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WCH CH340G Free Driver Download for Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, 2008, Vista, 2003, XP, 2000, ME, 98SE, 98. World's most popular driver download site.

Some Arduino clones use a CH340G USB chip and you'll need to install a driver

The zip files are from the vendor site.The Windows seems to work ~ok.I don't have a Mac, can't vouch for that driver.The Linux driver as-is only support 3.9 or less kernel versions

In order to support 3.9+ kernels, the ch34x.c file needed to be edited. This change is in the ch340g folder.The old, original file for ref is in the old340 folder

Ch340 Arduino Driver Windows 10

The difference is that between kernel version, they renamed the struct usb_serial_port port number field from 'number' to 'port_number'

Diff the ch34x.c files to see what I'm talking about.

To build and install just do:

make

make load

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Introduction

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to install CH340 drivers on multiple operating systems if you need. The driver should automatically install on most operating systems. However, there is a wide range of operating systems out there. You may need to install drivers the first time you connect the chip to your computer's USB port or when there are operating system updates.

Required Materials

Depending on your application, the CH340 may be populated on a breakout or development board. Here are a few boards that use this particular USB-to-serial converter.

4251

Accessories

You'll also need the correct USB cable to connect the board to your computer. You may need a jumper wires and a breadboard for prototyping.

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Suggested Reading

Before you begin this tutorial, you should have the Arduino IDE installed on your computer. Check out our Installing Arduino tutorial for a step by step guide.

Serial Communication

Connector Basics

What is an Arduino?

Logic Levels

Serial Terminal Basics

Alright, let's get to work! You can visit the next section to learn more about the CH340 and why you need the drivers, or you can skip straight to the operating system of your choice!

Meet the CH340

There are a few variants of the CH340. The CH340G requires an external crystal oscillator to function while the CH340C includes a built-in crystal oscillator. However, both function in the same fashion - they convert USB data for a serial UART and vice versa!

CH340G

CH340C

The CH340 is also populated on development boards such as the RedBoard Qwiic to upload code using the Arduino IDE.

Drivers (If You Need Them)

The CH340 has been tested on:

• Windows 7/10
• Mac OSX
  • v10.10.5 (Yosemite)
  • v10.11.6 (El Capitan)
  • v10.13.0 (High Sierra)
  • v10.14.5 (Mojave)
• Linux
  • Raspbian Stretch (11-13-2018 release) for the Raspberry Pi
  • Raspbian Buster (2019-07-10 release) for the Raspberry Pi
  • Ubuntu v18.04.2, 64-bit

These operating systems have the CDC drivers pre-installed, which means you shouldn't need to install any extra software. However, there are a wide range of operating systems out there, so if you run into driver problems, you can get the archived drivers linked below:

• Windows (EXE) -- Driver executable
• Windows (ZIP) : Driver v3.4 (2016-09-27)
• Mac (ZIP) : Driver v1.5 (2018-07-04)
• Linux (ZIP) : Driver v1.5 (2018-03-18)

The CH340 is made by WCH. You can find the latest version of their drivers here, but most of their pages are in Mandarin. If you use a Chrome web browser, you should have the option to have the web page translated.

Updating Drivers

If you have the older CH340 drivers installed, you may need to update them. Below are the instructions for doing so on each of the tested operating systems.

Windows 10 Arduino Usb Driver

Windows 7/10

Download and run the executable.

Click the 'Uninstall' button first. Then click on the 'Install' button.

Windows CH340 Driver Installation

Driver Verification for Windows

To verify that your driver is working, you should see a difference in the following pictures after plugging the CH340 to a USB port.

Device Manager

To check that the CH340 enumerates to a COM port, you can open the device manager. You can click the Start or ⊞ (Windows) button and type 'device manager to quickly search for the application.

After opening the device manager, you will need to open the Ports (COM & LPT) tree. The CH340 should show up as USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM##). Depending on your computer, the COM port may show up as a different number.

Arduino IDE

Alternatively, if you have the Arduino IDE installed, you should also see a change in the number of available COM Ports (you may need to restart the Arduino IDE for the board to populate). Without the CH340 connected to your computer, click on Tools >Port. Take note of the Serial Ports available.

Connect the CH340 to your computer's USB port. Click on somewhere else on the screen for the menu to refresh itself. Then head back to the menu by clicking on Tools >Port. A new COM port should pop up. By process of elimination, the CH340 should have enumerated to the new COM port! Feel free to click on the COM port to select if you are uploading code to a microcontroller. Depending on your computer, the COM port may show a different number.

