# Photon 2 not detected over USB (no serial or DFU mode)

**URL:** <https://community.particle.io/t/photon-2-not-detected-over-usb-no-serial-or-dfu-mode/69629>\
**Category:** Getting Started\
**Tags:** photon2\
**Created:** [June 9, 2025, 1:05am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/photon-2-not-detected-over-usb-no-serial-or-dfu-mode/69629 "2025-06-09T01:05:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![blasscoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@blasscoc](https://community.particle.io/u/blasscoc)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 1:05am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/photon-2-not-detected-over-usb-no-serial-or-dfu-mode/69629/1 "2025-06-09T01:05:35Z")

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**Device:** Photon 2  
**Problem:** My Photon 2 powers up (blue LED flashing — Listening Mode), but it’s **not detected by any computer over USB**.

**What I’ve tried:**

- Multiple known good **USB data cables**
- Multiple computers (macOS, Raspberry Pi)
- **USB ports confirmed working** (mouse, keyboard, etc.)
- Tried both **Listening Mode** (flashing blue) and **DFU Mode** (solid yellow)
- No `/dev/ttyACM*`, no detection in `lsusb`, and no logs in `dmesg`

**What I observe:**

- Photon powers on, LEDs behave normally
- No USB activity or enumeration at all
- Other USB devices show up fine

**Questions:**

- Is this likely a hardware failure (USB data lines)?
- Is there a way to recover via UART?
- Should I request a replacement?

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**Author:** ![rickkas7](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rickkas7/32/8681_2.png) [@rickkas7](https://community.particle.io/u/rickkas7)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 7:45am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/photon-2-not-detected-over-usb-no-serial-or-dfu-mode/69629/2 "2025-06-09T07:45:01Z")

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Failure of the USB port is rare, but from those debugging steps it, that's what it looks like to me, and I don't have anything else to try.

You cannot set up by UART. Theoretically you could set up by BLE, but not having a working USB port will make the device very difficult to use, and it's unlikely that reinstalling software would make the problem go away.

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**Author:** ![gusgonnet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/gusgonnet/32/27491_2.png) [@gusgonnet](https://community.particle.io/u/gusgonnet)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 12:25pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/photon-2-not-detected-over-usb-no-serial-or-dfu-mode/69629/3 "2025-06-09T12:25:23Z")

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Hi, do you have other Particle devices? Do they show up in USB?

From what you describe, this has very low chances of working, but what if you try the restore tool?

> **[Device Restore USB | Tools](https://docs.particle.io/tools/device-restore/device-restore-usb/)**
>
> Device restore over USB from a browser

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![blasscoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@blasscoc](https://community.particle.io/u/blasscoc)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 3:12pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/photon-2-not-detected-over-usb-no-serial-or-dfu-mode/69629/4 "2025-06-09T15:12:05Z")

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thanks!

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**Author:** ![blasscoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@blasscoc](https://community.particle.io/u/blasscoc)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 4:07am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/photon-2-not-detected-over-usb-no-serial-or-dfu-mode/69629/5 "2025-06-16T04:07:45Z")

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Gents;

Quick update - I borrowed my friends micro-usb to usb cable and everything worked, the device registered just fine. Doesn't make sense to me, but I can see the photon 2 in /dev/tty\* and dmesg, and configure using the cloud tools and VSCode apps.

If anyone else is having trouble, it could just be the usb cable you are using!

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/3X/6/4/64635adccc35238caa19e9b553ec3e98b163d026.png) [@system](https://community.particle.io/u/system)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 4:08pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/photon-2-not-detected-over-usb-no-serial-or-dfu-mode/69629/6 "2025-12-15T16:08:25Z")

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