(Potential Bug) nRF Connect for VS Code - nRF Terminal

[JamesDougherty]

Hello - The nRF Connect for VS Code extensions updated today and it appears to have broken then nRF Terminal connection monitoring.

Old Behavior

1. Connect to device via one of the COM ports
2. If I powered off (or flashed an update) the DK then the status bar item would show a message, in orange, that it was attempting to reconnect to device
3. If I powered the DK back on, then it would automatically reconnect and I would see all of the startup output

New Behavior

1. Connect to device via one of the COM ports
2. If I power off the DK then the status bar item still shows the device as being connected (see below)
3. If I power the DK back on, then nothing happens. The only way I can reconnect is to restart VS Code and reconnect via VCOM. 

Setup

Not sure what all information is needed, but here are some details from the "Generate support information"

{
  "platform": {
    "os": "win32",
    "osVersion": "Windows 10 Pro",
    "osKernel": "10.0.22000",
    "vscode": "1.69.1",
    "electron": "18.3.5",
    "node": "v16.13.2"
  },
  "system": {
    "date": "2022-07-13T14:43:05.277Z",
    "vscodeRoot": "c:\\Users\\jdougherty\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\Microsoft VS Code\\resources\\app",
    "nrfConnectForDesktopInstalled": true,
    "vscodeUptime": "00:18:11",
    "osUptime": "15:42:25",
    "cpu": {
      "model": "12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12700K",
      "speed": "3610 MHz",
      "count": 10
    },
    "memory": {
      "total": "31.75 GB",
      "free": "21.34 GB"
    }
  },
  "workspace": {
    "name": "csi_nrf52840",
    "workspaceFile": null,
    "folders": [
      "c:\\NRF_Connect\\CodeRepo\\csi_nrf52840"
    ]
  },
  "extensions": {
    "internal": {
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect": {
        "version": "2022.7.207",
        "path": "c:\\Users\\jdougherty\\.vscode\\extensions\\nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2022.7.207-win32-x64",
        "isActive": true
      },
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-terminal": {
        "version": "2022.7.21",
        "path": "c:\\Users\\jdougherty\\.vscode\\extensions\\nordic-semiconductor.nrf-terminal-2022.7.21",
        "isActive": true
      },
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-devicetree": {
        "version": "2022.7.36",
        "path": "c:\\Users\\jdougherty\\.vscode\\extensions\\nordic-semiconductor.nrf-devicetree-2022.7.36",
        "isActive": true
      },
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-kconfig": {
        "version": "2022.7.24",
        "path": "c:\\Users\\jdougherty\\.vscode\\extensions\\nordic-semiconductor.nrf-kconfig-2022.7.24",
        "isActive": true
      }
    },
  },
  "tools": {
    "c:\\NRF_Connect\\toolchains\\v2.0.0\\opt\\zephyr-sdk\\arm-zephyr-eabi\\bin\\arm-zephyr-eabi-gcc.exe": "0.14.1",
    "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\SEGGER\\JLink\\JLink.exe": "7.58b",
    "C:\\Program Files\\Nordic Semiconductor\\nrf-command-line-tools\\bin\\nrfjprog.exe": "10.15.3",
    "nrfutil": "Not found",
    "c:\\NRF_Connect\\toolchains\\v2.0.0\\opt\\bin\\cmake.exe": "3.20.5",
    "c:\\NRF_Connect\\toolchains\\v2.0.0\\opt\\bin\\Scripts\\west.exe": "0.13.1",
    "c:\\NRF_Connect\\toolchains\\v2.0.0\\opt\\bin\\python.exe": "3.8.2",
    "c:\\NRF_Connect\\toolchains\\v2.0.0\\opt\\bin\\ninja.exe": "1.9.0",
    "c:\\NRF_Connect\\toolchains\\v2.0.0\\opt\\bin\\gperf.exe": "3.1",
    "c:\\NRF_Connect\\toolchains\\v2.0.0\\opt\\bin\\dtc.exe": "1.4.7",
    "c:\\NRF_Connect\\toolchains\\v2.0.0\\opt\\bin\\gn.exe": "2039",
    "c:\\NRF_Connect\\toolchains\\v2.0.0\\mingw64\\bin\\git.exe": "2.26.2.windows.1"
  },
  "sdks": [
    {
      "version": "2.0.0",
      "path": "c:\\NRF_Connect\\v2.0.0"
    }
  ],
  "toolchains": [
    {
      "version": "2.0.0",
      "path": {
        "$mid": 1,
        "fsPath": "c:\\NRF_Connect\\toolchains\\v2.0.0",
        "_sep": 1,
        "path": "/C:/NRF_Connect/toolchains/v2.0.0",
        "scheme": "file"
      }
    }
  ],
  "connectedDevices": [
    {
      "serialNumber": "1050267447"
    }
  ],
  "deviceProviders": [
    "nrfjprog"
  ],
  "config": {
    "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect": {
      "topdir": "c:\\NRF_Connect\\v2.0.0",
      "toolchain": {
        "path": "${nrf-connect.toolchain:2.0.0}"
      },
      "ozonePath": "",
      "applications": [
        "c:\\NRF_Connect\\CodeRepo\\csi_nrf52840"
      ],
      "applicationOptions": {},
      "kconfig": {
        "interface": "kconfig"
      },
      "welcome": {
        "showOnStartup": false
      },
      "west": {
        "env": {
          "$base": "terminal"
        }
      },
      "boardRoots": [],
      "enableTelemetry": false,
      "taskBindings": {},
      "debugging": {
        "backend": "Cortex-Debug"
      },
      "activeAppFollowActiveEditor": true
    },
    "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-terminal": {
      "terminalMode": "character"
    },
    