Serial Loop Back Test

You can also verify if the USB-to-serial converter is working by doing a serial loop back test or echo test. If you are using the breakout board, you can add a jumper between the Tx and Rx to try and echo a character in a terminal program. For more information, try checking out the Hardware Test for the serial basic hookup guide.

Mac OSX

Open the Terminal program by selecting Go >Applications.

Select and open the Terminal program under Applications >Utilities >Terminal.

You'll need to move to the directory where the *.kext files are stored.

• For Mac OSX v10.9+, you will need to use this command:

• For Mac OSX v10.8 and below, you will need to use this command:

In this case, we will be using Mac OSX v10.13, so we will need to use the first command.

To check to see if the CH340 driver is in the correct path, use the following command to list the contents of the folder.

To look for CH340 driver files (i.e. usb.kext or usbserial.kext) in the path, you could use the following command.

You should see something similar to the output below after using the commands.

If you have found the file in the path, you will need to run each of the following commands in the CLI/Terminal to remove old CH340 drivers. In this case, there was only the usbserial.kext file but it does not hurt to run both commands. Make sure to have administrative privileges to ensure that the drivers are removed.

Check if the old drivers were removed in the paths by using the ls command with your respective OS version. You will notice that the *.kext file is removed from the respective paths. In this case, the usbserial.kext was removed from Mac OSX High Sierra.

Download and extract the folder.

Then, open the '*.pkg' file from the unzipped folder and follow the instructions. You'll need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Mac OSX CH340 Driver Installation File

Heads up! Depending on your settings, you may need to adjust your Security & Privacy settings to allow the CH340 drivers to function. A window may pop up indicating that the drivers have been block as shown in the image below.

If you receive a window that indicates that the system extension is blocked, you'll need to open a search with Spotlight by pressing ⌘ (Command) + space bar (Space Bar). Type Security & Privacy and click on the 'Allow' button to enable the CH340 drivers.

Driver Verification for Macs

To verify that your driver is working, you should see a difference in the following pictures after plugging the CH340 to a USB port.

Command Line

Open the Terminal by heading to Applications >Utilities >Terminal if the program is not open yet.

Then run the following command:

A list of devices connected to your Mac's COM ports will be displayed as a result. Assuming that the CH340 is not connected to your computer, you should see something similar to the image below.

Connect the CH340 to one of your Mac's COM ports. Check for the following changes (your board may show up under a different device name). The CH340 should show up as /dev/cu.wchusbserial*****. Depending on your computer, the COM port may show up as a different number.

Arduino IDE

Alternatively, if you have the Arduino IDE installed, you should also see a change in the number of available COM Ports (you may need to restart the Arduino IDE for the board to populate). Without the CH340 connected to your computer, click on Tools >Port. Take note of the Serial Ports available.

Connect the CH340 to your computer's USB port. Click on somewhere else on the screen for the menu to refresh itself. Then head back to the menu by clicking on Tools >Port. A new COM port should pop up. By process of elimination, the CH340 should have enumerated to the new COM port! Feel free to click on the COM port to select if you are uploading code to a microcontroller. Depending on your computer, the COM port may show a different number.

Serial Loop Back Test

You can also verify if the USB-to-serial converter is working by doing a serial loop back test or echo test. If you are using the breakout board, you can add a jumper between the Tx and Rx to try and echo a character in a terminal program. For more information, try checking out the Hardware Test for the serial basic hookup guide.

Linux

Raspbian for Raspberry Pi

Run the following commands in the CLI/Terminal when using Raspbian on a Raspberry Pi. After updating, the latest CH340 should be installed!

Other Linux Distributions

Here is a downloadable *.ZIP of standard CH340 drivers for Linux.

Arduino Nano Drivers

There are some reported cases of serial communication failure when using the factory drivers in Linux. If you encounter this problem, you can try installing patched drivers as explained in this forum post. Here are the steps (to run in the command line):

• Plug and unplug your CH340 device from the USB port
• Type dmesg to see what has happened
  • The expected output (shows 'ch341') should have the following in the recent log:

• Download the patched drivers repository and unzip the files
  
  
• cd into the directory where the files are saved
• make clean
• make
• sudo make load
• sudo rmmod ch341 to uninstall the broken driver
• lsmod | grep ch34 to list what modules are currently installed
• Plug and unplug your CH340 device again on the USB port
• dmesg
  • Expected output (should show 'ch34x' now):

Depending on your root permissions, you may need to configure the serial port with the following two commands. Make sure to adjust the $username with respect to the user ID that is currently logged in.

