DON'T USE CH341A until you watch this!

[@DeviceCastingCouchTechPodcast]

I made this video out of an abundance of caution and to highlight an interesting product that supports more voltages than the original CH341A. This position that the voltage is too high is not something I made up but is the stance of the Libreboot project and many other smart people in the community. Lately, a different view point popped up saying that the CH341A will automatically lower the voltage when flashing. I plan on testing out these claims to verify if they are true or not. If you watch my previous videos you can see I've successfully used the original CH341A many times and either ignored or down played the voltage issue. As I did more and more flashing my stance slowly changed.

[@jarnovilen5259]

You got it wrong. It is totally normal to a voltage drop when load is applied. There does not have to be any automation for that to happen. For example a conventional transformer will have very variable output voltage depending on the load applied. If you measure a transformer output with no load and a load you will see two very different voltages. This is very basics of physics and electronics.

[@RJMAPCRJ]

i made this 2 times exactly and my CH341 died.... same way, same problem "Descriptor error" in devices.... uninstalled, formatted, dont change anything... so i'm searching about and what i found is....CH341 send 5v to chip but when rec something.... go down to 3.3v because CH341 know what chip is.... and i dont think have problem of project..... when i tryed to change 2 new CH341 to down to 3.3v just go this error... work at begin but you willl get " ! " in your CH341... and just for update i never burned any chip 3.3v or 1.8 using adapter always worked..... saved many motherboards...

[@hugo22juniorYT]

You make the CH341A programmer the mod and it is solved at 3.3 volts, it is not necessary to throw it away, it is just to use your head a little

[@DeviceCastingCouchTechPodcast]

I agree and I have done the mod but if people have not done the mod, or do not have the skills to perform the mod and want different voltages like 1.8V or 2.5V I think it is a good alternative option

[@hugo22juniorYT]

@@DeviceCastingCouchTechPodcast Yes it is true, thank you very much for answering. Greetings from Argentina (Buenos Aires)

[@Mud_AleX]

I suck at soldering such small circuitry... gimme the alternative...

[@rainsnow9174]

Tried to do the mod just lifting the pin 28 was hard for me, and while soldering to resistance it got pulled off, at my age I rather buy this and return the black one as faulty.

[@Upgraydde-yo-pitch]

No you don’t have to fucking mod it lmao it’s fine when under load it’s 3.3 volts only when not under load it’s at 4.8 volts …. Current is what burns chips not current I hate stupid people who follow trends of other stupid people who don’t use a multimeter

[@Martin-ot7xj]

Hi there , is it coming with a test clip that we don't have to remove bios from motherboard? thnx

[@DennisLeeyeet]

if not i think you can buy the clip separately

[@TheRealFrankWizza]

Whats the IR receiver about?

[@gavrifalcao]

I was asking myself the same question

[@DeviceCastingCouchTechPodcast]

I reached out to vendor to see if I can get some information about that. Will comment back when I get a response!

[@TheRealFrankWizza]

@@DeviceCastingCouchTechPodcast Cool, thanks!

[@msor6108]

What about the clip. This one in ali express doesn't seem to come with one and I want to choose the right clip.

[@DeviceCastingCouchTechPodcast]

I used a Pomona clip

[@SnowAngelfish]

Old version works perfectly. No need to mod. Voltage drops to 3.5v when running. Plus amperage is low on every pin so no risk of frying any chip. Voltage is harmless.

[@MAnees-jk5yg]

Have you tried?

[@dazzer_]

@@MAnees-jk5yg Yes, he is correct.

[@MAnees-jk5yg]

@dazzer_ sure I will try it🙂

[@dazzer_]

@@MAnees-jk5yg I have removed the BIOS password from over 200 laptops from many manufactures with no problems. Don't worry, it works perfectly. No mod is needed.

[@aoi2853]

​@@dazzer_ Even with 1.8v chips?

[@ericjohn-er7kj]

Do you know what voltage should be used for a removable intel/asus winbond chip?

[@jarnovilen5259]

Wrong! The data lines are 3.3V when using the device. The voltage on the data lines WITHOUT connection is about 5V but as soon as you connect it to a chip and start communicating the voltage in fact IS 3.3V. So the modification is not only stupid it is also totally useless and even harmfull!

[@konmicks]

WRONG

[@jarnovilen5259]

@@konmicks Think again. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGmQhJttec-cjtk

[@martinharmath1566]

@@konmicksyes, you can measure and you will have 3.3 once you detect the chip

[@konmicks]

@@martinharmath1566 WRONG

[@martinharmath1566]

@@konmicks explain why, otherwise you are WRONG

[@evgeniy_lebedev]

Thank you! It was useful!

