Using a B404x, cannot 'particle serial identify' or get it setup with particle

Firmware
1

Hi there,
I'm using the b-som Particle B404x with the Particle M.2 SoM Evaluation Board, I have it in listening mode (blue flashing), and connected over USB to a Windows 11 PC from the som-usb connector, with the som-power turned on.
Calling 'particle serial identify' from a command window, I get the error 'Could not identify device: Unable to open USB device'.
Could this be a faulty B404x?

I also tried to let it connect to the web, with an attached G142-10006-A antenna (wideband) but it stayed flashing green for 20 minutes.

Then tried the instructions in https://setup.particle.io/ . Connected over USB, in listening mode, selected the device 'B som CDC mode - paired' and the interface says 'Fetching device information' and gets stuck there (waited 10+ minutes)
Then tried the setup in DFU mode, chose to program tinker, got the log below
while the message said 'We're updating your device to the latest device OS and firmware. This usually takes up to two minutes.' but I let it go for 6+ minutes with no end.

The device is connected: e00fce6877eaf51e65029276
Getting device: e00fce6877eaf51e65029276
Getting Device OS information for bsom
Downloading binary: bsom-bootloader@6.2.1.bin
Downloading binary: bsom-softdevice@6.2.1.bin
Downloading binary: bsom-system-part1@6.2.1.bin
Downloading binary: bsom-tinker@6.2.1.bin
Checking if the device is up to date
bsom-bootloader@6.2.1.bin is ready to install
bsom-softdevice@6.2.1.bin is ready to install
bsom-system-part1@6.2.1.bin is ready to install
bsom-tinker@6.2.1.bin is ready to install
Updating modules over DFU
Updating module: bsom-softdevice@6.2.1.bin
Updating module: bsom-system-part1@6.2.1.bin
Updating module: bsom-tinker@6.2.1.bin
Updating over DFU succeeded
Reconnecting device: e00fce6877eaf51e65029276

2

Hi, I recommend trying this tool:

3

I suspect you may have a bad device driver in Windows. Particle devices have two different device drivers, one for DFU mode (blinking yellow) and one for character device serial (CDC). From your log, DFU is working. particle serial identify and the later part of setup requires CDC. The instructions for fixing device driver issues are on this page.

4

Thanks, Rick, I'll check it out.

5

@rickkas7 There was indeed the old driver, so I followed the instructions and deleted all the existing Particle products from the device mgr, making sure to remove the old driver. After that, I get - more or less - the same looking device driver as shown in the instructions. It's the same date and from Microsoft, but the version # differs. See attached screenshot. (Just to be sure I tried updating the driver - it was already up to date.)

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However, I still get the same error when I run 'particle serial identify':
image

And when I try the particle setup I get the same issue. I selected the device 'B-SoM CDC Mode - paired' and it gets stuck 'Fetching Device Information'.

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Thanks for any further thoughts you may have...