I2C Transaction failed after update to ESP 5.4.1 and Arduino 2.3.5 (IDFGH-15047)

[MarksWizard]

Answers checklist.

• I have read the documentation ESP-IDF Programming Guide and the issue is not addressed there.
• I have updated my IDF branch (master or release) to the latest version and checked that the issue is present there.
• I have searched the issue tracker for a similar issue and not found a similar issue.

General issue report

I auto updated to ESP 5.4.1 and Arduino 2.3.5 today, and uploaded code now causes errors where there were none previously. System is an ESP32-S3 N8R2, with PSRAM turned on.

I have a 0.96 OLED display (SSD1306) on Wire, and 2 different I2C devices (SHT30 temp sensor and vl53l4 TOF sensor) on Wire1.

2:55:19.265 -> E (4123) i2c.master: I2C software timeout
12:55:19.265 -> E (4123) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
12:55:19.265 -> E (4124) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
12:55:19.331 -> E (4181) i2c.master: I2C software timeout
12:55:19.331 -> E (4181) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed

[mythbuster5]

Increase timeout threshold and show your logic wave if possible which can provide some clue.

[mythbuster5]

@MarksWizard Could you please try it on master? A bug related to i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit has just been solved.

[MarksWizard]

hi @mythbuster5 thanks for the quick response! I am happy to try it on the master branch, but I am not sure how to do this using Arduino IDE. Are you able to point me in the right direction?

[mythbuster5]

I'm not familiar with Arduino IDE either. Could you only try with esp-idf?

And some more questions:

I auto updated to ESP 5.4.1 and Arduino 2.3.5 today, and uploaded code now causes errors where there were none previously. System is an ESP32-S3 N8R2, with PSRAM turned on.

1. From which esp-idf version to esp v5.4.1?
2. Arduino might not call i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit directly. So may I see how you call this function?
3. Provide logic wave if possible would be more helpful.
   @MarksWizard

[MarksWizard]

@mythbuster5 do you know if Arduino code will compile under ESP-IDF? This is a fairly complex program with several libraries and 3000+ lines of my own code. I am not sure how easily this will port to the ESP-IDF, though I have definitely considered making the switch. I also have never used the tool chain for my own code, only to compile and upload other people’s projects. Again, I had never seen this error before auto updating Arduino IDE and ESP yesterday. I checked the Arduino changelog and there is no mention of I2C in the latest update.

1. I updated from whatever the last release was, it looks 5.2.5?
2. I am using several software libraries to control/communicate with the various sensors on the device, so I am not sure where the troubled call is coming from. It literally floods my serial output with those messages. I will try to poke through the libraries today and see where the command i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit is coming from.
3. I don’t have an oscilloscope unfortunately.

In the mean time I am going to try to comment out the I2C sensors individually to see if I can find which one is causing the issue.

[MarksWizard]

@mythbuster5 I found another user with the same error on the arduino-esp32 GitHub.
espressif/arduino-esp32#11228

Arduino uses this link for the “Boards Manager” to include ESP32 programming on the Arduino IDE. Not sure if it provides any clues?

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json

[me-no-dev]

@MarksWizard while it is not possible to install Arduino based on ESP-IDF master through IDE's board manager, you can manually install it in your sketches folder by following these steps: https://docs.espressif.com/projects/arduino-esp32/en/latest/installing.html#windows-manual-installation (further down there are guides for Linux and Mac if that is what you are running). Just make sure that when you are pulling the Arduino repo, you are pulling the idf-master branch. This will get the latest development sources and libs based on the latest IDF master.

[ve3sjk]

I have the exact same problem as well with a single bme680 unit connected to esp32. Previous no issues as unit is long running, but i started to get these error after the same updates. i thought it was the wiring as the unit would run for some time before the error showed itself again. A reboot gets it running again but it eventually comes back.

[MarksWizard]

@me-no-dev @mythbuster5

Thanks for the help!

I believe I have correctly installed master branch to /Users/MarksWizard/Documents/Arduino

Verify archive... Extracting archive...
Renaming mkspiffs-0.2.3-arduino-esp32-osx to mkspiffs ...
Elapsed time 00:00.01 Files extracted successfully.

