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I just migrated to a new computer running on an M1 CPU (the new Apple Silicon, arm64 based). I've been searching for CH34x drivers for my TTGO-Lora32 board, but can't find any around, nor can I find mentions of them existing or not. The x86_64 driver installs, but obviously can't run due to it being an incompatible architecture.

Thus, is it currently possible to use a CH34x based board on an M1 Mac?

finitud
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    Turns out there is such driver, but it hasn't been listed yet on the WCH website. I've posted it down below in a new answer. – finitud Aug 31 '21 at 12:55
  • It isn't working for me on Monterey. I've tried all the versions installing and uninstalling. It simply doesn't work. No idea why. – Anton Zimin Feb 10 '22 at 12:28

4 Answers4

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So they pushed a new version to GitHub late september:

https://github.com/WCHSoftGroup/ch34xser_macos

This should be the maintained version ahead of what they offer as a download on the official website.

Common other issues:

  • When reinstalling, make sure to first remove all old files:
sudo rm –rf /var/db/receipts/*CH34xVCPDriver*.*
sudo rm -rf /Library/Extensions/CH34xVCPDriver.kext

also don't forget to check for any related files in /dev/ and the .app file in your applications folder if these already exist.

  • Restart the device before reinstalling.

  • Restart the device after installation.

  • Try a different USB-Cable / USB-Hub.

Note: steps listed here were reportedly solutions I came across during my research which worked for other people and my colleagues. For me it still doesn't work; but I am using a lot of unstable builds for my OS and other software that might interfere.

Update February 2022: Now with Monterey out of closed Beta this works like a charm for me. At least for the Web IDE.

Cerealz
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    The installer is still requiring Rosetta 2, which makes me worried about the implementation of the driver. Although it might work, it is probably not written for M1 silicon. – Rolf Sep 22 '22 at 16:28
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After hours of mindless reinstalling of the drivers on M1, reboots and other magic tricks, I almost decided to switch to windows to make my arduino ide work. My NodeMCU board with CH340G would either show up as a serial port or not.

So I leave this message here as clearly many people struggling with M1 end up on this page: buy good microUSB cable. And I mean a good one. All problems disappeared right away. I had three cables at home but none was working - clearly most are only good for charging the phone, but suck at data transfer.

Marek
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  • Indeed! In my experience, microUSB cables are the most likely to not work as expected. – finitud Sep 15 '22 at 07:12
  • ✅ I can attest to this: you need a "data" cable not just a "charging cable". I tried 2 different cables that are just for charging, then I got a data cable and it worked immediately. – nodebase Nov 23 '23 at 16:19
  • Big true, I just grab another microUSB cable and all works smoothly. cu.usbserial-210 port appeared right away. – Libor Váchal Feb 21 '24 at 08:46
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As it turns out, I found in the following post:

https://github.com/LilyGO/LILYGO-T-OI/issues/3#issuecomment-907645945

a link to a particular build of the CH340 drivers that is properly signed and can be installed on the M1 mac with no troubles.

finitud
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    Nice find. Now if only it were listed officially on the CH340 website so people could actually find it. Maybe now it's here it may get more attention from GoogleBot... – Majenko Aug 31 '21 at 13:18
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Worth the try. The .pkg file from here worked in my High Sierra. I've turned-on the "csrutil enable" before install, and it still worked...:

https://github.com/WCHSoftGroup/ch34xser_macos

learner
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