The CH340 chip is used by a number of Arduino compatible boards to provide USB connectivity, you may need to install a driver, don’t panic, it’s easier than falling off a log, and much less painful.
Windows
(Manufacturer’s Chinese Info Link)
- Download the Windows CH340 Driver
- Unzip the file
- Run the installer which you unzipped
- In the Arduino IDE when the CH340 is connected you will see a COM Port in the Tools > Serial Port menu, the COM number for your device may vary depending on your system.
Older Windows Driver Version and Instructions
Download the Windows CH340 DriverUnzip the folder.If you are running a 64Bit Windows: – run the SETUP_64.EXE installer.If you are running a 32Bit Windows: – run the SETUP_32.EXE installer.If you don’t know, try the 64 bit and if it doesn’t work, the 32 bit.In the Arduino IDE when the CH340 is connected you will see a COM Port in the Tools > Serial Port menu, the COM number for your device may vary depending on your system.
Macintosh
(Manufacturer’s Chinese Info Link)
First – try without drivers at all, I have heard that some macOS versions may include a driver by default.
If a driver is necessary then I belieVe the manufacturer’s v1.8 driver will cover all situations.
You must read the PDF in the zip file, how you install it differs depending on macOS Version.
Macintosh CH340 Driver V1.8 Download ZIP File
(In short, versions up to macOS 10.15 use the .pkg file, and versions macOS 11 and above use the dmg, but there are other things, READ THE PDF.
Some older information…
macOS 10.13 and before
The following github has up to date pkg files for 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 at time of writing, thanks to Joshua Wallis for bringing this to my attention…
https://github.com/adrianmihalko/ch340g-ch34g-ch34x-mac-os-x-driver
Direct Download Links (from the github repo above):
See the github link above for installation instructions if you need them.
macOS 10.14, 10.15
First try without installing a driver at all, some macOS versions may include a driver from Apple by default.
If it does look like you need a driver then try the below.
macOS 11 and above
Previous macinstosh downloads if the above doesn’t work for you…
Inside the zip file you will find a PDF and a “pkg” file, short version, double click the pkg file, the PDF has some extra information.
OSX Sierra (10.12) Note
A kindly user, Maarten Segers reports
FYI, the driver documented here WILL crash on OSX Sierra.Make sure to use this one instead: https://github.com/MPParsley/ch340g-ch34g-ch34x-mac-os-x-driver
I can personally not test on MacOS and can not vouch for the above drivers at github, but there you go.
See uninstalling information at the bottom of the page if the driver causes problems for you.
Here is an older version of the Mac driver, NOT FOR 10.12 Sierra
Linux
(Manufacturer’s Chinese Info Link)
Drivers are almost certainly built into your Linux kernel already and it will probably just work as soon as you plug it in. If not you can download the Linux CH340 Driver (but I’d recommend just upgrading your Linux install so that you get the “built in” one).
Uninstalling From Macinstosh
A couple of Mac users have said “the driver crashes my mac Sierra how do I uninstall”.
Firstly regards the crash make sure you installed the 1.3 version of the driver, not the old one. You could download it directly from the Manufacturers Website in case they have issued an update since I wrote this page.
Secondly a quick google search reveals that this is how you uninstall:
- Open a terminal and type:
cd /Library/Extensions/ - Verify that the .kext file is present:
ls | grep usbserial.kext - Output should be:
usbserial.kext - Then type:
sudo rm -R usbserial.kext - Verify that the .kext file has been removed:
ls | grep usbserial.kext - Output should be empty.
- After you should remove the files stored in receipts folder:
cd /private/var/db/receipts/ - Find the enties:
ls | grep usbserial* - Output should be:
codebender.cc.ch34xinstaller.usbserial.pkg.bom codebender.cc.ch34xinstaller.usbserial.pkg.plist - Remove each one of the files of the above list:
sudo rm -rfilename`