Complaint about counterfeit STM32 chips - please read.

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volkerforster
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:55 pm

Re: Complaint about counterfeit STM32 chips - please read.

Post by volkerforster »

In fact we never had issues with counterfeits, and we sell thousands of Blue Pills and Black Pills.

Some Chinese sellers clearly offered us "Blue Pills" with CS32F103 chips, remarked as STM32F103 chips, as super great deal. The problem is that they really think these chips would be identically, but they sell better with STM32 marking. If these chips would be identically, probably most hobbyists wouldn't care too much about their genuineness. But the problems start as soon you are not installing an Arduino bootloader and use it as Arduino module, but try to programm it with STM tool chain, or try to address internal memory on assembler level. Besides the legal issues, of course.

Interesting is, that on most CS32 or GD32 modules the USB data+ resistor is wrong, and on most modules with STM32 the resistor value is correct (1k5).

When ever we purchase a higher volume of these modules, we require samples from the same batch prior to our larger orders.

That way, we can be pretty sure to only have genuine STM32 chips on out modules, together with the correct resistor value, of course.

About the F4 series, there are only "clones" for F405, F407 and F450 on the market. These "clones" are absolutely legal chips, just like the CS32, using a licensed ARM core and manufacturer specific periphery. As for the CS32, memory allocation, timings and some specs regarding I/Os are different. But this is all explained in the data sheets. Same with the CS32; differences to the STM32 can be found when reading the data sheets carefully (good luck with the Chinese data sheet LOL).

But the Black Pills we stock are having STM32F411 chips on board. We don't sell modules with the also well known F401 because you get for not even 3 bucks less only half the recourses, what doesn't really makes sense.

You can find Blue Pill with STM32F103 and proper 1.5k USB resistor here (with and without Arduino bootloader pre-installed):
https://www.universal-solder.ca/?post_t ... =stm32f103

You can find Black Pill with STM32F411 (brand new version 2.2 available on March 19th) here:
https://www.universal-solder.ca/?post_t ... =stm32f411

Cheers,

Volker
Y@@J
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 8:51 pm

Re: Complaint about counterfeit STM32 chips - please read.

Post by Y@@J »

Hi @ag123 (see your post on page 2)

I went there after I was googling ; in fact I was trying to get to the forum created by Vassilis Serasidis ; it disapeared ! Are STM32 forums doomed ??? I wanted to update the thread about a new version of my KiCad libraries for Blue/Black Pill

In the post page 2 you linked a thread to Vassilis forum, a (dead) link to a thread where I presented a library for BluePill/BlackPill. This library was crap ! I know it was crap, as I made it...

The libraries are *NOT* made after retro-engineering the BluePill and BlackPill PCB ; they are only cosmetic (using CAD + calipers). There is no Pcbnew file inside ! Just symbols, footprints and 3D models ; I just updated them today : https://github.com/yet-another-average-joe/Kicad-STM32

BTW, 1 year ago I got 10 fake BluePill's, and so far so good : no problems with them. Except the missing 32K bonus :(
Now, I read carefully the description. I get BluePill's only from vendors that specify 2 types : genuine and CS/SK (or whatever). I will never buy from vendors that do not offer the choice between the two versions. Also, read carefully the description, and have a look to the pictures : some vendors edit the pics, and erase the markings on the µC package picture !
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Mangy_Dog
Posts: 92
Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 11:45 pm
Answers: 1

Re: Complaint about counterfeit STM32 chips - please read.

Post by Mangy_Dog »

oh the joys of fake chips.... I painfully know it far too well...
This year ive really had huge amounts of bad luck buying small bulks of chips for my parts bin off ali.

Every single order for stmf103CB chips have been fake this year, Thats about 100+ chips. in 5 different orders and different sellers. Including sellers I've used before and had no issue with in the past.

I first started noticing the fakes when I tried to upload some firmware on an early prototype dev board for a project I was working on. Just wouldnt work. I then desoldered and resoldered a good known chip and it worked... It was from there I started testing the rest of the chips in that order and they all showed signs of fakery, mostly acetoning the paint and markings off. I then got a qfp clamp and wired up a stlink to it so i could quickly test each chip in stlink utility, those that did work were showing way off spec or different models... but thats just the ones that DID work... many didnt work at all.

While ive been able to get refunds from Ali for each order, ali only accepted the claim if I said "does not work" they wouldnt accept them being counterfeit, even when i showed them every sign that they were.

Its so bad now im going to lcsc as theyre the cheapest option right now. Who Im mostly certain wont be shipping fake chips. All local suppliers are hideously expensive now. (RS Farnell digikey mouser.....)

The fakes range from C8s being painted black and re etched as CBs, If i was lucky C6 or dead if i wasnt...

To one batch being 95% fried chips with either hard internal shorts on vbat pin or very high current draw on vbat pin... Most of those were rebadged F4 and f373s... And some chips were just some random QFP chip re etched....

Usually a acetone wipe takes off the paint... Its got sooo bad I've lined up a project to make a quick chip verifier...

Tbh this issue is the main reason im using C8s, as I still have a few of them left.
Just a dogs body developer, mostly making props and stuff...
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