How to Install CH340 Drivers

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Contributors: bboyho, santaimpersonator
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Windows 7/10

Note for Educators: You will need to obtain administrative privileges from your network or IT administrator in order to install these drivers. Make sure to test the drivers before class and set aside some time with students in the classroom when installing the drivers.

Download and run the executable.

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

Win 10 Installation Screenshot
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.

searching for device manager

Using the search on Windows 10 to look for the device manager.

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.

CH340 in the Device Manager

Screenshot of Window 10 Device Manager with a CH340 displayed on COM123. Click to enlarge.

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.

Arduino IDE COM Ports

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.

Arduino IDE COM Ports CH340

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.

Serial Loop Back Test