stm32f411 black pill not idenitified

[mogplus88]

Hi All,
Apologies if this is the second time I've posted this. I thought I'd already posted but I can't find it, so maybe I forgot to hit the "submit" button. Wouldn't be the first time...
My black pill is shown when I do a lsusb (Linux Mint) like this Bus 001 Device 007: ID 0483:572a STMicroelectronics WeAct Studio HID Bootloader, but when I do ls /dev/tty* it does not appear. So needless to say Thonny can't find it.
What am I missing?

[andrewleech]

The device sounds like it's in dfu bootloader mode, probably hasn't been flashed with firmware yet? Have you found / built a copy of micropython that's compatible with that board?

[mogplus88]

I thought it must have something installed on it as one of the leds fades up and down when I plug it in.
Not sure about a micropython build for it. It has an stm32f411 processor so I'm guessing the Pyboard build would work. Or there's an stm discovery f411 board, but it looks a bit vintage...

[andrewleech]

It sounds like it might have a "custom" bootloader already installed if it has weact in the name on device manager.

If you search PR's here you should find one that matches, or yeah pyboard-lite might be close enough.

[nspsck]

Hi,

This should probably solve your issue:
https://github.com/nspsck/STM32F411CEU6_BlackPill_Micropython

You can simply flash the pre-built firmware using STM32CubeProgrammer, or you can just build your own firmware following the instructions. It supports micropython 1.20.0 and upwards.

[mogplus88]

Thanks for all the responses.
@npsck lsusb gives me STMicroelectronics WeAct Studio HID Bootloader. If I then put it into dfu mode by holding the boot button while pressing and releasing the reset button, lsusb shows nothing at all. The only thing that happens is the blue led turns off. So maybe you're right about a non-standard bootloader.
I installed pyusb, but make...deploy still didn't work.
I tried dfu-util anyway, with and without sudo (I use Linux Mint) but in both cases it told me there was no dfu device available.
I found a website that describes how to program the board with Arduino, and I know Arduino can burn a bootloader. but I haven't had a chance yet to try it. I'll report on that tomorrow.
:-\

[davefes]

I found that I had to try dfu-util -l several times. Also, it seems that I need to plug-in, unplug and plug-in several times to get the board mounted. Just realised that if I wait 12-15 seconds the board will mount. Maybe this relates to my problem:
https://github.com/orgs/micropython/discussions/12758

Is yours an official WeAct board? Mine appear to be pirated.

lsusb gives me Bus 001 Device 017: ID f055:9800 WeActStudio BlackPill v3.1 Comm Port (FS Mode) using @nspsck general image, which I built.

BTW, I got deploy to work following:
https://github.com/mcauser/WEACT_F411CEU6

[davefes]

@mogplus88, I have also noticed that I can modify the files on the desktop, because the device is mounted as well as in rshell. This is different to the way I do things on the ESP32 and the PICO. I wonder about your suggestion that maybe we need to be using the same bootloader and then we might stand a chance of moving forward.

[davefes]

It seems to be critical getting the timing right:

This board can be flashed using DFU. To put the board in DFU mode, disconnect USB, connect A9 to A10 and reconnect USB. Press and hold BOOT0. Press and release RESET. Wait 0.5 seconds. Release BOOT0.

I think the critical part is how long you hold NRST in ... try 1 second

[mogplus88]

Good grief! It's only bloody worked! Held down the reset button for a count of five, and lsusb popped up the board in dfu mode. Tried the make...deploy, and it worked! I can now program the board with Thonny.
Many thanks to all who took the time to offer advice and assistance. And @davefes for the solution that did it.
:-)

[davefes]

For a 2nd board that I couldn't deploy to I followed this:
https://github.com/dhylands/upy-examples/blob/master/mass-erase.sh
and now have two boards working.

[mogplus88]

I ordered another one a couple of days ago as I thought the one I had was probably a dud, especially if it was a clone. I think it might be, as when I finally got it working I tried the blinky on it, and found that the machine.Pin.on() and machine.Pin.off() commands are backwards. off() turns the led on and on() turns it off. Bit weird. Anyway I ordered the new one from a different supplier, so maybe it will be better.
Good to know about the mass erase though.
;-)

[davefes]

Is your LED connected to the pin and ground?