Identifying & Replacing A Fake FTDI FT232R Chip | Voltlog #314

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#VoltLog #FakeFTDI #USBSerial

[lasersbee]

Ever since the FTDI Fiasco (that backfired) where FTDI installed a Bomb in their Drivers to "Brick" fake FTDI Chips installed in I have never again bought a product with ANY TYPE of FTDI chip on it... Fake or Original.
There are other more reputable RS232 to USB Converter companies to chose from.

[avejst]

Nice walkthrough 👍
Thanks for sharing 👍😀

[rcinfla]

For RS485 converter it is usually better to find converter with FT232RL chip for USB to serial converter. It has a Tx enable output for the MAX485 chip.

A lot of cheap RS485 converters just use Tx data line tied to Tx enable of MAX485 chip. This causes MAX485 chip Tx output to tri-state during logic zero, relying on 120 ohm line termination resistors load to pull lines to logic zero. It reduces max baud rate useable and reduces max line run length.

[KeanM]

I have a few USB serial adapters that used the Prolific PL2303 chip, a chip that was being faked even before the FTDI FT232. Some are in isolated USB interfaces for test equipment that came from pretty well companies (e.g. BK Precision IT-E132). I guess even large companies can be hit with counterfeit parts, but I actually just think the Prolific driver is badly written, and especially has compatibility issues on Windows 10. A solution is that the PL2302 and FT232 have almost identical footprints, so you can usually swap in an FT232 and get things working again, rather than throwing otherwise useful equipment away.

[DanielaTocan]

Thanks a Lot to provide us the fake serial number.

[robatoto]

USB-to-serial chips requiring a proprietary driver aren't really needed anymore. USB has a standardized extension for it (USB CDC ACM and PSTN) and all major operating systems come with the required drivers out of the box. It's often implemented by an MCU, e.g. by an ATMEGA8U2 on the Arduino Uno or directly by the Arduino core for STM32 or ATEML SAM-D. Unfortunately, no single chip solutions are available and I'm not aware of any USB-to-serial adapter using the USB CDC protocol. Let me know if you know of such a commercial adapter.

[dium.]

if you give them tips ... expect the next batch of fake ones to include unique serials no. ;)

[nomadic_rider]

That MAX485 chip is probably also fake, but it would work fine.

[OldboyWOW]

FT232RL and FT232RQ are they important for vag commander cabel? Which should i chose?

[martinsonnleitner]

I do have the A50285BI Serialnumber - with the latest driver 2.12.36 it doesnt work anymore. The IC doesnt work anymore.

These fake chips are everywhere!

[GeorgeGraves]

Not a fan of FTDI. That chip is way too expensive for what it does (in 2020) - and they way they handled by bricking Not a fan.

[meanxmeanx]

It seems you may have the cheap 3rd hand helper. If that's the case, i hope you 3d printed one of the available extension arm

[pulesjet]

What issues do the fake chips cause or have if they work ?

[Olitwo]

I have three of these fake chips. They all do their job well, but I found that the serial number cannot be changed with FTProg. I wanted to create symlinks on debian, but all chips have the same serial number! why can't the serial number be changed on these fake chips? such a crap...

[ticktock]

can you tell me the pros and cons of using fake chips i like to know as i have some and they still work OK to program my MCU

[klassichd]

Thanks for this really interesting topic. I learned a lot.
1. I bought aliexpress 33055692276 Isolated RS485 with FTDI. Serial number starts AD0J..., so it seems not beeing a fake. Has isolated power supply and data line isolators. So, may be not worth developping your own?
2. Is it possible to reprogram the serial numbers of the fake chips? I do not know, but fear not.
3. If having just one single serial2USB converter attached to the computer, nearly all converters worked up to now, also the cheap CH340. But if having more than one at the same time, it may matter to identify the unit und allocate to the same comport number after reboot. Do you konw more about it? Does Windows use the Serial number to reallocate to the com ports? I could not find enough info up to now.

[fpgaguy]

An original hack design, and other legitimate versions the firmware seems to blow up for you. Avoid all of them

[superdau]

How to identify a fake FTDI? Simple. You bought it on ebay, aliexpress or any other of the China "outlets". ;)

[peterjantzer]

Nothing of true quality comes out of NOTHING.