Platform Tools Installed

Restarted Arduino IDE and reuploaded code, but the issue remains. I am going to restart my system now, I will report back if anything changes.

12:30:55.002 -> E (225576) i2c.master: I2C software timeout 12:30:55.002 -> E (225576) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed 12:30:55.002 -> E (225577) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed 12:30:55.034 -> E (225634) i2c.master: I2C software timeout 12:30:55.034 -> E (225634) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed 12:30:55.068 -> E (225634) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed 12:30:55.100 -> E (225692) i2c.master: I2C software timeout 12:30:55.100 -> E (225692) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed 12:30:55.100 -> E (225693) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed 12:30:55.166 -> E (225750) i2c.master: I2C software timeout 12:30:55.166 -> E (225750) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed 12:30:55.166 -> E (225750) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed 12:30:55.231 -> E (225808) i2c.master: I2C software timeout 12:30:55.231 -> E (225808) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed 12:30:55.231 -> E (225809) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed

[ve3sjk]

@me-no-dev

That does not seem to work.

In my case i have multiple version of arduino on my system so the IDE 2.0 resides under "documents/arduino 2.0 Esp" which i installed as per the instructions in your post.

I can see the hardware folder under the directory now.

But when i compile the ide uses this folder to compile with

"C:\Users\sysop\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\esp32\hardware\esp32

So it does not use the one in the sketchbook folder so what i did was copied the files for the one created with the instructions into the proper directory under AppData and recompiled and upload my sketch.

As soon as a boot the unit with the button on the esp i get the following errrors as my sketch runs.

`
ets Jul 29 2019 12:21:46

rst:0x1 (POWERON_RESET),boot:0x13 (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)
configsip: 0, SPIWP:0xee
clk_drv:0x00,q_drv:0x00,d_drv:0x00,cs0_drv:0x00,hd_drv:0x00,wp_drv:0x00
mode:DIO, clock div:1
load:0x3fff0030,len:4888
load:0x40078000,len:16516
load:0x40080400,len:4
load:0x40080404,len:3476
entry 0x400805b4

E (17) i2c.master: I2C hardware timeout detected
E (17) i2c.master: probe device timeout. Please check if xfer_timeout_ms and pul l-ups are correctly set up
I2C device found at address 0x77
done

BSEC library version 1.4.8.0
E (4059) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (4059) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (4060) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (4067) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (4674) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (4674) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (4674) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (4680) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (4787) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (4787) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (4787) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (4792) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (4900) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (4900) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (4900) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (4905) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5013) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5013) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5013) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5018) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5126) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5126) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5126) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5131) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5239) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5239) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5239) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5244) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5352) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5352) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5352) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5357) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5465) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5465) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5465) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5470) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5578) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5578) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5578) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5583) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5591) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5595) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5600) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5607) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5615) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5619) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5624) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5631) i2c.master: i2c_master_receive(1240): I2C transaction failed
E (5738) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5738) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5738) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5743) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5751) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5755) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5760) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5767) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5775) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5779) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5784) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5791) i2c.master: i2c_master_receive(1240): I2C transaction failed
E (5898) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5898) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5898) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5903) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5911) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5915) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5920) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5927) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (5935) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (5939) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (5944) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (5951) i2c.master: i2c_master_receive(1240): I2C transaction failed
E (6058) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6058) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6058) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6063) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6071) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6075) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6080) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6087) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6095) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6099) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6104) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6111) i2c.master: i2c_master_receive(1240): I2C transaction failed
E (6218) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6218) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6218) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6223) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6231) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6235) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6240) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6247) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6255) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6259) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6264) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6271) i2c.master: i2c_master_receive(1240): I2C transaction failed
E (6378) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6378) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6378) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6383) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6391) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6395) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6400) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6407) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6415) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6419) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6424) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6431) i2c.master: i2c_master_receive(1240): I2C transaction failed
E (6538) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6538) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6538) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6543) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6551) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6555) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6560) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6567) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6575) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6579) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6584) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6591) i2c.master: i2c_master_receive(1240): I2C transaction failed
E (6698) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6698) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6698) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6703) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6711) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6715) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6720) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6727) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6735) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6739) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6744) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6751) i2c.master: i2c_master_receive(1240): I2C transaction failed
E (6858) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6858) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6858) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6863) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6871) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6875) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6880) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6887) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (6895) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (6899) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (6904) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (6911) i2c.master: i2c_master_receive(1240): I2C transaction failed
E (7018) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (7018) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (7018) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (7023) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (7031) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (7035) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (7040) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (7047) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed
E (7055) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (7059) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (7064) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (7071) i2c.master: i2c_master_receive(1240): I2C transaction failed
E (7178) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected
E (7178) i2c.master: I2C transaction unexpected nack detected
E (7178) i2c.master: s_i2c_synchronous_transaction(924): I2C transaction failed
E (7183) i2c.master: i2c_master_multi_buffer_transmit(1186): I2C transaction failed

