Troubleshoot the Development Kit

As you work with the ACK development kit, you might encounter unexpected issues. Find your issue in the following list, and follow the steps to try to resolve the problem. If the suggested solution doesn't work, get help.

Arduino IDE issues

An Arduino example fails to build

Verify that all required libraries are installed and up to date, and check the Arduino integrated development environment (IDE) configuration.

To verify installation of current required libraries

  1. In the Arduino IDE, from the Sketch menu, click Include Library.
  2. Click Manage Libraries.
  3. In the Type box, choose Installed.
  4. In the list, verify that DeviceKit appears. DeviceKit is the Alexa Connect Kit library that you install when you run arduino.bat or arduino.sh.
  5. In the Type list, choose Updatable.
  6. If a library appears in the list, next to the library, click Update to update to the latest version.

To verify the configuration of the Arduino IDE

Confirm the following requirements:

  • Board is set to Arduino/Genuino Zero (Programming Port).
  • Programmer is set to AVRISP mkII.
  • Port is set to the port where you connected your Arduino Zero. For Mac OS and Linux, the port is "/dev/cu.usb..." or "/dev/ttyUSBn". For Windows, the port is "COMn".
  • USB is connected to the programming port on the Arduino Zero. If you see the error "No valid JTAG Interface configured", the USB cable might be plugged into the native port instead of the programming port. For more information, see Arduino Zero.

An Arduino IDE error shows invalid library

An error might occur if you unzip CeilingFanWithLight.zip to the Arduino libraries folder.

Instead, unzip CeilingFanWithLight.zip to a folder of your choice. Then, to export the example file to the Arduino IDE, use the setup.py script.

An error shows no valid JTAG interface configured

When you try to upload a sketch, you receive the following error message.

Error: Unable to find CMSIS-DAP device
Error: No Valid JTAG Interface Configured

This problem occurs if your computer can't communicate with your Arduino Zero board. Possible causes include the following:

  • You're using a power-only USB cable. To solve this problem, replace the power-only USB cable with a data-transfer USB cable. For details, see Arduino support.
  • Your USB cable might be plugged in to the Arduino Zero native port instead of the programming port. For details, see Step 2: Physically Connect the Boards.

To verify if your device is connected

  1. In the Arduino IDE, click Tools.
  2. Click Port.
  3. Look for a COM port that contains the text Arduino Zero (Programming Port).

If you don't see this COM port, then your device isn't properly connected.

An error while uploading a sketch shows an unexpected command line argument

When you try to upload a sketch, you receive the following error message.

Unexpected command line argument: {extra_params}

This problem can occur if you use version 1.8.12 of the Arduino SAMD Board (32-bits ARM Cortex-M0+). For details, see the Arduino forum.

An error occurs while uploading a sketch (Linux only)

If you're a Linux user, the following error might occur when you attempt to upload the sketch to the Arduino Zero, even if you successfully compiled the code.

Arduino: 1.8.5 (Linux), Board: ""Arduino/Genuino Zero (Programming Port)""

Sketch uses 50564 bytes (19%) of program storage space. Maximum is 262144 bytes.
Open On-Chip Debugger 0.10.0+dev-gf0767a31 (2018-06-11-13:40)
Licensed under GNU GPL v2
For bug reports, read
    http://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html
debug_level: 0
none separate
adapter speed: 400 kHz
An error occurred while uploading the sketch
cortex_m reset_config sysresetreq
Error: unable to open CMSIS-DAP device 0x3eb:0x2157
Error: No Valid JTAG Interface Configured.

To correct the issue, run the arduino-linux-setup.sh bash script that comes in the Linux Arduino IDE install package. Then log out of your computer, and log back in.

You can't find the Arduino examples

Make sure that you run the setup.py script, which copies the project files to a location accessible by the Arduino IDE. If you run the script and can't find the examples, close and then reopen the Arduino IDE.

General development kit issues

You can't tell which registered device corresponds to your development kit

Verify that the registered device shown in the Alexa app has the same serial number as your hardware development board.

To check the serial number of your registered device

  1. Open the Alexa app.
  2. On the main menu, choose Settings.
  3. Choose Device Settings.
  4. Find the name of your device.
  5. In the list of device settings, choose About.
  6. View the serial number of your device.

The development board is on, and the status LED is off

When you connect the development board to the Arduino Zero, you must power the development board through the Arduino Zero. In other words, the combined development kit must be powered through the Arduino Zero. For debugging, you can optionally connect a USB cable to the debug port on the development board.

You see an error message when you run the setup.py script

If you see an error message like the following when you run setup.py, use the --targetroot argument to specify the Arduino Document library location.

Arduino documents directory 'C:\users\xxx\Arduino\documents' not found.

This error usually occurs if you have a nonstandard installation of the Arduino IDE. It can also occur if other software has altered your computer's environment variables. Then setup.py is unable to find the Arduino Documents directory.

Use --targetroot to tell the setup.py script where the Arduino Documents library is. Specify the location as a --targetroot argument.

setup.py --targetroot` <your_path\Arduino\documents>

To confirm the location of your Arduino Documents folder, open the Arduino IDE. Navigate to Settings, and view the Sketchbook location. The Sketchbook location is the same location as the Arduino Documents folder.

When you tell Alexa to turn on your device, the LED flashes or is off

Verify that the LED is connected correctly. For details, see Control the Smart Light and Development Kit Components.

After connecting Alexa to your device, the device is unresponsive

If using an ACK module with Espressif chipset, take the following steps.

  1. Use the Module Utility to update the firware to the current version.
  2. Verify that you have the most up-to-date ACK device SDK. If you don't, download it and then re-upload your example program to your Arduino.
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Last updated: Nov 27, 2023