nrfutil-device.exe fails if a USB-serial adapter is connected to computer

I observed that I can't flash my board in VS Code when a USB-serial adapter is connected to my computer. When the adapter is unplugged everything works.

-- runners.nrfutil: Flashing file: C:\Users\Grzegorz\Documents\src\nRF52\broadcaster\build\merged.hex

thread 'main' panicked at C:\Users\VssAdministrator\.cargo\git\checkouts\nrf-device-lib-cf1a63c495be42f5\936ac5a\serialport-lister\src\lib.rs:49:60:
called `Option::unwrap()` on a `None` value
note: run with `RUST_BACKTRACE=1` environment variable to display a backtrace
Error: Subprocess C:\ncs\toolchains\66cdf9b75e\nrfutil\home\bin\nrfutil-device.exe failed with unexpected exit code Some(101)
FATAL ERROR: command exited with status 1: nrfutil --json device x-execute-batch --batch-path 'C:\Users\Grzegorz\Documents\src\nRF52\broadcaster\build\broadcaster\zephyr\generated_nrfutil_batch.json'
--serial-number 1057721579

The interesing thing is that serial number is passed to nrfutil. Then why does it try to access serial port adapter instead of DK board? Another thing: in the same folder when nrfutil-device.exe is located there is also nrfutil.exe and this binary works without problems.

PS C:\Users\Grzegorz> & C:\ncs\toolchains\66cdf9b75e\nrfutil\home\bin\nrfutil-device.exe device-info

thread 'main' panicked at C:\Users\VssAdministrator\.cargo\git\checkouts\nrf-device-lib-cf1a63c495be42f5\936ac5a\serialport-lister\src\lib.rs:49:60:
called `Option::unwrap()` on a `None` value
note: run with `RUST_BACKTRACE=1` environment variable to display a backtrace
PS C:\Users\Grzegorz> & C:\ncs\toolchains\66cdf9b75e\nrfutil\home\bin\nrfutil.exe device device-info
serial_number: 001057721579
        boardVersion: PCA10156
        deviceFamily: NRF54L_FAMILY
        deviceName: nRF54L15
        deviceVersion: NRF54L15_xxAA_REV2
        jlinkObFirmwareVersion: J-Link OB-nRF5340-NordicSemi compiled Jul  8 2025 10:15:34

Simular issue can be oserved in Board Configurator:

It detects USB-serial adapter as an unknown board.

Parents Reply
  • Ressa, as Burt noted this nrfutil is part of the toolchain, it's not standalone. The toolchain is installed with nRF Connect SDK. I have latest version of nRF Connect SDK which is 3.2.1. The versions are:
    nrfutil 8.1.1 (b6089d0 2025-08-21)
    nrfutil-device 2.15.2 (3c54c5f 2025-11-13)

    The provided update link is about full nrfutil command which works correctly. The problem is with nrfutil-device.

    The linked case is not related.

    As for the board configurator, it shouldn't show devices which have nothing to do with programming Nordic chips. The usb-serial adapter is not DK board and can't be configured as such. Yes, the problem is not big as I can select proper board. But it shows there is enumeration issue. It must be noted some enumeration isse was recently fixed https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/nrfutil/page/nrfutil-device/CHANGELOG.html

    2025-12-01: Version 2.15.6
    Fixed

        Windows: Fixed issues in the device enumeration that sometimes led to an index out of bounds error. The issue occurred when merging devices belonging to the same container ID. The issue was introduced in v2.15.2.

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