Custom ESP32 PCB Not Recognized by PC

[traaga]

Hi ESP32 Community,

I designed a custom plant sensor module using EasyEDA and had it made by JLCPCB. When I connect it to my PC, it isn’t recognized, and nothing shows up in the device manager.

I have Windows 10 and use Arduino IDE for developing. Previously have had no problem with other ESP32 devkit or cable etc.

Could anyone suggest troubleshooting tips, review my schematic for potential issues, or point out common mistakes in ESP32 designs?

Schematic_Plant-Sensor-Module-V1_2024-07-26 (1).png (117.47 KiB) Viewed 1142 times

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[ESP_Sprite]

You're missing a power-on reset RC circuit for the EN line. Well, you're missing half of it; C2 can act as the capacitor, you only need to add an 10K or so resistor from EN to 3.3V. Also, you'll want to remove C9; that stops the board from booting into the firmware on power-up. You also want to add a pullup to GPIO8 (or simply connect it to 3.3V) otherwise programming will randomly work/not work.

Aside from that, I see no reason why this circuit wouldn't enumerate as an USB device; none of the aforementioned issues should stop that from happening. Suggest you check your voltages to begin with.

[traaga]

Hi, I checked the voltages and everything seemed to be in order. I removed the C2 and added a connection to the now empty slot. Also I added a 10K resistor between EN and 3.3V. My PC now recognizes the device but it keeps disconnecting every 1 second.

I also add a picture of the original PCB layout and the corrections that I soldered.

PCB_Plant-Sensor-Module-V1-PCB-Layout_2024-07-27 (2).png (16.38 KiB) Viewed 995 times

PCB_Plant-Sensor-Module-V1-PCB-Layout_2024-07-27 (3).png (23.1 KiB) Viewed 995 times

[traaga]

Also when I pull the GPIO9 low, reset it then it keeps the connection. Though when I try to program it gives me write timeout error.

[jatkins2431]

Possibly not in bootloader mode? It will recognize and unrecognize when not in bootloader. You can resolve by holding boot, clicking reset, then releasing boot button. A working minimalist schematic for a custom esp32c3 board can be found here if you want to compare your c6: https://www.roboticworx.io/i/140395336/the-schematic