I have had major issues with this kit.
Initially a few pairings of module worked OK then the kit stopped working completely.
After dozens of attempts to get the kit to work - starting from the beginning - it still failed.
The vastly common error was along the lines of this is not an Arduino board followed by some strange board names ( note the plural). All I am using is the Arduino R4 WIFI that is part of the kit!
Yesterday, after another dozen or so attempts, the kit started working.
So, what went wrong with the kit? What happened for the kit to starting working again?
This can happen after you update the firmware on the UNO R4 WiFi board's Wi-Fi radio module. At the end of the firmware update process, the module is left in a special mode where it causes the board to be identified as an ESP32 board.
Assuming my hypothesis that the problem was caused by the Wi-Fi module being in the special mode after a firmware update, it would have started working again after you power cycled the board (e.g., by unplugging the USB cable from the computer and then connecting the board again). When you power cycle the board, the module goes back in to the normal operating mode.
In some contexts we do a reasonably good job at communicating about the need to power cycle the board after the firmware update is finished, but you might have missed that instruction. And in other contexts the requirement is not properly communicated (e.g., arduino/arduino-ide#2220).
Many thanks for your reply; and, the explanation therein.
However that explanation does not tell me why I had to repeatedly over a good few weeks (not every day) why it took so many attempts ( lets agree on say 100+ attempts ) to get it to work. I try at least 20+ times yesterday before it worked.
Hello there, I eventually managed to get the Play-and-Make to work!
How by sending hours and hours trying over and over again. Currently it is working.
Every time it failed to work I received a range of errors - mainly about the board not being recognised. I purchased two Arduino R4 WIFI replacement boards - neither worked.
About 1/3 of the errors stated the board was a "Stamp-65" (whatever that is), sometimes the 'wrong' board name started with "ESP" other times a variety of non-Arduino boards.
I spent many a long afternoon and long evening trying to get the kit to recognise the board that came in the kit.
Should this issue re-occurs then I will gladly send screenshot(s) etc to you.
