First of all, let's assume that you have already connected the serial port of your Linux box to a switch console port via a serial cable. To connect a Linux terminal to the serial port of your Linux system, you can use a command-line screen manager tool called screen. Install screen on Linux. To install screen on Debian, Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Minicom is a text-based serial port communications program. It is used to talk to external RS-232 devices such as mobile phones, routers, and serial console ports. Install the program with: sudo apt-get install minicom. Alternatively, you can get Minicom via the Synaptic Package Manager. Using the program.
Active3 months ago
I am trying to connect minicom to a serial device that is connected via a USB-to-serial adapter. This is a PL2303 and from everything I've read no additional drivers are required. The device is recognised as a PL2303.
I'm a beginner at minicom. Is this the correct command to execute? Or do I need to configure something?
Peter Mortensen14.5k1919 gold badges8989 silver badges118118 bronze badges
codingJoecodingJoe1,64688 gold badges3737 silver badges5656 bronze badges
10 Answers
First check with
dmesg | grep tty
if system recognize your adapter.Then try to run minicom with sudo minicom -s
, go to 'Serial port setup' and change the first line to /dev/ttyUSB0
. Don't forget to save config as default with 'Save setup as dfl'. It works for me on Ubuntu 11.04 on VirtualBox.
MatejMatej1,14411 gold badge1111 silver badges2424 bronze badges
You will need to set the permissions every time you plug the converter in.I use PuTTY to connect. In order to do so, I have created a little Bash script to sort out the permissions and launch PuTTY:
P.S. I would never recommend that permissions are set to 777.
Peter Mortensen14.5k1919 gold badges8989 silver badges118118 bronze badges
McPartyMcParty
The serial port communication programs
moserial
or gtkterm
provide an easy way to check connectivity and modify /dev/ttyUSB0
(or /dev/ttyUSB1
!) settings. Even though there maybe only a single USB to RS232 adapter, the n
designation /dev/ttyUSBn
can and does change periodically! Both moserial
and gtkterm
will show what port designation is relevant in their respective pull down menus when selecting an appropriate port
to use.Check out help.ubuntu.com/community/Minicom for details on
minicom
.EkimEkim
I had fix this with
adduser *username* dialout
. I never had this error again, even though previously the only way to get it to work was to reboot the PC or unplug and replug the usb to serial adapter.RomanRoman
Long time reader, first time helper ;)
I'm going through the same
hellish
experience here with a Prolific USB <> Serial adapter and so far Linux is the easiest to get it to work.On CentOS, I didn't need to install any drivers etc.. That said,
dmesg | grep -i tty
ordmesg | grep -i usb
showed me /dev/ttyUSB0.screen ttyUSB0 9600
didn't do the trick for me like it did in OSX- minicom is new to me but it was complaining about lack of /dev/modem
However, this helped: https://www.centos.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21271
So install minicom (
yum install minicom
) then enter its settings (minicom -s
). Then select
Serial Port Setup
and change the Serial Device (Option A) to /dev/ttyUSB0, or whatever your device file is as it slightly differs per distro. Then change the Bps (Option E) to 9600 and the rest should be default (8N1 Y N)
Save as default, then simply
minicom
and Bob's your uncle.HTH.
Sam GreadlySam Greadly
I get get the same minicom error, 'cannot open /dev/ttyUSB0: No such file or directory'
Three notes:
- I get the error when the device attached to the serial port end of my Prolific Technology PL2303 USB/Serial adapter is turned off. After turning on the device (an embedded controller running Linux) minicom connected fine.
- I have to run as super user (i.e.
sudo minicom
) - Sometimes I have to unplug and plug back in the USB-to-serial adapter to get minicom to connect to it.
I am running Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) under VMware (running on Windows 7). In this situation, make sure the device is attached to VM operating system by right clicking on the USB/Serial USB icon in the lower right of the VMware window and select Connect (Disconnect from Host).
Remember to press Ctrl + A to get minicom's prompt, and type X to exit the program. Just exiting the terminal session running minicom will leave the process running.
Peter Mortensen14.5k1919 gold badges8989 silver badges118118 bronze badges
user1271729
I had the exact same problem, and it was fixed by doing a
Peter Mortensenchmod 777 /dev/ttyUSB0
. I never had this error again, even though previously the only way to get it to work was to reboot the VM or unplug and replug the USB-to-serial adapter. I am running Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) VM on OS X.14.5k1919 gold badges8989 silver badges118118 bronze badges
Joshua EtienneJoshua Etienne
I suggest that newbies connect a PL2303 to Ubuntu, chmod 777 /dev/ttyUSB0 (file-permissions) and connect to a CuteCom serial terminal. The CuteCom UI is simple intuitive. If the PL2303 is continuously broadcasting data, then Cutecom will display data in hex format
gatorbackgatorback23911 gold badge44 silver badges2424 bronze badges
I just got my GUC232A cable with a molded-in PL2302 converter chip.
In addition to adding myself and br to group
dialout
, I found this helpful tip in the README.Debian file in /usr/share/doc/bottlerocket
:Ubuntu Connect To Serial Port In Ubuntu From Cli
This package uses debconf to configure the /dev/firecracker symlink, should you need to change the symlink in the future run this command:
dpkg-reconfigure -pmedium bottlerocket
That will then prompt you for your new serial port and modify the symlink. This is required for proper use of bottlerocket.
I did that and voila! bottlerocket is able to communicate with my X-10devices.
Peter Mortensen14.5k1919 gold badges8989 silver badges118118 bronze badges
DexterIsMyHeroDexterIsMyHero
Putty on ubuntuThere is no need to install the driver for PL2303So only type the command to enable the puttySudo chmod 666 /dev/ttyUSB0DoneOpen the putty.
Nikhil ParasharNikhil Parashar
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged linuxserial-portusbhardware-interface or ask your own question.
Active1 year, 8 months ago
I'm new to Ubuntu. I recently bought a PL2303 USB to Serial connector and had placed its driver PL2303.C to my Ubuntu 17.10.
I put the command 'lsusb', and it showed:
and when I checked the 'dmesg' command > dmesg | grep tty it shows:
But when I plug that serial to the console port of my switch (i used the original dongle, so dongle must be not an issue), it won't appear. I suspect the com port. but i already check it with the command >
setserial -g /dev/ttyS[0123456789]
, it shows :how to set com port (/dev/ttyS0) in order to be able to connected to the switch? PLease advise
Rangga Handoyo
Rangga HandoyoRangga Handoyo
1 Answer
To use
putty
in Ubuntu 17.10, you need to launch Ubuntu in XOrg. Follow the following answer to launch XOrg: How do you switch from Wayland back to Xorg in Ubuntu 17.10?Your USB Serial device is at
/dev/ttyUSB0
. Make sure that you are using that for your putty
connection. Make sure that you set the speed correctly for the console connection to the switch. It might be
115200
or 19200
or 9600
.Hope this helps!
TerranceTerrance21.8k33 gold badges5353 silver badges105105 bronze badges