nRF Connect VS Code Extention

[Emre Bayraktar]

I'm having an issue while trying to install the nRF Connect vsCode extension. I assume that extension has auto board detection feature. However, on my computer, this feature does not work as expected. There is another device connected to my computer which opens a couple of virtual com ports. When I enable the nrf extension, it continuously opens and closes these com ports, making them unusable. How can I disable the auto-board-detection feature ? 

[Emre Bayraktar]

Hi, 

Sorry for the confusion. I've successfully installed and uploaded code to nrf54L devkit. I'm also doing development on  Quectel's SoC's which connected via USB and creates seven virtual com ports for different purposes. I meant the Quectel's SoC by "another device". 

The problem arises when I plug in the Quectel device while the nRF Connect extention is enabled. Once connected, extention continuously opens and closes the com ports of Quectel SoC. Since its automatically does this open/close behaviour, I've assumed that nRF connect continously search through avaiable com ports to find a nrf board.

[Emre Bayraktar]

Hi, 

The problem continues even if I plug in a Nordic device. I've confirmed the open/close behaviour caused by extention since it only happens when VS Code is open and extention enabled. In this state, I cannot use the Quectel's com ports with any application. When I disable the extention, open/close behaviour immediately stops and com ports became usable. 

[Emre Bayraktar]

Hi Dejan, 

The problem starts happenning as soon as I open the VS Code while the Quectel device is connected via USB. And when I disable the nRF Connect extention, it stops happening. So I can not tell you whether the problem can be created by that command or not. 

Best Regards, 

Emre. 

[dejans]

Hi Emre,

dejans said:

Did running "nrfutil device device-info --serial-number 1057715871" also cause "..., it continuously opens and closes these com ports, making them unusable"?

Emre Bayraktar said:

The problem starts happenning as soon as I open the VS Code while the Quectel device is connected via USB. And when I disable the nRF Connect extention, it stops happening. So I can not tell you whether the problem can be created by that command or not. 

What happens if you run the command (shown above) when Quectel device is not connected and you do not disable nRF Connect extension?

Best regards,
Dejan

[Emre Bayraktar]

Hi Dejan, 

Nothing unexpected happens and the problem do not occur. Here is the output: 

PS C:\Users\A.ogur\Desktop\kernel_07.new_hw> nrfutil device device-info --serial-number 1057715871
serial_number: 001057715871
        boardVersion: PCA10156
        deviceFamily: NRF54L_FAMILY
        deviceName: nRF54L15
        deviceVersion: NRF54L15_xxAA_REV1
        jlinkObFirmwareVersion: J-Link OB-nRF5340-NordicSemi compiled Jul  8 2025 10:15:34

PS C:\Users\A.ogur\Desktop\kernel_07.new_hw>

[dejans]

Hi Emre,

Have you seen this problem previously with any other board apart from that specific Quectel device?
Can this issue be reproduced if Quectel device is not used (potentially using some other Nordic board instead)?

Best regards,
Dejan

[Emre Bayraktar]

Hi Dejan,

No, I've also tried STM boards and the problem is not happening. My colleague also faced this issue on another computer.

Thanks & Best Regards,

Emre.

[dejans]

Hi Emre,

Can you send support log (Generate Support Information)?

Is Quectel device J-Link device?

Are drivers, J-Link OB firmware and everything else working as expected?

Which operating system version do you use? Has your colleague seen the same issue using computer with the same operating system and the same version? Can you check if this problem is present on any operating system (Mac, Linux)?

Best regards,
Dejan

[Emre Bayraktar]

Hi Dejan, 

I've found the reason for this problem while exploring the nrfUtil's features for my own application: 

 - nrfUtil have a list function to detect available J-Link devices which tries to open/close every possible com port on the computer. nRF VS Code extention probably run this command every second to detect device removal from computer. However, this feature causes to Quectel device's com ports to continously being open/close every second, which makes them unusuable. 

[Kenneth]

Hello, I have forwarded your observation now.

Thank you,
Kenneth

[Kenneth]

Hello again,

A few questions to ensure they understand the current issues correctly:

- Could you run "nrfutil device list --hotplug --log-level trace" again and see if you get the COM ports closing and opening every second? I'm interested in seeing the log from <USERHOME>/.nrfutil/logs/nrfutil-device.log regardless of the outcome.

- Could you also paste the output of "nrfutil device list --traits serialports"? And maybe rerun it 4-5 times.

- Also, how do you detect that the serial ports are being opended and closed? Could it be that are you seeing other symptoms that might be similar to open/close? 

Thank you,
Kenneth