Firmware install option for micro:bit not shown on Catalina

[Former user]

It looks like micro:bit support has been dropped as I can’t seem to flash my micro:bit with MicroBlocks.(see attached picture)

It would be great if you could fix it. Thanks!

EDIT: I had to install the libraries manually…

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[John Maloney]

This should work (just tested it on my Mac). Make sure your micro:bit is plugged in with a data (not a power-only) USB cable. The micro:bit should appear as a USB drive named “MICROBIT”. If it does not, then there may be a problem with your USB port, USB cable, or perhaps the cable is not fully plugged in. You could also have a bad USB cable (it happens) so try another cable.

Try installing MicroBlocks again after the “MICROBIT” drive appears.

Did that work?

[Former user]

I have problems similar to the ones described in issue #73 but MicroBlocks doesn’t start at all - however, I know that the hardware isn’t causing problems. Thanks again, John!

[John Maloney]

It looks like you are running MicroBlocks on MacOS.

On MacOS, you need to select “open” from the right-click menu on MicroBlocks.app the first time you download a new version of MicroBlocks, then click the “Open” button in the dialog box. After the first time, you can just double-click on the app to launch it.

Just checking: Is the MICROBIT drive showing up when you plug in your micro:bit (without MicroBlocks running)? Does it help to wait until the MICROBIT appears before you start MicroBlocks?

If that doesn’t work, could you upload a screenshot of the “About this Mac” dialog box from your Mac? That will tell me both the hardware and software. Here’s an example from my Mac:

Did an earlier version of MicroBlocks work for you? You can download earlier versions from:

https://github.com/bromagosa/microblocks-site/releases

What’s the latest version that works for you?

[Former user]

Just a note - I erased out the serial number which you didn’t erase - you might want to erase that out for privacy purposes. However I’ll try installing MicroBlocks on my other computer with Linux & Windows.

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Edit: Also the micro:bit appears as a drive all the time.

2nd edit - I’ve reached success in Windows - thanks for your help John!

[John Maloney]

Good point about my Mac serial number. I just deleted my screenshot. Thanks!

Glad you got MicroBlocks working on Windows. Is something in MicroBlocks not working on your Mac or did I misunderstand your original post? Catalina is still fairly new, so MicroBlocks hasn’t been as well tested on Catalina as it has on earlier versions of Mac OS.

Can you remind me of the problem you’re seeing your Mac? Your second post in this thread said MicroBlocks didn’t start at all – was that referring to the Windows version? The first post said you weren’t able to install the MicroBlocks firmware from MicroBlocks (on your Mac, based on the screenshot). It that still a problem? (If you’re seeing the “MICROBIT” drive then I agree the hardware and USB cable is okay.) It takes five or ten seconds for the MICROBIT drive to mount and appear; you should wait for that to happen before trying install the MicroBlocks firmware.

[Former user]

Sorry for the late reply - I just noticed the ask for info. Yes one time it wanted to work but then after it stopped working. I didn’t open MicroBlocks before the drive appeared. Also, how is it resolved?

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[John Maloney]

I thought this was resolved since you wrote:

2nd edit - I’ve reached success in Windows - thanks for your help John!

But no worries, I’ll re-open it. I’m also changing the title to mention Catalina. Just got another report from someone having problems on Catalina; this could be related.

The original issue on this thread was that “micro:bit” doesn’t appear as an option for installing the micro:blocks firmware when running on Mac OS Catalina. If you also have another problem (e.g. MicroBlocks won’t start on Windows), please start a new issue about that. Thanks!

[John Maloney]

Re-opened. Possibly specific to Catalina.

[Bernat Romagosa]

Any updates on this one? Is this still happening?

[John Maloney]

No reports since January, so I’m marking this resolved.