Getting started

Quick start

Confirm the driver, cable, port and essential settings with one controlled first test.

Reviewed: Applies to: Serial Port Utility 6.6.x
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On this page

On this page

Quick start

Use this path when you only want to confirm that the software, driver, cable and target device can talk to each other.

  1. Download the latest build from the Downloads page and install it.
  2. Install the USB-to-serial driver required by your adapter or development board.
  3. Plug in the target device and confirm the COM port appears in Device Manager.
  4. Select the port and match the device parameters. A common first try is 115200 / 8 / 1 / None.
  5. Choose Text mode for readable commands or logs. Choose Hex mode for binary frames and byte-level checks.
  6. Send a short known command, then watch the connection state plus Rx and Tx counters.
Serial Port Utility default workspace
The default workspace after installation: the quick settings panel on the left, the receive view on the upper right and the send area below it.

If the first test fails, do not change many settings at once. Check the port, driver, cable, serial parameters, Append Line Ending and Enter Sends settings in that order.

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Serial connection parameters

Ports, baud rate, framing, flow control, Append Line Ending and Enter Sends.

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Text, Hex and encodings

Readable commands, binary frames, byte checks and the GB18030/GBK/Big5 encodings.

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Troubleshooting checklist

Diagnose missing ports, open failures, resets, no data and unstable links.

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