Connection Issue with Heart & Brain SpikerBox on Windows on ARM (COM Port Failures)

Software
1

Hi Backyard Brains Team and Community,

I am having trouble connecting my Heart & Brain SpikerBox to my computer, and I’m hoping to get some troubleshooting advice or insight into potential compatibility issues.

I have strictly followed the standard connection protocol as instructed:

  1. Turned off Bluetooth on my computer.

  2. Ensured SpikeRecorder was completely closed before starting.

  3. Closed the Arduino IDE to prevent any serial port conflicts.

  4. Turned on the SpikerBox hardware and opened the SpikeRecorder app.

  5. Plugged in the USB cable as the final step.

The Problem: Despite the device being powered on (LED is active), the USB icon does not appear in SpikeRecorder. The application attempts to connect but repeatedly shows that COM15 and COM22 cannot be reached/connected.

My System Specifications:

  • OS: Windows 11

  • Architecture: Windows on ARM (WoA) (e.g., Snapdragon X series processor)

  • Device: Heart & Brain SpikerBox

Given that my system runs on an ARM-based architecture rather than traditional x86/x64, I suspect this might be a driver-related issue or an emulation bottleneck with the serial communication interface (CH340/FTDI drivers commonly used in Arduino-based hardware).

Questions:

  1. Are there specific USB-to-Serial drivers optimized or signed for Windows on ARM that I should manually install for the Heart & Brain Box?

  2. Is there a known workaround for SpikeRecorder when running under Windows on ARM emulation regarding COM port mapping?

  3. Are there any hidden debug steps or advanced settings within SpikeRecorder I can toggle to force-refresh the serial connection?

Any help or technical guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Best regards, [Your Name/Username]

2

Hi there!

The first thing that I would do is to open Device Manager and check if I can see the device in COM ports:

image.png

If system can not see the device the SpikeRecorder will not see it.

You can plug in and unplug device to see what COM port will appear/dissapear.
If nothing appears in COM port then it probably appears in Universal Serial Bus controllers or other USB categories in list.

If nothing appears in COM ports or the device has yellow exclamation mark on it then we probably have problem with drivers.

Heart & Brain should have same USB interface chip as Arduino Leonardo. And Vendor ID (VID) should be (VID_2341) as in image below:

image.png

In that case you need to install Arduino drivers. The correct, latest drivers for Win 11 can be installed by installing Arduino IDE.

If it does not fix the problem automatically please:

  • Right-click the Windows Start button and open Device Manager.
  • Look under Ports (COM & LPT) or Other devices for an “Arduino Leonardo” or “Unknown Device”.
  • Right-click the device and select Update driver.
  • Choose Browse my computer for drivers.
  • Navigate to the drivers folder inside your Arduino IDE installation directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\Arduino IDE\drivers) and let Windows finish the installation

If the device uses FTDI driver (Vendor ID will be different: 0403 hexadecimal or 1027 decimal in Device Manager) then you can install ARM Windows VCP drivers from official website: https://ftdichip.com/drivers/vcp-drivers/

Hope this will help you out.

Best regards,
M

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