STM Link V2 clones & STM Cube 32 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: keef46
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2023, 01:16:40 pm
content: Does anyone know if I can get a clone STM Link v2 programmer (link below) to work with the STM32Cube programming software - i cannot get it to connect.... Works fine with the older STM link utility - but that wont work on Windows 11!!! Have they done something to block using these clone programmers in STM32Cube?https://www.amazon.co.uk/Youmile-Emulator-Downloader-Programmer-Programming/dp/B07QBLNDPM/ref=dp_fod_2?pd_rd_w=tMugC&content-id=amzn1.sym.369ca2df-1521-4fdf-a041-ad143e02ddad&pf_rd_p=369ca2df-1521-4fdf-a041-ad143e02ddad&pf_rd_r=WW12G8BXJS6G90XVTYWB&pd_rd_wg=wvthu&pd_rd_r=fd77f06f-b1b0-4315-83f4-0dfbc5dc28cf&pd_rd_i=B07QBLNDPM&psc=1

author: nvmR
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2023, 02:17:14 pm
content: A random collection things to try that might help:1) Running as admin2) Running in a windows 10 VM and isolate where the issue is3) Checking what you see in the device manager and comparing to Windows 104) I recall that there are sometimes pinout issues on these Link v2 clones.5) I also recall that there are several fw versions of the Link.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2023, 03:52:57 pm
content: There is no predicting what is inside your ST-Link clone from looking at an amazon picture of the outside. I have a bunch of them for various reasons, and the internals vary with each batch I buy. They even have different brands of cloned' uC's in them.Just recently I installed CubeIDE, and it was not happy with one of my clones and it asked me if it might update it's firmware. I agreed, and it did and after that it stopped complaining, and it still works. After that I opened the casing (Just hold if firmly and pull the aluminum sleeve in the direction of the USB connector) and had a look at the uC inside of it. I think it was an APM version, but I'm not sure.I have a split opinion about these things. The great thing is that you can buy an EUR2 programmer that "works". The bad thing is that there are lots of variants with different uC's and other things, and it's always a guess. If I would be able to buy an real / official ST-Link for below EUR10 in a similar form factor I would buy a few of them. But unfortunately ST makes these as extension of their nucleo boards, which makes them a lot less ergonomic to use, and it also makes the nucleo boards more expensive. I find it really strange they put such a thing on each nucleo board. The "egg shaped" official ST-Link is also over EUR 22 and a lot bigger then these nice and small chinese dongles. I guess the intention is that the nuceo boards are only meant to evaluate a microcontroller, and not for making a project.I recommend you buy a few, and then see which one works. It's also nice to have a few spares in case one gets damaged by ESD or other user errors.There is one extra thing:It looks like the backside of the PCB gets shorted to the aluminum casing quite easily. It looks like the anodized layer (which is a non conductive ceramic layer) is the only thing from preventing shorts. It's a good idea to put some extra isolation (or distance holder) between the back of the PCB and the aluminum casing.

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2023, 03:59:24 pm
content: Quote from: Doctorandus_P on January 03, 2023, 03:52:57 pmit is even in the license (enforcable or not)"RESTRICTIONS AND WARNINGSThe Evaluation Board offers limited features and is conceived to be used only to evaluate and test ST products in a researchand development setting.The Evaluation Board is not intended for consumer or household use.The Evaluation Board shall not be, in any case, directly or indirectly assembled as a part in any production of Yours as it issolely developed to serve evaluation a n d t e s t i n g purposes and has no direct function and is not a finished product.If the Evaluation Board is incorporated in an evaluation system, the evaluation system may be used by You solely for Yourevaluation and testing purposes. Such evaluation system may not be offered for sale or lease or sold, leased or otherwisedistributed for commercial purposes and must be accompanied by a conspicuous notice as follows: “This device is not, andmay not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased or otherwise distributed for commercial purposes”."

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2023, 04:56:28 pm
content: That legal mumbojumo is pure nonsense.If I buy a product here in the EU, I can do with it as I wish because it is MINE!Such nonsense statements are not enforceable in the EU.I also have the right to reverse engineer any hardware or software I have bought, etc.And if you live in a corner of this dirtball where you do not have such rights, then just state you are doing a long term test of your development board to test its endurance and longevity, and the boards you sold are also to get a bigger sample size for this endurance test.But for me it's even simpler. I just won't buy nucleo boards as long as each of them is made more expensive because of the attached programmer. And ST knows this too. They also know their mumbojumo is nonsence. So for them, it increases the likelyhood of the Nucleo boards being used for evaluation only.I liked the "Blue Pills" until they got swamped by cloned chips with different incompatibility problems, so I don't buy them anymore. The "WeAct Black Pill" with STM32F411 is a good alternative. WeAct also sells development boards with the cloned chips, but they tell you which chip is on the PCB and they don't fake the labels. That is something I'm happy with. Any rebranded chip automatically gets a negative review for me because it's a fake product. If they tell you you're buying one of the 8 or so other variants, then it's fair and it's upto you whether you want to deal with the incompatibilities (and extra features).

