Error 'unknown device' writing serial number on multiple Arducam B0477 20MP USB cameras in Ubuntu

USB UVC Webcams
1

Hi, I’ve got several Arducam cameras hooked up to one Ubuntu box and I’m having trouble telling them apart in software. Is there some kind of unique parameter in the camera info that I can use? These are the Arducam B0288 models.

2

The short answer is that the cameras can’t be told apart reliably because the device names / serial numbers aren’t unique by default. The way to fix it is to change the device name or serial number with the Arducam Serial Number Tool. There’s a guide here: Redirecting...

On Ubuntu you can also inspect what the system currently sees with:

v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video1 --all

That will dump the UVC info including any serial number string, so it’s a good first check.

3

Thanks. I ran v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video1 --all and I can see the camera details, but there’s nothing unique that separates one camera from another. I went through the serial number tool guide and tried to write a serial number, but I get an error: ‘unknown device’. Just to clarify, the camera I’m stuck on now is an Arducam B0477 20 MP USB 3.0 Camera, not the B0288.

4

Thanks for the details. That ‘unknown device’ error means the serial tool isn’t recognizing the B0477. I have an alternative version of the software that handles the serial/device name write differently. I’ve sent you the download link in a private message. Please give that one a try and let me know the exact error if it fails.

5

I downloaded the software from the private message and tried it, but I’m still getting the exact same ‘unknown device’ error when it tries to write the serial number.

6

Thanks for trying. I tested that software on our side with a B0477 and it did let me modify both the serial number and the device name, so I want to rule out an issue with that build. I’ve sent you an updated version via private message. Could you retry with that one and confirm whether you get the same error?

7

I tried the updated version you sent. Same result — it still returns ‘unknown device’ when writing the serial number for the B0477.

8

Thanks for testing again. So far the situation is: the normal Arducam Serial Number Tool and both alternative versions all return ‘unknown device’ on your B0477, while the latest version was verified to write the serial number and device name successfully on our test unit. That means the issue is likely specific to how the camera is being detected on your Ubuntu system, but we don’t have a confirmed workaround for that yet. I’ll keep investigating on this thread.