How to Install the Prolific USB to Serial Driver:
The PL-2303 driver is available for download on Prolific’s official website. To download the driver, click on the Download File and Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders link.
After downloading the file, follow the installation steps. You must be careful not to download a counterfeit chip.
Once the installation is complete, the USB to the serial device will work properly. However, if you are having trouble installing it, there are several ways to fix the problem.
Install Prolific USB to Serial Driver:
If you are experiencing issues with your USB to Serial device, you may have the problem of a corrupt or outdated driver. It is a good idea to update your driver to the latest version to fix this problem.
However, you must know that updating a driver may also make your hardware uncompatible with the new version.
Fortunately, Windows includes the Prolific USB to Serial driver. While you will need to install the driver manually, you can also use third-party driver updating software to automatically update your drivers for you. This way, you can be sure that your USB to Serial device is working properly.
To install the correct driver, you should be sure of the model of your USB to Serial Comm port. There are different hardware IDs for different versions. For example, the hardware ID for a PL2303HXD/EA/RA/TA chip is different than that of a PL2303SA chip.
Uninstall Prolific USB to Serial Driver:
To uninstall Prolific USB to Serial Driver, first of all, you need to locate the device on your PC. To do this, open Device Manager and click on the appropriate entry.
From here, find the Prolific USB to Serial Comm Port in the Ports (Com & LPT) category. If the device does not show up there, reboot your PC and follow the onscreen instructions.
The Prolific USB to Serial Driver is a Windows component and gets updated along with Windows updates. It’s best to stay up-to-date with your drivers to keep your PC running smoothly. However, if you find that the driver is no longer compatible with your hardware, you can always uninstall it.
If the driver still appears, you can uninstall it through the Control Panel. To find it, click the “Uninstall a program” option and select “Prolific USB to Serial Driver”. If you found the driver on your computer by searching, it’s probably already installed.
To uninstall it, you can also open the “Add or Remove Programs” option in Windows and select “Uninstall a program.” If the driver is already removed, just click on it and choose “Uninstall” as the method to complete the process.
Check for updates:
If your Prolific USB to Serial Driver is not working on your Windows 11/10 system, it may be time to download and install the latest version.
You can also use Advanced Driver Updater to update your current driver. This driver is an essential part of establishing a connection between two devices.
In some cases, the driver is corrupt or has a bug. You can check if the driver is updated by going to the Device Manager. To open Device Manager, press Windows + S. Type “device manager” into the search field at the top.
Once the list is displayed, click the Ports tab and expand the list of devices. Locate the Prolific USB to Serial option in the list. Right-click it to reveal its context menu.
If the driver is outdated, Windows will automatically download the wrong driver for your device, which causes the device to stop working. If you are using Windows, you can fix the problem by downloading the latest version of the driver from the manufacturer’s website.
Check for a counterfeit chip:
If you are having trouble installing the Prolific USB to Serial Driver, you may be experiencing a counterfeit chip. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to check if your chip is real. First, you can run a utility that allows you to check the chip version.
If it reports that your adapter is PL-2303HXA, then it isn’t a Prolific chip. However, if you are using a chip based on the HXA/XA version of the chip, you will receive a yellow mark with an error code.
If you discover that the chip is fake, you should not install it. This is because fake chips are often disabled by copy write infringement. This effect takes effect after a recent Windows update.
You should avoid installing a new driver without the permission of your operating system, especially if you are running a 64-bit version of the OS.
The Prolific USB to Serial Driver uses a strict chip identification code. If the chip is fake, the driver will not recognize it and will give you an error message stating that “This device cannot be started.”
To fix this, you must uninstall the driver and reinstall the adapter. This will ensure that your USB to Serial driver will work correctly.