Can't sync with programmer Arduino Uno

Question

I have a weird problem, and it's probably because I'm doing something wrong. I'm quite new to Arduino.

My Uno R3 (Elegoo) has been working fine for a month. It has been sitting on a bench for the past week, unused though. Last night I tried to push a sketch from the IDE: v1.8.14 on Windows 10 Pro (fully updated), board: Arduino Uno, Com port 5. I got this error:

avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 8 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xe6

So, I googled it and tried to fix it. No luck. And, the code changes frequently (right now it's 0x3a). So, I tried

• Using the blink sketch
• Rebooting my laptop
• Using a different USB port
• Using a different USB cable
• Using different settings in the IDE (Mega 2560 with the ATMega2560 processor)
• Using a different operating system (Ubuntu) on a different laptop with a different version of the IDE (1.8.13)
• Using a different Arduino (A Freenove Uno r3 from a robot kit)

Using a different board on windows does work! So, my original board is bricked maybe?

I got the same result, more or less. The only difference was that the response code changed. On Ubuntu, the response code is always 0x00 so I suspect the changing code is down to some problem in windows (I trust Linux a lot more than windows). I used the default blink sketch for all these attempts.

Note: I do have a green 'on' led and the L is orange and does the 3xflash on powerup and reset. This is the only USB port in use, so there's only one to choose in the IDE (happens to be com5) and it's clearly shown as Arduino. When I push the sketch, the orange L led stays solid orange and there is no flashing of the rx or tx leds.

Update: I have read, with interest: Have I bricked my Arduino Uno? Problems with uploading to board

Because of this I have now checked the power rail with a multimeter and found 5v and 3.3v respectively on USB, and with a 9v battery I have 3.3v and 7.8v respectively. The L led flashes 3 times as expected on power up and reset.

Also, I have nothing attached to the board at all.

When I tried the loopback test the board would not power-on with reset connected to ground, so I don't know how to proceed with that.

I have just tried the Atmega16U2 chip test, and it failed. I'm pretty sure the wiring is correct (though it's hard to tell -- I can't find a dot indicating pin 1 on the good board so I'm guessing it's close to the 'n' in 'on' as mentioned in the post).

How could I have damaged this? What could I have possibly done to break that? I was only driving leds.

Answer 1

Sometimes boards can glitch depending on wear and tear or on how well they have been manufactured. Personally I always buy boards direct from the Arduino store and I have never had this issue. One thing that could help is placing a 0.1 uF capacitor between the +5V pin and ground and another between AVcc and ground. There will be some on the PCB already but this can help in some cases. Another thing that can help is pressing the reset buttom just after pressing upload on your PC.

Unfortunately, when out of sync errors occur it can be heavily luck based as to what works and how long it takes. Hopefully one of these tricks will work! But like you say, if other boards are working fine then it could just be bricked

Answer 2

A few things to make sure:

• Disconnect your Arduino from any sensor or module
• Closely look at the Arduino to see any signs of worn-out solder or damage
• Make sure that the programming USB cable is plugged in all the way on the Arduino and the computer
• Check the temperature of the ATMEGA chip, as well as, the voltage regulator

If everything looks normal there, you can try reflashing the bootloader on it. You can only do this if you have another Arduino Uno. Here is a good guide: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Upload-Bootloader-to-Any-Arduino-/. Try that and then comment on what worked and what did not.