Troubleshooting drivers on Windows
If you’re having trouble updating your Flipper Zero via the qFlipper desktop application on your Windows computer, follow this guide to ensure your computer is configured correctly for a successful update.
Installing qFlipper from the official sources
When you install qFlipper, the required drivers are installed along with it. Make sure to install qFlipper from official sources, such as the Flipper Zero Firmware Update page and Official documentation.
Updating qFlipper
Make sure qFlipper is up to date:
Connect your Flipper Zero to your computer via a USB-C cable.
Run qFlipper and go to the Advanced controls tab.
Click CHECK APP UPDATES.
Checking if the correct drivers are installed
Depending on the mode in which you connect your Flipper Zero to a computer, the device can be defined by Windows as a Serial device or DFU device. We recommend checking drivers for both cases.
Checking the Serial device driver
When the device is connected to a computer in Normal mode (with the running operating system), the device is recognized as a Serial device.
To check if the correct Serial device driver is installed, do the following:
On your computer, close qFlipper if running.
Connect your Flipper Zero to the computer via a USB-C cable.
Go to Device Manager -> Ports (COM & LPT).
If there are multiple devices, make sure the detected USB Serial Device is your Flipper Zero:
- Double-click the USB Serial Device and go to the Details tab.
- Set Property to Hardware Ids.
- Check if the Vendor ID (VID) is 0483 and Product ID (PID) is 5740.
Go to the Driver tab and ensure that the default Microsoft driver is installed.
If there is a different driver, uninstall it and reconnect your Flipper Zero to the computer. The Microsoft driver will install automatically.
Checking for COM port conflicts
There is a bug in the Windows operating system that occurs when two different Serial devices bind to the same port number.
To check for conflicts, do the following:
On your computer, close qFlipper if running.
Connect your Flipper Zero to the computer via a USB-C cable.
Go to Device Manager -> Ports (COM & LPT).
Check if you have Serial devices with the same COM port number.
If you have a COM port conflict, do the following:
Double-click one of the devices.
Go to Port Settings -> Advanced.
Assign a COM Port Number that is currently not in use and click OK.
Check the DFU device driver
When the device is connected to a computer in Recovery mode (the operating system isn’t running), the device is recognized as a DFU device.
To check if the correct DFU device driver is installed, do the following:
- Press and hold the %left%LEFT and %back%BACK buttons simultaneously.
- Release the %back%BACK button, but don’t release the %left%LEFT button until the blue LED lights up.
On your computer, close the qFlipper application if running.
Connect your Flipper Zero to the computer via a USB Type-C cable.
Go to Device Manager -> Universal Serial Bus devices.
Make sure that the connected device has the name: DFU in FS Mode.
If there are multiple devices, make sure the detected DFU in FS Mode device is your Flipper Zero:
- Double-click the DFU in FS Mode device and go to the Details tab.
- Set Property to Hardware Ids.
- Check if the Vendor ID (VID) is 0483 and Product ID (PID) is DF11.
Go to the Driver tab and make sure that the driver’s name is STMicroelectronics.
If you couldn’t find the DFU device
If you couldn’t find the DFU device in Device Manager -> Universal Serial Bus devices, it means that the incorrect driver is installed or the DFU device driver is missing.
You can resolve the wrong driver issue by doing the following:
Go to Device Manager -> Universal Serial Bus controllers.
Look for the STM Device in DFU mode (this is the wrong driver).
If you found it, uninstall the qFlipper application in Apps & features.
Download the qFlipper installer from the official sources and reinstall the application.
Check if the DFU device appeared in the Universal Serial Bus devices section, then check the driver.
If there is no such device, manually install the missing device by doing the following:
Go to Device Manager -> Other devices.
Look for the DFU in FS Mode with an exclamation sign and right-click it.
Go to Update driver -> Browse my computer for drivers -> Let me pick from a list of available drivers.
Select Universal serial bus devices and click Next.
Select WinUsb Device -> WinUsb Device and click Next.
Check if the DFU device appeared in the Universal Serial Bus devices section, then check the driver.