If you’re experiencing long delays at the start of every download to your board while using BlocklyProp Solo or Parallax IDE, both of which run in Chrome, the following tip may speed it up.
This problem is most likely to present itself when using multiple boards on a single computer or frequent connect/disconnects required for robotics.
Recent versions of Chrome and ChromeOS changed the way Bluetooth devices are presented to software using serial communication. On certain computers, this adds a significant delay at the start of the download process. Turning off the computer’s Bluetooth hardware before programming these devices makes this interaction much faster.
Parallax is working on a long-term solution to the problem as of February 2025, for BlocklyProp Solo and Parallax IDE.
Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
