Well, it’s been a while since the FTDI fuckup so I guess it was a time for another IC supplier to go bonkers. Yes, it’s again time for a chip manufacturer to mess with your computer drivers.

Story starts with me searching for 5V USB cable with a 3.3V signal. After finding a suitable device, I did what was needed and forgot about it for a while. A few days ago I needed USB type-A serial device to do a quick loopback test and grabber the same, previously working, device. While the serial port did appear, I couldn’t open it or send any data.

A quick trip to Device Manager has shown a problem: “THIS IS NOT PROLIFIC PL2303. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SUPPLIER.” Yes, it’s the exact nonsense that FTDI pulled years ago – using Microsoft Windows Update mechanism for their authenticity enforcement.

Now, you might thing this is their right. And I can see how they might be annoyed with fake chips using their drivers. However, their beef should be with fake chip suppliers and not with the end