Upon installing W10, the device driver for PL-2303 is typically the most up-to-date version. However, amidst this frustrating ordeal, a glimmer of hope emerges. I’m hesitant to discard my devices simply because they are deemed too antiquated (despite being less than a year old) to garner support from W10. It’s worth noting the irony in Prolific’s recommendation to use the “PL-2303HXD (HX Rev D) or PL2303TA chip.” The hitch here lies in the fact that users are unable to make this switch independently. For example, my LED badges are less than a year old and rely on the EOL PL-2303 HX chip. It is a lamentable situation, particularly considering that these devices are still in use. This predicament may come as a surprise to many who, like me, transitioned from W7 to W10 without prior knowledge of this issue. This assertion is unequivocal: if your device employs an older chip version of PL2303, it is incompatible with W10 (as well as W8).
3.3.2.102, but then got message that “device settings not migrated”, and port doesn’t work. However, a crucial caveat exists in the form of a prominent notice on the website, written in bold red letters: “Windows 8/8.1/10 are NOT supported in PL-2303HXA and PL-2303X EOL (End Of Life) chip versions.” Yes so yuou might get “PL2303 serial driver retired in 2012”.
One plausible solution would be to manually update the driver by visiting the Prolific website and downloading the requisite drivers. However, upon inspecting the configuration panel, one can’t help but notice the presence of an error code 10, signaling that the driver is not functioning as expected. This initial step typically proceeds without a hitch. Upon plugging these devices into a USB port, W10 promptly identifies them and attempts to load the Prolific driver. These devices all share a common thread – they utilize the PL2303 for USB connectivity, although internally they employ an RS232-like interface, effectively presenting themselves as COM ports within the operating system. From there just follow the prompts and you should be up and running in moments.In my own experience, I’ve grappled with similar difficulties involving scrolling LED Badges and USB to COM dongles. What you need to do after installing the older drivers is go to the properties for the device in your device manager, go to Update Driver Software, Browse My Computer, then Let Pick from a List and select the older version of the driver and hit next. In my case I didn’t even know I had a knock off but I downloaded the older drivers and installed them and voila, I was up and running!Īnd just another quick tip, since if you’re here you’ve probably already installed the newer drivers and your system will default to those each time you try to plugin the device. With a bit more digging I found out that this was a common error for knock-off Prolific chips as in recent driver versions they have been blocking cloned or pirated chips. However I could not get it working on any of my personal computers or even my work computer.Īfter receiving the same error on each machine I started to think it wasn’t the device nor the computer but the drivers. I recently dug an old PL2303MDL programmer out of a tackle box of electronics and tried to get it working so I could flash some Sonoff devices with tasmota firmware.