Feather 328P Bootloader Issues REFUND REQUEST

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io9k
 
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Feather 328P Bootloader Issues REFUND REQUEST

Post by io9k »

Hi,

Not going to go into crazy detail as there are many many threads regarding this same issue. Seems to be systemic with all the 328P Feather boards. When I received my two 328P Feathers boards I tried to upload a sketch following this guide:

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-fea ... -ide-setup

The first one did not download the sketch at all and the yellow USB status light rapidly blinks and will not stop not even after power cycling and hitting reset. I tried the second board and that one downloaded a sketch successfully, however on the 2 try it failed and went into a brick like state blinking the yellow status led rapidly and will not reset or download code from Arduino IDE.

"avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding"
"avrdude: stk500_initialization(): failed"

After researching this issue on these forums I found that a new bootloader is required and the issue seems to stem from a glitch in the shipped bootloader induced by using Mac OS systems to upload sketches. I wish I had another module to test these theory with a Windows based OS but I do not.

I just purchased these two modules and if I could get refunded for them that would be my first choice for remedy. I'm not equipped with the proper tools to upload this new bootloader easily and honestly I would rather spend the time working on my project instead of trying to bring these modules back to life.

TLDR: Feather 328P boards bricked from trying to upload a sketch using Arduino IDE on Mac OS. Issue is with the shipped bootloader and requires a new bootloader burn to restore functionality.

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tuttifruity
 
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Re: Feather 328P Bootloader Issues REFUND REQUEST

Post by tuttifruity »

Hmmmmm.......same issue here (in Germany)

Feeling your pain, and following your example, and just sending these "wonderful boards" back.

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adafruit2
 
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Re: Feather 328P Bootloader Issues REFUND REQUEST

Post by adafruit2 »

hi, they've not had any issues for a bit... when did you place the order and do you still ahve the pink bags they came in? are you by chance running Mac OS X catalina? we want to make sure we dont send you replacements when its something other than the PCBs :)

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io9k
 
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Re: Feather 328P Bootloader Issues REFUND REQUEST

Post by io9k »

adafruit2 wrote:hi, they've not had any issues for a bit... when did you place the order and do you still ahve the pink bags they came in? are you by chance running Mac OS X catalina? we want to make sure we dont send you replacements when its something other than the PCBs :)
FIXED
SOLUTION: Troubleshooted the issue by changing operating systems. I only have Mac OS 10.14.6 Laptop which I exclusively use for my electronic projects. Going back and re-reading previous forum posts with similar issues I noticed Adafruit's responses were pointing towards the issue to be with Mac drivers with older OS builds. So to tested that theory and I switched to my Windows 10 desktop, installed Arduino IDE, and the drivers provided in the Feather 328 tutorial (see links below). Voilà! It uploaded the code and is working as it should be.

*Quick note: I have programmed many Arduino Pro Mini 328 microcontrollers using Mac OS 10.14.6 and have never had issues when using FTDI programming dongles . I believe this problem with the 328 Feather boards is due to the onboard SiLabs CP2104 serial chip and older Mac OS builds. It is strange however, I have successfully programmed and not had any issues with the Feather ESP8266 boards that have the same SiLab chips using Mac OS 10.14.6. For those having similar issues, try using a Windows based operating system and installing the drivers provided by Adafruit:

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-fea ... -ide-setup

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