nrf Connect for Desktop v3.9.3 not detecting device

[flodis]

I have an early nrf52840-Preview-DK device that has worked fine before.

When the project is revisited the board is no longer detected in any of the programs in nrf Connect for Desktop v3.9.3.

I have flashed the Interface MCU firmware binary J-Link OB-SAM3U128-V2-NordicSemi 170724.bin from https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-hardware/nrf52840-dk/download#infotabs

The nrf52840 loads binaries using the Segger J-Link drive and works ok.

The device is found using the nrf Command Line nrfjprog.exe -i and reports number 683920827, same as on the device MPU printed label.

I guess the nrf Connect no longer supports windows 7, but stated in the documentations for the programmer - https://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/pdf/nRF_Connect_Programmer_User_Guide_v1.0.pdf


Have tested in both 64 and 32-bit environments with device not detected.

The device also exposes a serial port so it seems the nrf Connect is not as able as it where in earlier versions.

What to do next?
 

[flodis]

The log of any app started in nrf Connect indicates no error but does not contain any sign of serial port activity

2022-01-24T20:20:05.327Z INFO Application data folder: C:\Users\user1\AppData\Roaming\nrfconnect\pc-nrfconnect-linkmonitor
2022-01-24T20:20:05.461Z DEBUG App pc-nrfconnect-linkmonitor v2.0.0 official
2022-01-24T20:20:05.462Z DEBUG App path: C:\Users\user1\.nrfconnect-apps\node_modules\pc-nrfconnect-linkmonitor
2022-01-24T20:20:05.462Z DEBUG nRFConnect 3.9.3, required by the app is (^3.8.0)
2022-01-24T20:20:05.462Z DEBUG nRFConnect path: C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\nrfconnect\resources\app.asar
2022-01-24T20:20:05.463Z DEBUG HomeDir: C:\Users\user1
2022-01-24T20:20:05.463Z DEBUG TmpDir: C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Temp

Older logs from 2019 show serial port activity and success:

2019-04-27T09:38:18.934Z INFO Application data folder: C:\Users\user1\AppData\Roaming\nrfconnect\pc-nrfconnect-ble
2019-04-27T09:38:19.105Z DEBUG App pc-nrfconnect-ble v2.2.1 official
2019-04-27T09:38:19.106Z DEBUG App path: C:\Users\user1\.nrfconnect-apps\node_modules\pc-nrfconnect-ble
2019-04-27T09:38:19.106Z DEBUG nRFConnect 2.6.2 is supported by the app (^2.4.0)
2019-04-27T09:38:19.106Z DEBUG nRFConnect path: C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Programs\nrfconnect\resources\app.asar
2019-04-27T09:38:19.106Z DEBUG HomeDir: C:\Users\user1
2019-04-27T09:38:19.106Z DEBUG TmpDir: C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\Temp
2019-04-27T09:38:19.121Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at COM35
2019-04-27T09:38:19.122Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at COM45
2019-04-27T09:38:19.122Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at COM47
2019-04-27T09:38:24.531Z INFO Validating connectivity firmware for device with serial number 000683920827...
2019-04-27T09:38:34.565Z INFO Connectivity firmware is valid.
2019-04-27T09:38:34.566Z INFO Getting information from J-Link debugger...
2019-04-27T09:38:36.096Z INFO Found device type: nRF52840. J-Link firmware: J-Link OB-SAM3U128-V2-NordicSemi compiled Jul 12 2018 11:44:41.
2019-04-27T09:38:36.097Z INFO Connectivity firmware version: 1.2.3. SoftDevice API version: 3. Baud rate: 1000000.
2019-04-27T09:38:36.098Z INFO Opening adapter connected to COM43
2019-04-27T09:38:36.632Z INFO Reset performed on adapter COM43
2019-04-27T09:38:36.633Z INFO Successfully opened COM43. Baud rate: 1000000. Flow control: none. Parity: none.
..

[Hung Bui]

Hi Flodis, 

Do you have any other board to test ? 
Could you double check if UART communication works fine with the board ? (test with the peripheral\uart example)

Please send the  "Create System Report"  report when you click on About in the nRF Connect program. 

[flodis]

Hi Hung Bui,

The nrf52840 serial port applications work fine and example code Tx/Rx data is received on J-Link exposed serial port. Code from nRF5_SDK_13.1.0_7ca7556 and nRF5_SDK_17.1.0_ddde560 responds to reset and to the q/Q quit command in the sample works.

I installed old nrfConnect 2.5.0 and it detects the nrf52840-Preview-DK device but complains about "Unsupported device with serial number '000683920827' and traits ["serialport"]"

One phenomena in the nrf Connect v3.9.3 is, with the 64-bit Win7 the applications screen is blank on startup. After a "check for updates" is completed the application list is populated.

Also in the 64-bit Win7 the "create system report" results in "Generating system report..." but never displays any report

In the 32-bit Win7 OS the nrf Connect applications display on start, but with some delay. In the Win7 32-bit there is a system report, but no devices/ports listed in the report.

I checked the source of nrf Connect for desktop and can see it relies heavily on events. Maybe something in how serial ports are discovered that does not work?

Also installed latest version of SEGGER J-Link V7.60f from https://www.segger.com/downloads/jlink/ and updated the DK driver MCU firmware.

Bluetooth Low Energi v3.0.0 starts with

15:11:20.826	Using @nordicsemiconductor/nrf-device-lib-js version: 0.4.1
15:11:20.827	Using nrf-device-lib version: 0.9.8
15:11:20.827	Using nrfjprog dll version: 10.15.1
15:11:20.827	Using JLink version: 6.88a
15:11:21.322	Application data folder: C:\Users\user1\AppData\Roaming\nrfconnect\pc-nrfconnect-ble
15:11:21.733	Updated list of uuids with data from https://github.com/NordicSemiconductor/bluetooth-numbers-database/tree/master/v1

Nothing else in the log

No device discovery.

[Hung Bui]

Hi Flodis, 

I have reported the issue to our software team. I will keep you updated if we find any solution. 
The nRF52840 preview DK is a pretty old kit and it doesn't have the final production silicone on it. We strongly suggest you to get hold of a nRF52840 development kit for further development. 

[flodis]

Thank You Hung Bui,

Have now tested the nrf52840-Preview-DK device in Windows 10 using nrf Connect for Desktop v3.9.3 and it works.

The latest nrf Connect V3.10.0 still does not detect the device in win7 32 nor 64-bit.