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Serial Warning - Unable to Read Any Data

These remedies apply to the case when you receive no data and you get this warning message:

'serial' unable to read any data

When using the Serial interface for:

  • Reading ASCII (text) data using the fscanf, fgets, or fgetl functions

  • Reading binary data using the fread function

  • Reading binblock data using the binblockread function

these are possible causes and remedies:

CauseSolution
An invalid command was sent to the device, so there is a problem reading the response to the command.Check your device manual for proper command formatting.
Your device is connected to an incorrect serial port.Verify that your device is connected to the specified port. It must match the port you specify when you create the serial object. For information about specifying the port, see serial.
An incorrect write terminator was sent to the instrument before attempting to read data, so there is no data to read.Verify that the Terminator property is set to the value required by your device.
Your device is not configured to send data on the serial port.Verify the device communication settings. For more information about communication settings, see Create Serial Port Object and Configure Serial Port Communication Settings.

More Troubleshooting Help

For more information about troubleshooting the Serial interface, including supported platforms, adaptor requirements, configuration and connection, and other troubleshooting tips, see Troubleshooting Serial Port Interface.