QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

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romeobalta
 
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QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

Post by romeobalta »

Hello,

I have recently purchased 3 QT Py ESP32-CS boards to use for my IOT projects. While testing one of the boards, I have uploaded a sketch which seemed to have killed the board, as in when plugged in it's not recognized by the PC or Mac anymore as a serial port and no LEDs light up. Also when the board died, USB devices connected to my PC also disconnected at the same time, it's like it shorted the motherboard. Double pressing Reset does nothing. I've tested the same sketch on an Arduino and it worked without issues.

While playing with the second board I uploading basic Serial prints sketches and the second one died as well. Is there anyway to check if the boards are actually dead? Is there issues with these boards?

Thanks,
Romeo

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bidrohini
 
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Re: QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

Post by bidrohini »

You can try this troubleshooting guideline: https://randomnerdtutorials.com/esp32-t ... ing-guide/
If nothing works, perhaps you need to send the board back to Adafruit.

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adafruit_support_carter
 
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Re: QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

Post by adafruit_support_carter »

Try putting the board in ROM bootloader mode and uploading the NeoPixel blink example.

To enter ROM bootloader mode, hold the BOOT button and then press the RESET button.
Double check the Board and Port setting in the Arduino IDE.
Then upload this example sketch:
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-qt- ... ch-3108138
When you see:

Code: Select all

Leaving...
Hard resetting via RTS pin...
in the Arduino upload messages, press the RESET button on the QT PY.
The on board NeoPixel should blink.

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romeobalta
 
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Re: QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

Post by romeobalta »

Hey Carter, that worked wonders, thank you! Do you have any suspicion on what happened or why? It seems that the serial port stops working once I upload a sketch a bunch of times.

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adafruit_support_carter
 
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Re: QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

Post by adafruit_support_carter »

It's a general issue that can happen with boards that have native USB - where the USB connection is hosted directly from the microcontroller itself, and thus requires code running on the microcontroller to be running properly. Sometimes the uploaded sketch can interfere with that, which then prevents a new sketch from being uploaded. Why the sketch is causing an issue can be tricky to determine.

The ROM bootloader reverts to a different mode and does not rely on the same firmware. That allows uploading a new sketch. The idea then is to upload a known well behaved sketch, which should then generally recover the board.

It may get in the weird state again as you go back to the original sketch. But at least there is a way to recover.

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romeobalta
 
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Re: QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

Post by romeobalta »

That makes a lot of sense. Thank you very much, this is very helpful going forward. I was a bit bummed as I think this board is perfect for my needs and didn't want to search for something else.

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GoldstreamSolar
 
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Re: QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

Post by GoldstreamSolar »

I'm also having trouble with the Qt Py ESP-32 C2 board right out of the box. I have 2 of them in front of me and a brand new USB-C cable. When I plugged in the first board (to a fairly new Mac Mini) it was completely unresponsive. No LED action at all, though I did see the proper voltages on the 3V pin and the 5V pin.

I then plugged in the second board and the LED lit up all right though the board quickly got pretty hot. I fiddled a bit without getting anywhere, then unplugged to go have breakfast. Half an hour later I tried plugging in this board and it was as completely unresponsive as the first board.

Is this a hardware problem with this particular board? I've gone through the steps posted here (push buttons, etc etc) and have gotten nowhere.

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adafruit_support_carter
 
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Re: QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

Post by adafruit_support_carter »

@GoldstreamSolar Please start a new thread for your issue and verify which specific QT PY model you have. There is no QT Py ESP32-C2.

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Asiantuntia
 
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Re: QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

Post by Asiantuntia »

I ordered one Qt Py ESP32-S2 from PiHut and after uploading a sketch to it and powering it off and then connecting the cable again to it, its dead. No connection at all, no lights, no nothing. I already soldered the NeoKey BFF to it and it worked before I unplugged it.

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Asiantuntia
 
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Re: QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

Post by Asiantuntia »

QT Py ESP32-C2 is getting burning hot without running any code on it. So is the QT Py ESP32-S3, the one that is dead.

I soldered headers to the ESP32-C2 and connected NeoKey BFF to it. The NeoKey pins get high/activated when only bringing finger close to the pcb. That cant be normal. I dont even have to touch the key to activate it.

The quality of adafruit products seems really low compared to any other ESP32 manufacturer. Even the cheapest chinese esp32 boards seem to work better.

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adafruit_support_carter
 
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Re: QT Py ESP32-C3 dead after uploading sketch

Post by adafruit_support_carter »

@Asiantuntia Please start a new thread for your issue.

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