{"id":148107,"date":"2024-02-28T10:59:09","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T10:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/?p=148107"},"modified":"2024-02-28T10:59:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T10:59:12","slug":"install-esp32-esp8266-usb-drivers-cp210x-mac-os","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/install-esp32-esp8266-usb-drivers-cp210x-mac-os\/","title":{"rendered":"Install ESP32\/ESP8266 USB Drivers – CP210x USB to UART Bridge (Mac OS X)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The CP210x USB chip turns a USB connection into a regular serial port which allows your computer to establish a serial communication with microcontrollers like the ESP32 or ESP8266. To program or exchange information between your computer and an ESP32\/ESP8266 chip, you need to install the CP210x USB to UART Bridge Virtual COM Port drivers. This guide shows to install the drivers on Mac OS X.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Install<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

We have a similar guide for Windows PC:<\/strong> Install ESP32\/ESP8266 USB Drivers – CP210x USB to UART Bridge<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ESP32\/ESP8266 USB Chip – CP2102\/CP2104<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If it’s your first time using an ESP32\/ESP8266, it’s probably that if you plug the ESP board into your computer, you don’t see your ESP\u2019s COM port available. This means you don\u2019t have the drivers installed. Take a closer look at the chip next to the voltage regulator on the board and check its name. For this board, it comes with the Silabs CP2102 chip.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"ESP32<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The ESP32 DEVKIT V1 DOIT board<\/a> and many other ESP32 and ESP8266 NodeMCU modules use the CP2102 <\/strong>or the CP2104<\/strong> chips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you install the CP210x <\/strong>drivers as explained in this blog post, you’ll ensure that the USB connection and communication will work for any ESP board that uses those USB chips (starting with ‘CP210’).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> another popular USB chip used by many ESP32 and ESP8266 modules is the CH340<\/strong>. Always check the datasheet of your board to make sure you identify the right USB to UART communication chip that’s being used in your board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Installing CP210x USB to UART Bridge VCP Drivers (Mac OS X)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Start by downloading the CP210x USB Drivers<\/a> from the official website. If you are on Mac OS computer, you need to download the CP210x Mac OSX Driver folder highlighted in the image below.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Installing<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

After downloading the Mac OSX VCP Driver, unzip the installation files.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Unzip<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Open the unzipped folder and double-click the SiLabsUSBDriverDisk.dmg<\/em> file to start the installation process.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Open<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Open the Install CP210x VCP driver file:<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Open<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Click the \u201cOpen<\/strong>\u201d button.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Open<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Follow the installation wizard and complete all the steps.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Continue<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In some cases, your computer might block the installation, so you need to open your System Settings.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Mac<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Then, click the “Allow<\/strong>” button to allow the CP210x drivers to be installed.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Allow<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Finally, you should see the Success message.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Installation<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In the Arduino IDE, select your ESP32\/ESP8266 board USB Port, as shown earlier. Ours is \/dev\/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART Serial Port (USB).<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Select<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

That’s it! You should now be able to see the Serial Port of the ESP32\/ESP8266 in Arduino IDE. You can upload a new code to your ESP board to test it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Uploading<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Wrapping Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We hope you’ve found this quick guide useful. Want to learn more about the ESP32? We recommend the following ESP32 tutorials to get started:<\/p>\n\n\n\n