Got a new ESP32-C6 board and Windows 10 does not recognize the board. Windows shows the device as “Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)”. I get this weather the boot button pressed during power on or not.
Is the ESP32 bad? Is there a specific USB-C cable that I need to use? All my other ESP32 programming has been with the old style USB micro connector.
i dont think this is particularly unusual… it comes up as all different things… the part that is supposed to tell it exactly what it is does not work… are you using Arduino IDE?
Arduino is not in the picture yet. First step is to get the device to show up as a com port, which at this point it does not.
Yea I saw that but there is nothing useful in that post.
I setup a Linux system to try this since Windows is not capable. What I see when I connect the ESP32-C6 is interesting. When I connect without pushing the boot button I see the red & yellow LEDs on and the device shows up as “Espressif USB JTAG/serial debug unit” and /dev/ttyACM0. When I connect while pushing the boot button I see just the red LED and the same device information. My next step is to install the ESP-IDF and see if I can flash it.
i think you are doing it backwards… if you intend to use the Arduino IDE… install it and connect to it that way… the software is not sophisticated enough to just know what it is… its a generic microcontroler… Bill Gates has more inportant tings to do… like make Vax and what not…
I have no intention to use Arduino. I’m building a Matter device and will be using the ESP-IDF.
Actually the first step is to physically connect the device and have the OS recognize the device as a valid COM port. To do that you don’t need Arduino or any other programming software.
interesting… i wish i knew that before i was born… Just dont imply there is anything wrong with Seeed products…
This turned out to be a Windows problem. Apparently Windows is a POS and can’t handle the ESP32-C6 device. It all works perfectly with Linux. Zero issues.
Hi there,
Would you mind? Which distro? When you say ZERO , would that mean you installed ESP-IDF 5.X ? and plugged in the Xiao and it worked. could you be more specific please if you can so other can benefit from the information. How long did it take? have you compiled/Built a project and flashed it?
TIA 
GL 
PJ 
Also on the Win box did you ever use the Zadig is a Windows application that installs generic USB drivers , such as WinUSB, libusb-?
Hi wesley_witt,
When you connect ESP32C6 to PC, what do you see under “Ports (COM & LPT)” or “Universal Serial Bus Devices” in Windows Device Manager?
As I said in the OP, device manage reports " “Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)”
Nothing appears in “Ports (COM & LPT)” or “Universal Serial Bus Devices” in Device Manager?
edit
Right-click “Unknown Device”, click “Uninstall Device” to uninstall it, and try reconnecting it.
I’m using Ubuntu 24.04. And yes, I installed 5.x ESP-IDF and the ESP-IDF Matter SDK. Build & flash as prescribed in their docs.
As to the Windows drivers, that is not the problem. Windows pukes long before any driver is attempted to be loaded.
If “Unknown Device” appears in the Device Manager, try the following
Right-click “Unknown Device” → click “Uninstall Device” to uninstall it, and then try reconnecting ESP32C6.
I already tried that and is does not help. That is equivalent to disconnecting and reconnecting the device to the PC.Windows simply cannot handle the device.
I have solved the problem of XIAOs not showing ports many times and may be able to help you.
If you post a screenshot of your device manager with Ports (COM & LPT) and UniversalSerialBusDevices expanded, I may be able to suggest another solution.
Hi there,
So I don’t see anywhere in these threads you say you rebooted during any of this? did you?
Also this appears to be an issue with your windows config/build. Have you plugged the xiao into any other windows machine? I bet it would work fine.
HTH
GL PJ
What build is your windows machine? have you updated it ?
Everyone, I’ve moved on and am using Linux now. I don’t have the time or patience to fuss with Windows.
If you don’t need help, you should mark it as resolved and close this thread.