  "environment": {

  },
  "terminal": {
    "shell": null,
    "defaultProfile": "Windows PowerShell"
  }
}

If there is any other information that would be helpful then please let me know.

[Priyanka]

Hi James,

I have tried to reproduce this, but when I switch the device off and switch it back on, then as you mentioned, there is no change observed, but I don't need to restart VSCode. I just need to re-connect via VCOM. Are you also able to do it this way? Or do you have to restart VSCode again?

Best Regards,

Priyanka

[JamesDougherty]

Hello Priyanka,

    I found that I can avoid a restart if I click the status bar item, disconnect, then reconnect via the VCOM. I'm currently working on a module that requires me to see the immediate log output of the startup state and I am unable to do that now. Having to disconnect and then reconnect doesn't allow me to see any of that.

    This is, however, broken since the the last update. If you look at the last release notes for 2022.4.61 you can see the "orange" status bar item I was referring to. The marketplace also mentions the auto-reconnect as well. So it seems like the latest fix in 2022.7.21 broke this. I believe it was the "Fixed a bug with repeated RTT connections - We have fixed a bug where repeated RTT connections without manual disconnection would result in an inactive, disconnected terminal state." fix as nothing else mentions the connection.

    "The status bar item now changes to a warning color whenever a device is reconnecting, making it easier to notice."

    (this is broken too, as this doesn't show any longer)

    

    2022.4.61 Release Notes: https://nrfconnect.github.io/vscode-nrf-connect/terminal/release_notes/2022.4.61.html

    If you look at the marketplace page for nRF Terminal extension you can see that 

    "The terminal will reconnect automatically if a device is re-enumerated"

    nRF Terminal Marketplace: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=nordic-semiconductor.nrf-terminal

Appreciate the help on this.

[Priyanka]

Hi James,

This sure is a bug from our end. Thank you very much for the detailed response and for reporting this. We will rectify this in our next release.

-Priyanka

[JamesDougherty]

Hello Priyanka,

Appreciate it and thank you. I will try to rollback to the last version and use that for now.