Troubleshooting
Observable-breakpoint checklists: each step has a yes/no answer you can see, and the official fact behind it.
Troubleshooting guides ordered by what you can observe, not by what you suspect. Every step quotes the official document that makes it observable.
- USB board not detected — the ordered checklist — power LED, the cable, the port, the mode.
- Serial output is garbled or missing — which serial path, which port, and where the baud agreement actually applies.
- A GPIO pin does nothing — pin identity, board-internal occupancy, and the LED drive mode.
- Power problems — supply entry options, voltage domains, and the current budget you cannot see on the page.
Sections
- Troubleshooting
Observable-breakpoint checklists: each step has a yes/no answer you can see, and the official fact behind it.
Guides
- USB board not detected — the ordered checklist
Power LED, the cable, the port, the mode: an observable-steps checklist for ESP32 and Pico boards when the computer sees nothing, with the per-board differences that matter.
- Serial output is garbled or missing — which link is broken
Garbled text or no output at all: separate the serial path (bridge vs native USB vs USB CDC), the port choice, and the baud agreement before blaming the board. Per-board facts for ESP32-DevKitC, ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1, Pico and Pico 2.
- A GPIO pin does nothing — pin identity, occupancy and drive mode
A pin that never changes: first make sure you are driving the number you think, then check board-internal occupancy (storage pins, on-board devices), then the LED drive mode. Facts per board from the pinned official guides.
- Power problems — supply entry, voltage domains and current budget
Random resets, a dead board under load, or peripherals that never act: check the cable first, then the board's power entry options, then the voltage domains you are mixing. Official facts per board, without inventing current numbers.