author: mwb1100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2023, 05:01:45 pm
content: Quote from: Doctorandus_P on January 03, 2023, 03:52:57 pmA possible option (though probably a bit more more than EUR10) is theSTLINK-V3MINIEwhich is available in the US from STMicro, Digikey, Mouser, etc for about $12. I don't know what the availability/price is outside the US.Some possible issues with that device:- it's a V3 ST-LINK so I'm not sure how well it's supported by 3rd party software So far they have worked for me in the scenarios I needed to use it.- it connects to the PC with a USB-C cable which isn't included. Not a big deal, but you might need to spend another $10 or so.- it only comes with the weird STDC14 connector, so you'll almost certainly need to come up with an adapter cable or something. This is a bigger pain than it might seem at first thought.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2023, 05:35:06 pm
content: That was interesting.Welectron wants EUR25 for it, which is too much.I tried to buy two directly from ST for USD11 each, but they've thrown away the login information from the account I used 4 years ago so they can shove it.I see it's also available from other local shops for around EUR18, so I may add one as part of another order (local shipping is still far more expensive than from China).Another possibility is to look into Black Magic Probe. The software is Open Source, but the hardware is unfortunately redicilous expensive. I just saw a price of EUR120 for a uC dongle with an Gigadevices uC on it.

author: mwb1100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2023, 06:31:25 pm
content: Regarding the irritating STDC14 connector:If you don't want to have to build a custom cable (I haven't found any pre-built cables for this connector other than those included with V3 ST-LINKs), I think these are the easiest options (I haven't tested these, but I don't see why they wouldn't work):- break off the "outer" four pins (pins 1, 2 and 13, 14) from the STDC14 connector. Then a standard ARM10-compatible cable (1.27 mm pitch) should fit on the connector. You lose the support that the STDC14 provides for the virtual com port (VCP)- the STLINK-V3MINIE also has "card edge" connectors that should be easy enough to solder flying leads to.I used these 1.27mm pitch Cortex to 20 pin JTAG adapters:https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255800584766544.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa&_randl_shipto=USSince the 1.27mm connectors on that adapter aren't shrouded, you can attach the STDC14 cable to the 10 pin connector so that pins 3-12 of the STDC14 are on 10 pin Cortex connector on the adapter board. Then you have a bog-standard 20 pin JTAG, just like the ST-LINK/V2.

author: DavidAlfa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2023, 10:54:41 pm
content: The ide won't work unless using updated firmware.Try to update it in stlink utility, if it fails then you probably have a bad clone with a fake stm32.If it updates, should update correctly afterwards.

author: ifonlyeverything
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2023, 01:18:17 am
content: Some people love those knockoff ST-Links but I've had nothing but trouble with the one I bought. Barely worked for an hour and then it stopped working completely. CubeIDE couldn't connect to it and CubeProgrammer wouldn't recognize it to reflash firmware. By comparison my Nucleo with an onboard ST-Link worked every time without issue.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2023, 07:58:39 am
content: Quote from: Doctorandus_P on January 03, 2023, 05:35:06 pmAs mentioned by mwb1100, Mouser has them in stock. 11.44€ plus VAT for us in Europe. Of course, ordering from Mouser only makes sense if you need enough stuff to get over the 50€ "free shipping" threshold.

author: bidrohini
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2023, 12:41:16 pm
content: You may try STM32 ST-LINK utility (replaced by STM32CubeProgrammer):https://www.st.com/en/development-tools/stsw-link004.html

author: mwb1100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 07, 2023, 12:02:07 am
content: Quote from: ifonlyeverything on January 04, 2023, 01:18:17 amThat's definitely the thing with the clones. They're cheap, but have a pretty high failure rate, different pin outs, different clone chips used. It's a bit of a roll of the dice. In my opinion, if you're developing/debugging on STM32 more than just occasionally - especially if you're using a variety of boards - you should really try to get a genuine ST-LINK. They're a bargain in terms of a flasher/debugger. If you have a Nucleo devkit then you already have one (I think all Nucleo's come with on-board ST-LINK?), and you can disconnect it to use it with other boards.The genuine ST-LINK/V2 is available for around $20 USD - if it's in stock (which has been an iffy situation since the pandemic shortages - for example, ST, Digikey, and Mouser seem to be out of stock currently). Be sure to buy froma source that isn't going to kill you on shipping charges.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 07, 2023, 02:29:03 pm
content: Why would anyone buy a genuine ST-LINK V2 when the V3 has been out for a while? Of course, availability is awful. Probably the best way to get a V2 right now is to buy a Nucleo 64 board where the embedded ST-LINK can be snapped off and used separately. (Those Nucleo boards are around $12 on Digi-Key or mouser.)

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 07, 2023, 05:05:37 pm
content: Never had problems with snapping off the programmer side of Nucleo boards, sure the layout is not good, but works fineYou do need a powered target ...

author: mwb1100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 07, 2023, 08:07:39 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on January 07, 2023, 02:29:03 pmI have a V3 (a few if you count the MINI or the MOD variants).The V2 is cheaper, the V3 (assuming you're talking about the "STLINK-V3SET") is larger/clunkier, and to be honest I'm not sure what real advantages it has over the V2 for the vast majority of people who need an ST-LINK.As far as availability the past couple years goes, it seems the availability tends to flip-flop: when the V2 is out of stock the V3 is in stock, and vice versa. But that's purely anecdotal based on the infrequent times I've checked in the past couple years.The only thing I don't like about the V2 ST-LINK is that it uses a Mini-B USB connector. They provide the cable, but I don't want to have to track the one cable that works with the ST-LINK among my rat's nest. I got a small Mini-B to Micro-B adapter and tethered it to the V2.