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I have an unofficial Arduino Uno.

I've tested these:

  • Testing on USB 2.0 and USB 3.0
  • Changing Port (COM XX)
  • Updating drivers for the Unknown device to Arduino Uno (COM XX)
  • Resetting Arduino Board
  • Plug/Unplug
  • 1x PC Reboot
  • Burning bootloader
  • Changing 'Programmer'
  • Uninstalling-Reinstalling device
  • Holding the "Reset" button while I Upload
  • Testing different examples (Blinking/Voltage Serial Read)
  • Testing different "Board" in Arduino software (just in case, you never know)
  • Removing jump wires

Does anyone have any suggestion more than I just tried?

VE7JRO
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Eksapsy
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  • Which version of Windows are you on? – Majenko Jun 12 '16 at 15:16
  • Arduino app is 1.6.9. – Eksapsy Jun 12 '16 at 15:37
  • I asked which version of Windows you are using, not which version of the Arduino IDE you are using. – Majenko Jun 12 '16 at 15:37
  • Oh man sorry, I was not very careful. Windows 10. – Eksapsy Jun 12 '16 at 15:48
  • And what USB chip does your unofficial Uno use? – Majenko Jun 12 '16 at 15:56
  • The board is similar to that one : (Same Brand, but for example behind the USB port the component's text says "U12.000\n r4 ON" where \n is new line) http://www.ebay.com/itm/M-J-Duino-Arduino-Uno-R3-Compatible-CH340-with-USB-and-Serial-Headers-/311393221914 I don't know how to find the USB chip you're asking sorry. Send me instructions if the information I give you are not enough. – Eksapsy Jun 12 '16 at 16:11
  • It's the chip nearest the USB socket. In that picture it's the black rectangle next to the crystal that says "12.000" – Majenko Jun 12 '16 at 16:12
  • Thanx, I edited my previous comment with a liiitle more information. I suppose now you can post an Answer now that you have information about the USB chip right ? I mean I just want to reward you :D You already made me think about the USB chip, didn't think that clones used a different one. – Eksapsy Jun 12 '16 at 16:14
  • I don't understand what you are describing. Please take a photograph of your actual board with a closeup of the USB socket area. – Majenko Jun 12 '16 at 16:18
  • The difference I was talking about : http://prntscr.com/bfhnrq The whole board : http://prntscr.com/bfho23 – Eksapsy Jun 12 '16 at 16:23
  • That's just the crystal. I need to know what it says on the chip. The big black rectangle just above the component you are describing in that picture. The one with lots of pins sticking out of it. – Majenko Jun 12 '16 at 16:25
  • It says : Header is "WCH" and the rest "CH340G \n 202685413" with \n representing a new line. – Eksapsy Jun 12 '16 at 16:31
  • I thought that looked like one of those... So... Have you installed the CH340G drivers? Or are you trying to use the genuine Arduino Uno drivers? – Majenko Jun 12 '16 at 16:32
  • Thank you kind sir. I really didn't know that they used different USB chips. And that's because ? (If you can answer ... that would be nice :D ) I installed the CH340G drivers and now it works perfectly :D Also "Answer The Question" so I can give you some credits if you want. – Eksapsy Jun 12 '16 at 16:39
  • After spending hours struggling with the same problem, @Brew's response solved my problem! Thanks! – Jon Dec 09 '19 at 03:12

2 Answers2

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The board you have uses the CH340G chip instead of an ATMega16U2 or FTDI FT232R chip.

It requires special drivers, not the ones that come with the IDE.

Why do they use that chip instead of the proper one? Simply because it's dirt cheap. They are the cheapest of the cheapest of the cheapest USB chips around. They frequently die. You might want to save up and invest in a genuine Arduino at some point, because that one may well die out of the blue.

Majenko
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I had the same problem with the cheap nano from Amazon Longrunner. At first, it worked, I could program it. Then, I farted around with my COM port numbers because I was tired of being in the COM14 area. Since that moment, it stopped working. IDE couldn't find the port COM3. After reading you guys, I also noticed that the device was identified RAMPS which it wasn't before. I updated the driver which didn't work; it told me I was already with latest driver. So I deleted that driver and reconnected my Nano and lord and behold, the new driver USB-SERIAL CH340 installed and everything was fine. El cheapo still works. I don't care to pay more just for the USB chip which I will use only once. The uP is still up to par.

Brew
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