@ajb2k3 Yes, I tested the first time this was suggested. In fact, the first cable I was using was just for charging a portable gaming console. Then I tried a few more, inclund cables for smartphones, external drives, etc. And I tested then on their specific devices, everything normal.
No idea why the cheapest one worked on cardputer, though.
Updating: After buying another batch of cables, I finally got a connection and can install firmware on the cardputer. For reference, it was this cable here. There is no specification, it is one of the cheapest you can find. With it, I just pressed BtnGo and connected. In fact, the S3's LED did not blink or light up at any time.
Thanks everyone for the comments, it was a long thread. xD
Maybe we can learn with types of cable doesn't work with cardputer and why they don't work after all. xD
@ajb2k3 Yup, I think this thread have (almost) all the possible methods of flashing the cardputer. Tried all posted here, the one on the FAQ, some I saw on other threads and Reddit (all very similar, just changing the order of pressing the buttons), some suggested on Github, etc. :(
@has-oliveira Tried multiple cables, no one worked. Did you used any specific brand?
@ajb2k3 Thanks, still nothing.
Thank you very much to everyone who commented and helped, but I think I'll stop here. It took so many tries that some of the S3 pins are starting to bend, even though I'm careful when removing/inserting the chip.
I think I could end up damaging the cardputer if I continue with this stress on the components. I must continue my studies with simpler devices like the Portapack Mayhem until further notice.
Thank you very much for your comments, it is a very receptive community.
@doko178 Tried that some days ago. At least it prevents the cardputer autostart, but nothing about download mode. Thanks for the help xD
@doko178 Thanks for the comment, doko.
Still nothing even on the device manager. Now I believe I have tried every single button-press combination possible :D
@ajb2k3 Yup, tried that button too xD
I'll with the multimeter if I can spot something wrong. If not, I will save some money for another Cardputer or something similar in the end of the year. I'm pretty sure that if I try to replace just the S3, I will mess with it. :(
@ajb2k3 Yes, tried 3 cables on different USB ports, with and without the USB hub I've mentioned.
@robski No problem, thank you for the help so far. Tried with the S3 disconnected, but no results.
@ajb2k3 Yes, tried that too. The closer to download mode I get is the Cardputer not autostarting when plugged. Maybe I'll need to get another. :(
@felmue Thanks for the comment, felmue! Already tried both ways. As commented above, if I start with the BtnGO pressed, the cardputer does no autostart, wich is progress. However, it doesnt start on download mode too. Both options and it still isnt recognized on the pc/notebook.
Just bought a multimeter, will start to look for damaged components on the board and the S3 pins. :/
@robski I'm from Brazil. The device apparently arrived OK, working with the demo firmware without any problems. On the same day, I tried installing other firmwares, but I couldn't connect with any of them. I wouldn't say nemo was the cause, because it wasn't installed. In fact, the Cardputer continues to work with the demo firmware as it arrived, but I can't connect it. I've already tested it on three machines, Windows and Linux. From what I understand from the suggestions, it doesn't even enter bootloader mode.
@ariel-jorge @ariel-jorge Hi Ariel! Thanks for the comment.
It didn't work in my scenario. My problem is that the cardputer possibly came with a factory defect. It is not recognized on any machine, whether Windows or Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Pop_OS!) , even with the appropriate drivers installed. This way he can't "lose" a connection he couldn't initiate. I thought it was being recognized by the Arduino IDE, but apparently what appeared in COM5 was my usb hub.
I've been trying to contact the seller since the end of January.
At this point, perhaps you guys understand my frustration. Most likely this seller is not the official one and I probably was scammed.
@twinturbo I did'nt solved the problem yet, and I'm pretty novice with it, but explain what's your problem and maybe someone else can help.
@teastain I have a Windows 11 and a Linux machine with Ubuntu (a few days ago I tested using Fedora). Cardputer works with the demo. It's the firmware it arrived with and the same one that runs normally when I turn it on currently.
I have some arduinos, Uno, Nano, Lilypad, a LoRa module, all these devices are working normally, they are recognized without problems. Right now I'm using a multimeter to check if any S3 pins have problems (I'm not that experienced with hardware), but they all seem ok. I even think that even the demo wouldn't work if there were problems with them.
Hi @teastain Thanks for clarifying the buttons.
I tried both methods, neither worked. As @ajb2k3 said in his other post, maybe S3 was blocked. The curious thing is that I'm having the problem without even being able to install the firmware. I tried to burn it minutes after receiving the device via AliExpress, I didn't complete a single firmware change.
That's why I suspect the drivers more than the device. I reinstalled all of them again, also tried on another Linux (Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS), no results so far.
@teatimer I'm sorry, I hadn't seen your comment. I also noticed that pressing the GO button makes the device not start by itself, but I tried pressing both RST and the bootload button below the sticker, without success.
But this is progress haha, thank you.
BTW, my notebook does not have USB-c ports, so my cables are all (Computer) USB <-> USB-c (Device)
@robski I'm from South America xD
@ajb2k3 Thanks for the clarifications in the post. I'll keep trying, if I find a solution, I'll let you know.
@teastain Would be great, thanks! I'm using 2.2.1, sometimes I found a "Unknown COM3" device on it that may be the cardputer (not sure yet). I was looking for a way to burn the bin with the Arduino IDE, but if I can do this by the code itself, would be nice too xD
@teastain Yes, it is. I work in information security, so I want to install it to do some tests, nothing to attack other people. I don't believe it attacked the device, at no point was the binary executed or installed on the cardputer yet. In fact, the project is open source and you can check it here: https://github.com/n0xa/m5stick-nemo/
@ajb2k3 Maybe not. Following the guide, I installed this FTDI driver. The page says that the Windows installer will install both the VCP and D2xx: https://ftdichip.com/drivers/vcp-drivers/
Have I been installing the wrong driver this whole time? facepalm