TX and RX pins refuse to work

So i’ve read through the post @Hootie81 linked and it seems like there still some issues involving data loss with that method. (And as i’m relatively new to arduino/spark, i’m sure how to go about implementing that solution…)

Is there any other way to check for certain that these two pins are definitely dead?

What you mean dead, what exactly is happening?

If you are able to receive or send data but the result is intermittent, I dont see why you should consider it dead.

Maybe a loopback test (tx connected to rx) might help :wink:

I’m unable to send or receive anything unfortunately

I’ve pretty much confirmed it with another spark running the same code.
I believe I blew the protection diodes on the TX/RX pins inside the STM32 when I hooked it up to the MAX233.
I neglected to take into account that the MAX233 outputs are 5V and the absolute max value TX/RX pins can handle (according to the data sheet) is 4V