FTDI Responds To Counterfeit Bricking Uproar

A few weeks ago the maker / tech consumer world was sent into an uproar when it was revealed that FTDI had snuck in an updated version of its FT232 drivers and included a feature that bricked any device using a counterfeit FT232 chip. This obviously caused a huge PR issue for FTDI in both the hobbyist community as well as the professional EE community as there is very little evidence if any at all as to which chip manufacturers were using in off-the-shelf devices. It appears that FTDI has back-peddled some and has removed the driver from the windows update, as well as issuing an official statement. The statement has been quoted in full at the bottom of this post. [node:read-more:link]

Counterfeit FTDI Chips Being Bricked By New Windows Update

Just a quick FYI for all of of our readers in the Maker and EE worlds, if you have an off-brand Arduino, 3D Printer running anything other than an official controller board with an official Arduino, or any other USB-based microcontroller that may run an FTDI FT232 chip, the latest Windows update installs a new FTDI driver that essentially bricks any USB device that is running a counterfeit FTFI chip. Basically the new driver reprograms the USB PID to 0 on the chip, which renders it "invisible" to any Windows, Linux, or OSX device. Keep reading to learn how to fix this issue.  [node:read-more:link]