Enviro Grow Pico - USB problems -Is it faulty, should I ask for a replacement or is the firmware buggy?

Support
1

Trying to set up up a new Enviro Grow Pico W kit and am having problems. Updated it, after using flash_nuke.uf2, with pimoroni-picow_enviro-v1.19.10-micropython-v0.0.9.uf2 as the shipped firmware seemed unreliable.

I have it set up to store data locally and to test it have it set up to update every minute with pumps and sensors connected It works for a few minutes and then stops. It’s connected with usb to windows pc and I’m trying to monitor with Thonny.

First problem is that very shortly after being provisioned and seems to be working OK Thonny can’t connect, device manager reports it as "Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed) " This sometimes happens immediately or takes 5 minutes and sometimes reappears, all very unpredictable. Sometimes it continues working for a while before becoming unresponsive and then needs a reset.

Second problem is that it stops responding, sometimes with a solid white led or without. I’ve tried it with battery pack connected with and without USB doesn’t seem to make any difference. A reset restarts it but mostly with the same USB problem.

Is it faulty, should I ask for a replacement or is the firmware buggy? Anybody else with similar problems?

2

The first thing I would try is to use a different USB-cable. The second thing to test is a setup without any loads (pumps). You could also test the picow with some other program (there are many example programs around). This is all to rule out possible other issues.

3

Thanks very much bablokb that was very useful advice. A different USB cable made no difference but a different PC did the trick, my HP desktop USB ports somehow weren’t compatible but my Lenovo laptop works.

4

Some type A ports are limited to 500ma max current. That can sometimes catch you out.