Connecting to graveyard1.WiFi connected
IP address: 192.168.1.103
[DEFAULT] ESP32 Board MAC Address: 1c:69:20:e6:1d:04
Setting up time
Got the time from NTP
Setting Timezone to EST5EDT,M3.2.0,M11.1.0

Tuesday, April 08 2025 12:33:34 zone EDT -0400
Time variables
12

Connect to MQTT broker...connected

topic home/nb/node03/dev99 value:NODE 3 WAKEUP: ESP32_03_FAN
topic home/nb/node03/dev00 value:0
topic home/nb/node03/dev01 value:0
topic home/nb/node03/dev02 value:-74
topic home/nb/node03/dev03 value:ESP32_03_FAN
topic home/nb/node03/dev10 value:192.168.1.103
topic home/nb/node03/dev16 value:OFF
topic home/nb/node03/dev17 value:OFF
topic home/nb/node03/dev18 value:OFF
topic home/nb/node03/dev19 value:OFF
topic home/nb/node03/dev52 value:{"dev":"52","N4_TH":[34.30,44.06,343,67,34,44]}
topic home/nb/node03/dev49 value:{"dev":"49","N1_T8":[41.90,44.06,46.04,41.00,40.10,45.50,41.90,40.82]}
E (103229) i2c.master: I2C hardware NACK detected

`

[ve3sjk]

I beleive this error is pointing a to wiring problem and not the latest release, i have serveral units all with i2c devices, i have recompiled and uploaded their firmware using the stock updates of arduino without any changes and the trouble does not follow to the other units.

[MarksWizard]

@ve3sjk although it’s not entirely impossible, I did not move my device at all during the upload. Several people are reporting this issue, all arising from the update.

https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/issues/11228

Edit: Actually I just tried uploading to a bare bones ESP32 S3 without anything connected at all. I am still getting the errors.

I also saw these errors during compile, which I didn’t notice before.

In file included from /Library/Arduino15/packages/esp32/hardware/esp32/3.2.0/cores/esp32/Stream.h:25,
from /Library/Arduino15/packages/esp32/hardware/esp32/3.2.0/cores/esp32/Arduino.h:196,
from /Documents/Arduino/FEB_26_2025/FEB_26_2025.ino:14:
/Library/Arduino15/packages/esp32/hardware/esp32/3.2.0/cores/esp32/Print.h:64:18: warning: 'virtual size_t Print::write(const uint8_t*, size_t)' was hidden [-Woverloaded-virtual=]
64 | virtual size_t write(const uint8_t buffer, size_t size);
| ^~~~~
In file included from /Documents/Arduino/libraries/ESP8266_and_ESP32_OLED_driver_for_SSD1306_displays/src/SSD1306Wire.h:34,
Documents/Arduino/Tides_Full_FEB_26_2025/Tides_Full_FEB_26_2025.ino:27:
Documents/Arduino/libraries/ESP8266_and_ESP32_OLED_driver_for_SSD1306_displays/src/OLEDDisplay.h:343:12: note: by 'OLEDDisplay::write'
343 | size_t write(const char s);
| ^~~~~
FEB_26_2025.ino: In function 'void setup()':
FEB_26_2025.ino:307:3: warning: missing initializer for member 'esp_timer_create_args_t::arg' [-Wmissing-field-initializers]
307 | };