How to fix bad Chinese Arduino clones

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How to fix a bad Chinese Arduino clone in no time?
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Hi my name is Tom Heylen
Have you ever wondered if a cheap Chinese Arduino clone will actually work?
You pay only a few bucks and get the same product. Sounds to good to be true right?
The truth is that some work and some won't.
Follow the rest of this tutorial and I'll explain you how to make them all work in no time.

I use an Arduino Uno for this example but it is the same process for most Arduino models.

So here we have an genuine Arduino uno and here a Chinese clone. Let's do the test.
My Arduino environment has been installed and is working properly.
First I plug in the genuine Arduino. And everything works just fine.
Now I use my cheap chinese copy and.... the computer does not recognise the hardware.

The problem is that the clone does not use the standard serial to usb chip but a chip marked CH340. Your computer will not recognize these CH340 chips on your computer.
To fix this is very easy.
Download the manufacturer software and istall it on your computer. This software will work for all versions of windows. I leave you a link below this video.
I also leave a link for the Mac lovers.

Now plug in your chinese clone and try again. It should work just fine. The board should be visible now in the Arduino IDE and ready to use.
I upload the blink sketch to the board and it all works fine.

In some cases the board might still not work. This is because there is no bootloader installed on the Atmel microcontroller Chip.
To solve this problem we need a working arduino and the clone arduino we want to fix.

First we connect the working Arduino to our computer and open the Arduino IDE.
We go to File - Examples and click ArduinoISP and upload this to the Arduino.
Ones uploaded disconnect the Arduino.

Next we connect the wires from the working Arduino to the clone as follows.
Pin 10 goes to reset
pin 11 goes to 11, pin 12 to 12, pin 13 to pin 13.
5v to 5v and ground to ground.

Next we connect the working Arduino with a usb to the computer.
Go to Tools - Board and select the chinese board that is not working. in my case it's an Arduino Uno.
Next we go to Tools again - Programmer and select Arduino as ISP.
Go to Tools again and select Burn Bootloader.
Go back to Tools - Programmer and set back to ArduinoISP.
Your clone should work just fine now.

Arduino is great software an completely free to use. If you are buying Chinese copies of the Arduino controller, consider making a donation to support the Arduino software. Here is a link.

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[pm]

Hi from New Zealand. Great video, really help me, even 5 years after you uploaded it. Keep up the great videos!

[catnip]

Even 8 years later, this still works, Thanks

[jessemichaels]

“Very informative. This makes a difference in how I choose my next purchase. I was afraid to buy this but I now have more confidence now that I seen your video. Thank you very much.”

[NivagSwerdna]

One thing to look out for on the cheap clones is the type of oscillator used by the processor. Mostly they are resonator based but these have very wildly varying values, well out of specification in some cases. If timing is important then you might like to look out for the more traditional metal can quartz oscillators, and these are often cheaper too! Also surprisingly I have started to come across some clones that don't have an LED on Pin 13.... best avoided if you want to run Blink!

[RANGOArts]

u saved my day dude.. i thought my arduinos are damaged... was about to throw them in the garbage... i love you

[stockmansphilippe]

Even 6 years later, this still works, Thanx

[mmhu]

is there a way to install the bootloader without a working arduino? thank you in advance

[peterkurtosi]

Thank you Tom. I also ordered from this cheap Chinese Arduino clone and almost wrote to the seller on eBay that it doesn't work. By followed your excellent tutorial, I was able to fix it.

[webslinger]

Thanks for the help. Finally got my ATmega2560 working. Just a driver problem.

[Ducc]

Today, A awesome Russian dude showed me how to use the hundred of Chinese boards that I bought!

[karljay]

I bought one because I didn't know there was a difference. The $2 saved was enough for a nice case when bought as a combo, but I though the board was broken. Found the loaders online for the Mac and it works. It times out when I have the serial monitor open, but otherwise seems to be working fine. I understand there is another option, you can buy a loader that doesn't use what is on the board. They cost around $10 and some seem to like that option as it bypasses the onboard loader, but I see it as a waste of money when the cheap onboard ones will work and I can buy a good sensor for that money.

[jparky]

Your video title seems to suggest that the "bad" Chinese clones are faulty. They aren't. They just use a different hardware solution for the USB connectivity. So they aren't bad. Just using different ( cheaper ) hardware.
Issues are PC software related.

[jesperkleemann]

Hi Tom, greetings from Denmark.
It is an awesome video, I have a Mega and a Pro Mini that has given me headache for some time and now they both work and the headache is gone. Thanks a lot.
By the way, I love your answer to stupid comments.

[jacobringmann]

"Thank you so much! I have been working on getting this to work on a handful of Arduino clones I've had lying around for a time. Thank you for sharing this."

[hatzisn]

I see in the picture in 2:26 that there is something connected to the ground and the reset of the working Arduino. This is not mentioned. Do we have to connect to the ground the reset pin?

[yuchengzang]

I don't know where you get it, but if you get it from tao-bao, the seller will tell you that this board needs extra drivers to run.

[DeeegerD]

The clone was never broken - just a different communications chip and no boot loader - that's not broken, it's just not configured properly.  An Arduino is just an Atmel microcontroller chip with supporting hardware and a dumbed down programming interface.  When you buy from China expect to have to do some work to get things running as they don't pay their employees much and I imagine the training is even worse than the pay ;)  If you are not technically inclined buy the real thing until you learn more.  I have to say the Chinese clones are a deal though once you know what you are doing, sometimes I can buy a Nano clone for less than the cost of the microcontroller chip alone.

[antonmoisey]

Your video was the first one I found when googling this issue and it solved my problem! Thanks a ton!

[bilbert]

Fantastic! ive searched for this driver for a few hours now. Appreciate the help

[JuniorNonfonCornelius]

Thank you so much Guy... Honestly you can't just imagine how you have saved my life.... Thank you much ...thanks for sharing.... God bless you..