Driver Verification for Linux

Command Line

Plug the CH340 back to your computer's USB port. Then run the following command in the CLI/Terminal on any Linux distribution. Check for the following changes (your board may show up under a different device name).

The serial port that CH340 is connected to should pop up as a result.

Arduino IDE

Alternatively, if you have the Arduino IDE installed, you should also see a change in the number of available COM Ports (you may need to restart the Arduino IDE for the board to populate). Without the CH340 connected to your computer, click on Tools >Port. Depending on the Linux flavor that you have, the Ports may not open to display any serial ports. Take note of the Serial Ports available if it opens up.

Connect the CH340 to your computer's USB port. Click on somewhere else on the screen for the menu to refresh itself. Then head back to the menu by clicking on Tools >Port. A new COM port should pop up. By process of elimination, the CH340 should have enumerated to the new COM port! Feel free to click on the COM port to select if you are uploading code to a microcontroller. Depending on your computer, the COM port may show a different number.

Serial Loop Back Test

You can also verify if the USB-to-serial converter is working by doing a serial loop back test or echo test. If you are using the breakout board, you can add a jumper between the Tx and Rx to try and echo a character in a terminal program. For more information, try checking out the Hardware Test for the serial basic hookup guide.

Troubleshooting

COM Port is Not Showing Up as CH340 Windows

We have had a few reports on Windows 10 where the driver will automatically install and the board will show up under a new COM port as USB-Serial CH340, but with a different device name. However, the board cannot be accessed on the Arduino IDE. Others have had issues where the installation process hangs.

Based on the customer experiences, this might be specific to the manufacturer and are usually isolated cases. Users seem to be able to eventually get the board recognized by a combination of giving the computer time to finish the install (close to 20 min), plugging the board back in multiple times, reinstalling the drivers, and/or resetting the computer multiple times (repeat both steps).

COM Port Not Available Windows, Mac, and Linux

If you installed the drivers for the CH340 on your computer but have issues connecting via serial terminal or uploading code using the Arduino IDE, there may be an issue with your user settings preventing you from using the CH340. You may receive an avrdude: ser_open(): can't open device error similar to the output shown below.

In this case, the error appeared on a Linux when trying to upload code due to the drivers not being installed and the root permissions.

Make sure to check your configuration settings and ensure that the serial port for the CH340 is enabled for your OS. You may also need to reinstall the drivers for your operating system.

USB Cable Windows, Mac, and Linux

Certain USB cables are for power only and may not have the data lines available. Try checking your USB cable and ensure that the data lines are intact.

Issues Uploading at Fast Baud Rates

If you are uploading to certain boards like the Apollo3 on the Artemis development boards with fast baud rates, there are some platforms (Linux flavors) where the standard CH340 USB to serial drivers don't operate well at speeds higher than 115200. So if you run into upload problems, consider reducing the upload speed. For more information about upload issues, see this forum post and consider upgrading with these drivers for Mac OSX or these for Linux.

Resources and Going Further

Now that you've successfully got your CH340 up and running, it's time to incorporate it into your own project!

• WCH: CH340 Drivers
  • Windows (EXE) -- Driver executable
  • Windows (ZIP) -- Driver v3.4 (2016-09-27)
  • Mac (ZIP) -- Driver v1.5 (2018-07-04)
  • Linux (ZIP) -- Driver v1.5 (2018-03-18)

Arduino Ch340 Driver Download

USB-to-serial converters like the CH340 are great for uploading code to a microcontroller or viewing data from a GPS on a serial terminal. Check out these tutorials to dive even deeper into the world of microcontrollers or send serial data to your computer with a GPS!

Arduino Ch340 Driver Windows 10 Download

Serial Terminal Basics

Headless Raspberry Pi Setup

GPS-RTK Hookup Guide

Ch340g Arduino Driver Windows 10 Dell

RedBoard Qwiic Hookup Guide

SparkFun Inventor's Kit Experiment Guide - v4.1

Or check out these blog posts.

Enginursday: Exploring Different USB-Serial Boards

Ch340g Arduino Driver Windows 10 Free

What Drives your SparkFun Inventor's Kit?

Ch340g Arduino Driver Windows 10