Improvements to board detection Arduino IDE articles [HC-1518]

content/Software Support/Upload/If-Arduino-IDE-detects-a-different-board-than-the-one-youve-connected.md

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ In this article:
 
 * [Reset manual board selection](#manual-selection)
 * [If your UNO R4 WiFi or Nano ESP32 is identified as a generic ESP32 board](#generic-esp32)
+* [If Arduino UNO (Rev3 or earlier), Mega, or classic Nano is misidentified](#misidentified-uno-mega-nano)
 
 ---
 
@@ -39,6 +40,23 @@ If the Reset symbol is not present, click "Select other board and port" at the b
 
 * If you're using an **Arduino Nano ESP32**, but it's being detected as a generic ESP32 board, the Arduino bootloader may be missing. To solve the issue, [reset the default Arduino bootloader](https://support.arduino.cc/hc/en-us/articles/9810414060188-Reset-the-Arduino-bootloader-on-the-Nano-ESP32).
 
-* If you're using an **Arduino UNO R4 WiFi**, but it's being detected as an ESP32 board, the USB bridge firmware may be missing. To solve the issue, follow [these instructions to restore the firmware using espflash](https://support.arduino.cc/hc/en-us/articles/9670986058780-Update-the-connectivity-module-firmware-on-UNO-R4-WiFi#espflash).
+* If you're using an **Arduino UNO R4 WiFi**, but it's being detected as an ESP32 board, the USB bridge firmware may be missing. To solve the issue, follow [these instructions to restore the firmware using espflash](https://support.arduino.cc/hc/en-us/articles/16379769332892-Restore-the-USB-connectivity-firmware-on-UNO-R4-WiFi-with-espflash).
+
+---
+
+<a id="misidentified-uno-mega-nano"></a>
+
+## If Arduino UNO (Rev3 or earlier), Mega, or classic Nano is misidentified
+
+* If your **UNO (Rev3 or earlier)** or **Mega** board is recognized as any of the following, it may indicate that the USB-to-Serial firmware is missing or corrupted:
+
+  * Unknown Device
+  * Composite Device
+  * ATmega16u2 DFU
+  * Atmega8U2 DFU
+
+  To solve the issue, [flash the USB-to-serial firmware](https://support.arduino.cc/hc/en-us/articles/4408887452434-Flash-the-USB-to-serial-firmware-for-UNO-Rev3-and-earlier-and-Mega-boards).
+
+* If you're using a **classic Nano**, but it's being detected as "USB Serial Port" <!-- on Windows --> or another generic name, the FTDI drivers may be missing. To solve the issue, follow [install the FTDI drivers](https://support.arduino.cc/hc/en-us/articles/4411305694610-Install-or-update-FTDI-drivers).
 
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content/Software Support/Upload/If-there-are-Unknown-devices-in-the-board-selector-and-ports-without-a-board-name-in-the-Tools-Port-menu.md.md

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+---
+title: "If there are "Unknown" devices in the board selector and ports without a board name in the Tools > Port menu"
+id: 4412955149586
+---
+
+Learn how to troubleshoot and resolve cases where the Arduino IDE shows "Unknown" devices or fails to assign a board name in the board selector and _Tools > Port_ menu.
+
+In this article:
+
+* [Understanding port detection](#understanding-port-detection)
+* [Troubleshooting steps](#troubleshooting)
+
+---
+
+## Understanding port detection {#understanding-port-detection}
+
+The Arduino IDE scans the ports on your computer for devices that might be compatible boards. These detected serial ports are shown in both the board selector and the _Tools > Port_ menu.
+
+* **Identified Devices**: If the Arduino IDE recognizes a device as an Arduino board, it displays the board and port in the board selector. In the _Tools > Port_ menu, the board name appears after the port name, enclosed in parentheses.
+
+* **Unidentified Devices**: In some cases, the port information is not sufficient to determine the type of board that's connected, or if the connected device is a compatible board at all. In this case, the device will appear as "Unknown" in the board selector, and only the port name will be shown in the _Tools > Port_ menu.
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> In earlier versions of Arduino IDE 2, the _Tools > Port_ menu option would only be displayed if at least one device was detected on a port. This was fixed in version 2.0.4[^2.0.4].
+
+[^2.0.4]: <https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/releases/tag/2.0.4>
+
+This example shows the board selector and _Tools > Port_ menu on Windows when an Arduino UNO board and one other unidentified device is connected:
+
+![Identified and unidentified ports in the board selector (left) and Tools > Port menu (right).](img/ide-com.png)
+
+### Types of unidentified ports
+
+The types of unidentified ports shown by Arduino IDE can be grouped in two categories:
+
+* Arduino-compatible boards that use generic USB chips:
+  * The "classic" Arduino Nano, which uses a FTDI USB chip.
+  * Various "clone" board with generic USB chips such as the CH340.
+* Ports that do not belong to an Arduino-compatible device, but are detected and shown by Arduino IDE anyway:
+  * Some non-Arduino devices with generic USB chips.
+  * Some Bluetooth ports.
+  * Debug ports.
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> If you have many unidentified ports showing up in the list, consider disconnecting any boards and peripherals you don't need from your computer. Then, use [this procedure](#disconnect-reconnect-procedure) to see whether your board is being detected on any of the ports.
+
+---
+
+## Troubleshooting steps {#troubleshooting}
+
+### Disconnect and reconnect your board to check its port {#disconnect-reconnect-procedure}
+
+**Using the board selector:**
+
+1. Disconnect your board from your computer.
+
+1. Open the board selector menu.
+
+1. Connect your board to your computer.
+
+**If you're using IDE 1, the board selector won't be available. Use the _Tools > Port_ menu instead:**
+
+1. Disconnect your board from your computer.
+
+2. Open the _Tools > Port_ menu. Some ports may still be listed. Take note of this, and close the menu.
+
+3. Connect your board to your computer.
+
+4. Open the _Tools > Port_ menu. The port your board is connected to should now appear as a new port in the list.
+
+### Configure an unidentified board {#configuring-an-unidentified-board}
+
+If you've determined which port belongs to your board:
+
+**Using the board selector:**
+
+1. Open the board selector.
+
+1. Select the "Unknown" board you want to use.
+
+1. In the pop-up "Select Other Board and Port" menu, select the board from the list.
+
+1. Click OK.
+
+**Using the _Tools > Board_ menu**:
+
+1. Open the Tools > Board menu.
+
+1. Choose the board you want to use.
+
+For more information, see [Select board and port in Arduino IDE](https://support.arduino.cc/hc/en-us/articles/4406856349970-Select-board-and-port-in-Arduino-IDE).
+
+---
+
+## Still need help?
+
+* Visit the [Installation & Troubleshooting category](https://forum.arduino.cc/c/18) in the Arduino forum.
+* [Contact us](https://www.arduino.cc/en/contact-us/)
+
+<!-- markdownlint-disable-file HC001 -->