HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac air

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zackboston
 
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HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac air

Post by zackboston »

I am doing an edgelit etched acrylic lightbox project I have done before with Trinket MO with 18 youth in my summer program. We are using strips of 6 60LED/m bought through Adafruit. So I know how to install the Adafruit neopixel library and the Arduino SAMD and Adafreuit SAMD boards and add the github link to arduino preferences. I've uploaded my tried and true fade code

When I opened the trinket mo this morning in Arduino on my 2 year old mac air, the port disappeared from Arduino Tools>Port. When I connected an UNO, the port appeared with normal uploading. But as soon as I plug the Trinket MO in, the port disappears! I checked all the settings. . .

PORT PROBLEM. . . what I tried.
Yesterday, when my mac air recognized the port, I uploaded the blink sketch successfully on Trinket MO
(That means all the libraries are properly installed on the Arduino IDE)
Closed and reopened Arduino IDE 1.8.13
Rebooted mac air (M1, 2020)
Put Arduino Uno on dongle (usbc to usb) and it was recognized on the port; successfully uploaded blink
Put new microusb cord on the dongle (usbc to usb)
(Microusb cord IS data cord)
Also retried this process on a Windows 10 HP computer and port was not recognized either.

This has happened before, but it corrected itself when I put the Arduino Uno on and uploaded the blink sketch. . . why this work I don't know.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

It sounds like the SAMD21's USB code is crashing.

That happens sometimes because USB ports that support high-speed transfer start the device recognition process with a burst of 480MHz data. That looks like random noise to a 48MHz SAMD21, and can force a crash.

Try putting a cheap/ols USB-2 hub between the computer and the microcontroller. The hub will block the high-speed data while letting 12MHz signals, which the SAMD21 uses, pass through normally.

You may need to force a reboot manually to get the microcontroller back in sync with the computer the first time. The Arduino IDE tells the SAMD21 to reboot by opening and closing a 1200 baud Serial connection, and the microcontroller can't detect that signal if its USB code has already crashed.

Enable verbose messages during upload in the Arduino IDE preferences, try to upload any sketch without selecting a Serial port, and double-click the Trinket M0's reset button when you see lines that begin with 'PORTS' start to scroll past in the debug pane. That will force the SAMD21 to reboot and open a USB connection for its bootloader while the IDE is waiting for a new USB connection to appear. That usually gets things back in sync.

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zackboston
 
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Re: HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac

Post by zackboston »

First, thank YOU for the detailed explanation.

I tried the usb2 cable and rebooting while using the verbose messages as soon as the PORTS appear. . . neither worked with my mac air 2020. What do I try next?

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Connect the Trinket M0 to the computer and open System Information, and select the USB pane. Do you see anything that looks like a microcontroller in the device tree?

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zackboston
 
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Re: HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac

Post by zackboston »

Screen Shot 2022-07-23 at 6.40.06 AM.png
Screen Shot 2022-07-23 at 6.40.06 AM.png (285.58 KiB) Viewed 256 times
yes! here it is. . . such a helpful suggestion! but unfortunately, it still doesn't work!

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Hmm.. verify your USB cable by using it to connect some other, known-working device to a computer.

There's a plague of charge-only cables out there with USB connectors at both ends, but no wires for the data signals. People get caught by them every day.

Just swapping cables has no diagnostic value. The current record is someone who had to try ten cables before finding one that worked. Only a working USB connection can rule out a charge-only cable.

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zackboston
 
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Re: HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac

Post by zackboston »

I used my USB cable on a redboard (sparkfun's uno) and it recognized and uploaded just fine. . . so I believe the cord is OK. . .

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Try another cable anyway. USB cables are more like components than wiring, and they aren't all made the same.

On a separate track, does the Trinket M0's LED pulse when you double-click the reset button?

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zackboston
 
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Re: HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac

Post by zackboston »

Thank you for your encouragement.

I will keep trying as many different cords as I can. . . I've tried a lot already!

Most of the Trinket MOs DO go into bootloader mode when reset button is pushed twice. But even when I try to doubleclick the reset button while trying to upload code, the port never gets recognized.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

If it's only one board misbehaving, you've already put in more time than the cost of the board.

Send a note containing a link to this page and your order number to [email protected]. The folks there will get you a replacement.

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zackboston
 
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Re: HELP!!! Trinket MO port issue on both Windows10 and mac

Post by zackboston »

I am so sorry, but this issue is with 25 Trinket MOs from 3 different batches. I have 18 lightbox projects going with the youth in my Learn 2 Teach, Teach 2 Learn program.

I am experienced with Trinkets and have been using all kinds of Adafruit products for over a decade. I use your guides without problems all the time. I've done this project before with regular trinkets. I've tried about 8 different cords we've had hanging about the Fab Lab, including ones from a batch I ordered from you.

I contacted the ARDUINO IDE folks and they were not helpful.

There is clearly something very wrong. . .

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