[@alexmihai22]

Or, just.. modify the standard one to 3.3V, and use another one left unchanged for 5V.. but still, it is good to know and buy the new version if needed such.

[@saintzfan09]

The myth of this device being faulty due to the voltage has been thoroughly disproven. IF YOU HAVE THE CH341A YOU DO NOT NEED TO MODIFY IT and you certainly don't need to throw it away. The device works exactly as it should. To the uploader of this video....did you happen to check the current on each of those pins? I ask because you didn't check it in the video.

[@tudor2051]

Please send me a video or some evidence of how someone has disproven this. I want proof.

[@saintzfan09]

@tudor2051 kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGmQhJttec-cjtk

[@sparkiz7108]

not a voltage burning things but current :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGmQhJttec-cjtk

[@kompassorpigo7600]

How do I know if I should select 3.3 or 1.8 for my laptop's BIOS chip.

[@DeviceCastingCouchTechPodcast]

I would suggest looking up the datasheet of your BIOS chip.

[@luigiprovencher]

I was just going to buy one of these but was wondering if it could be used with the raspberry pi but now you're saying that BIOS can be flashed with a Raspberry Pi? What else would I need to do that?

[@DeviceCastingCouchTechPodcast]

The Raspberry Pi can be used you just need a clip and some jumper wires.

[@luigiprovencher]

@@DeviceCastingCouchTechPodcast Yeah. I already figured it out and was able to unbrick a Lenovo ThinkCentre M93P with it but now I'm trying to figure out how to connect it to a FTDI FT232RL USB Serial adapter so that I can connect it to my laptop but I'm not getting any output on it with any of the terminals likes Putty, GTKTerm, or Screen.

[@intestinal47]

Dear sir. I have to flash a W25Q32BV chip, that operates at 3.3V. If i buy the CH341B version, will it be safe for this chip? no mods to the programmer are recommendable? Thanks, i have no soldering skills.

[@MAnees-jk5yg]

Have you tried? Waiting for the response

[@mikes78]

I came across the new version when looking for a voltage adapter for the ch341a. This thing is much better. Though I think my specific one is a bit quirky as it only seems to work 50% of the time when plugged into my laptop. But when it works, it does so flawlessly.

[@luigiprovencher]

Is this still the latest one?

[@samstringo4724]

Very good, I like your videos.

[@xxDrain]

What's wrong with using the old one with the mod?

[@DeviceCastingCouchTechPodcast]

Nothing is wrong with using the old with the mod, I just think if you are buying one I would rather have the one with adjustable voltage.

[@petersmith5199]

New sub. Thank you!

[@piousminion7822]

Your audio is a little low. Just FYI. :)

[@DeviceCastingCouchTechPodcast]

Thanks, I will see if I can work on it. I always appreciate constructive criticism!

[@Jermicidal]

USB doesn't supply 3.3V? No way!

[@hugo22juniorYT]

If you supply the CH341A programmer, you just need to search, there are videos that demonstrate it. I have it and I use the mod and I never had a problem with the CH341A programmer

[@belltower5857]

I should’ve watched this before doing the whole bios flash thing because after me clamping my thing down on my bios just to see how it fit then trying to turn on my computer it wouldnt turn on and gave me a hardware error meaning i fried something

[@V0451]

you cant fry something with voltage and the ampers here are around 1 mA so idk you screwed up something else

[@jarnovilen5259]

You may have a 1,8V chip so you should check the chip voltage before connecting. You need a voltage adapter to use the old CH341 with 1,8V chips. The new CH341's have voltage selection.

[@belltower5857]

@@jarnovilen5259 yeah but the thing is it was a desktop computer

[@jarnovilen5259]

@@belltower5857 So?

[@tommymairo8964]

I've been using the classic all-black w/ jumper one for a few years. Unfortunately, the voltage selector works on my programmer 😂 Probably you are one of the victims of inauthentic dealers.

[@rivciks5045]

Nah, I just flashed coreboot on my t420 with it without any issues.

[@V0451]

amen, just bought a t420, wanna do the same

[@Cryptorist]

Tnx for sharing 💙💛❤️

[@KennyT187]

Great, I used the old one without modding and now my laptop wont even get power on - guess it's fried 🤣

[@410kane]

If i see a raspberry pi I'm eating it😂

[@jsonslim]

Don't watch the clickbait video

[@lowreadst9]

I am getting 10v yay.

[@jarnovilen5259]

The voltage without load does not mean anything. The voltage is fine when connected to a chip and writing.

[@StanleytheCat-v8z]

Oh. That's.... Not good.

[@Upgraydde-yo-pitch]

Don’t post nonsense user error is the only problem with this programmer volts don’t burn chips current does genius