Defective ItstyBitsy Presumably - Need confirmation to authorize a return/refund/replacement

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eldahctor
 
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Defective ItstyBitsy Presumably - Need confirmation to authorize a return/refund/replacement

Post by eldahctor »

So apparently Adafruit's idea of customer support is to send people to a public forum requesting technical support in the form of providing hordes and scads of details confirming what self-diagnostics and other research has already indicated, that a board is bad... and wait for someone else to concur the same/provide authorization to then go back to customer support in order to proceed with the original ask? <Heavy sigh> Well, alright then. Here goes. (Hopefully this is a good subformum since I couldn't find any sort of "Authorize a return" category in the Index.)

I purchased an Adafruit ItsyBitsy 32u4 - 5V 16MHz in April of this year and just recently started my project.
ItsyBitsy Board - Front and Back
ItsyBitsy Board - Front and Back
1-2.jpg (404.52 KiB) Viewed 135 times

To establish a working baseline as I always do with any board, I pulled up a number of the pre-built sample sketches. Using the Auduino IDE v.1.8.2 for MacOS 10.12.6 (no, I'm not going to upgrade to IDE 2.x because my OS version won't support it and no I won't update my OS because of compatibility issues with other software... so don't go there),
- I installed the appropriate board drivers for the ItsyBitsy.
- I was successfully able to compile the sample sketches so clearly the driver installs were successful however, the only selectable Port option was "/dev/cu.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port". As this is not a wireless board and my Mac does not have bluetooth, I already knew an upload would fail... but tried anyway and as expected, got the message: "the selected serial port does not exist or your board is not connected". Well duh, because the option to select the serial port was grayed-out.
- Not only was the Serial port not a selectable option but the drive itself failed to boot up and show as a connected external device on my Mac.
Connected but not IstyBitsy
Connected but not IstyBitsy
4-5.jpg (288.6 KiB) Viewed 135 times

Oh, "Make sure you're using a data cable and not just a charging cable", you say, right?
- The cable is in fact a data transfer cable. I verified by successfully connecting an Arduino Uno, Gemmo M0, and my recently acquired Adafruit Audio FX Sound Board. Don't believe me? One of the attached pictures shows the sound board successfully connected with "ADAFRUITFX" listed as one of the connected external drives.
Connected Sound Board
Connected Sound Board
3.jpeg (156.34 KiB) Viewed 135 times

On with the next series of obligatory troubleshooting questions though at this point, it really doesn’t make a difference…
- Did you try different USB ports? Yep, neither port on my Mac worked to connect the ItsyBitsy.
- Have you tried connecting to different computers? Yes, tried both a newer, current OS Mac as well as a brand new Dell and same result.
- Did you try a different cable? Because we know certain cords can be total divas and just not work for some but will work for others… yeah, tried it. No love.
So, the IstyBitsy will not connect on a Mac, it will not connect on a PC.
It will not connect via the left USB, it will not connect to the right USB,
It will not connect when the cord is black, it will not connect when the cable is tan.
The ItsyBitsy simply will not connect, Sam I am.

Bootloader, bootloader, bootloader.
- Having reviewed certain posts about outdated versions of bootloader on boards and directions to install the latest version, that’s all well and good but I believe that requires being able to access the drive and uploading new files… which as noted, isn’t possible.

USB 2.0 va USB 3.0
- Having received 2 older versions of the Gemma for Xmas instead of the M0 which was my the list and presumably ordered, I’ve come to learn that some older boards are not compatible with USB 3.0… though nothing was mentioned about that on the product page for the ItsyBitsy. I’ve seen some posts about folks being able to successfully connect via a USB hub. Do I have a USB hub? No. Am I going to go buy a USB hub to test on the off chance that it might possibly work here? No.

Set and Reset were walking down the street, Set fell in a manhole. Who was left?
- I’ve seen some posts about pressing and/or holding the board’s reset button while trying to upload a sketch. No dice. There’s still the preceding issue of not being able to select the serial port which makes this “solution” a no go no matter how many times or manners you press reset.

Last Indicator (literally):
- With my Gemma issues, even though those boards have chronically failed to connect, at least one thing was certain, the boards are at least viable. Whether using a data cable or just a charging cable, when plugged in, at least the neopixel light would come on. With the ItsyBitsy, the light won’t come on regardless of what cord, plug, or machine it’s plugged into.

Final note:
No modifications have been made to the IstyBitsy whatsoever, none, nada, nothing. No pins or wires have been soldered. The board hasn’t been exposed to heat, cold, or moisture. The board is exactly as it was as received.

I’m pretty sure the board I was sent is simply defective and I would appreciate if if someone can concur so I can initiate the return/replacement process.

Thank you

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dastels
 
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Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 3:22 pm

Re: Defective ItstyBitsy Presumably - Need confirmation to authorize a return/refund/replacement

Post by dastels »

That's just how the triage/authorization process works. You've been thorough and it sounds like a dead board. Please email [email protected] with a link to this thread, your order number, and request the replacement of one ItsyBitsy 32u4 - 5V 16MHz.

Dave

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