Firmware update fails if Serial Monitor/Plotter is open

[per1234]

Describe the problem

Arduino IDE includes a "WiFi101 / WiFiNINA Firmware Updater"" tool that can be used to update the firmware on the Wi-Fi radio module of Arduino boards (e.g., MKR WiFi 1010, Nano 33 IoT).

🐛 If Serial Monitor is open when a firmware update is attempted, it fails.

To reproduce

1. Connect an Arduino board that has a u-blox NINA-W102 module to your computer via the USB cable.
2. Select the board and port in the IDE.
3. Open Serial Monitor (Tools > Serial Monitor).
4. Select Tools > WiFi101 / WiFiNINA Firmware Updater from the Arduino IDE menus.
   The "WiFi101 / WiFiNINA Firmware Updater" dialog will open.
5. Select the board in the "WiFi101 / WiFiNINA Firmware Updater" dialog.
6. Click the "CHECK UPDATES" button.
7. Click the "INSTALL" button
   ⓘ It doesn't matter which firmware version you flash.
8. Wait for the update process to finish.

🐛 The process fails:

⚠️ Installation failed. Please try again.

Expected behavior

The IDE should automatically close Serial Monitor's connection to the port as needed so that it does not interfere with the operation of the Firmware Updater tool, reopening the port in Serial Monitor once done. This is how it is handled during the Upload operation.

Arduino IDE version

Original report

36e2092

Last verified with

9a6a457

Operating system

• Windows
• Linux
• macOS

Operating system version

• Windows 11
• Ubuntu 22.04
• macOS Ventura

Additional context

I bisected the regression to 80d5b5a

---

A prior incarnation of the bug (since fixed) was tracked at #684

A related bug with the "Upload SSL Root Certificates" tool is tracked at #750

Workaround

1. Click the X icon in the "WiFi101 / WiFiNINA Firmware Updater" dialog if it is open.
2. Click the X icon on the "Serial Monitor" tab in the bottom panel of the Arduino IDE window to close the tab:
   
3. Update the firmware as usual.
4. Open Serial Monitor again if needed (by clicking the icon on the IDE toolbar or the Tools > Serial Monitor menu item) after the upload is finished.

Additional reports

• https://forum.arduino.cc/t/arduino-uno-r4-wifi-firmware-updater/1167083/17
• https://forum.arduino.cc/t/arduino-uno-r4-wifi-firmware-updater/1167083/18

Issue checklist

• I searched for previous reports in the issue tracker
• I verified the problem still occurs when using the latest nightly build
• My report contains all necessary details