PM3 easy - Communicating with Proxmark3 device failed

Support
1

Hello Yall,

Ive had this PM3 easy for a few years, follows me everywhere i go, so after seeing Iceman’s new update, i finally decided to update the firmware to v4 :winking_face_with_tongue:

Everything seemed fine, until i tried to read an HF tag … I tried a few things, but wasn’t able to get anywhere.
Here is what im currently getting (with just the main board, i removed the middle board and LF antenna to see iif it made a difference, but nothing …

[+] Using UART port COM3
[+] Communicating with PM3 over USB-CDC


  8888888b.  888b     d888  .d8888b.
  888   Y88b 8888b   d8888 d88P  Y88b
  888    888 88888b.d88888      .d88P
  888   d88P 888Y88888P888     8888"
  8888888P"  888 Y888P 888      "Y8b.
  888        888  Y8P  888 888    888
  888        888   "   888 Y88b  d88P
  888        888       888  "Y8888P"


  [ Beggar after knowledge!  ]

  [ Proxmark3 ]

    MCU....... AT91SAM7S512 Rev B
    Memory.... 512 KB ( 73% used )
    Target.... PM3 GENERIC

    Client.... Iceman/master/v4.21611-147-gab4eda6ce 2026-05-08 16:14:16
    Bootrom... Iceman/master/v4.21611-147-gab4eda6ce-suspect 2026-05-05 07:44:30 c92e2128b
    OS........ Iceman/master/v4.21611-147-gab4eda6ce-suspect 2026-05-08 16:10:43 c92e2128b


[=] No previous history could be loaded
[usb] pm3 --> hw tune

[=] -------- Reminder ----------------------------
[=] `hw tune` doesn't actively tune your antennas.
[=] It's only informative.
[=] Measuring antenna characteristics...
[/] 10

[=] -------- LF Antenna ----------
[!] LF antenna............ unusable

[=] -------- HF Antenna ----------
[+] 13.56 MHz............. 16.89 V
[+]
[+] Approx. Q factor measurement
[+] Peak voltage.......... 4.9
[+] HF antenna ( ok )

[-] All values are zero. Not showing LF tuning graph


[=] Q factor must be measured without tag on the antenna

[usb] pm3 --> hw status
[#] Memory
[#]   BigBuf_size............. 38368
[#]   Available memory........ 38368
[#] Tracing
[#]   tracing ................ 1
[#]   traceLen ............... 0
[#] Current FPGA image
[#]   mode.................... fpga_pm3_hf.ncd image 2s30vq100 05-05-2026 07:11:32
[#] LF Sampling config
[#]   [q] divisor............. 95 ( 125.00 kHz )
[#]   [b] bits per sample..... 8
[#]   [d] decimation.......... 1
[#]   [a] averaging........... yes
[#]   [t] trigger threshold... 0
[#]   [s] samples to skip..... 0
[#]
[#] LF T55XX config
[#]            [r]               [a]   [b]   [c]   [d]   [e]   [f]   [g]
[#]            mode            |start|write|write|write| read|write|write
[#]                            | gap | gap |  0  |  1  | gap |  2  |  3
[#] ---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------
[#] fixed bit length (default) |  31 |  20 |  18 |  50 |  15 | n/a | n/a |
[#]     long leading reference |  31 |  20 |  18 |  50 |  15 | n/a | n/a |
[#]               leading zero |  31 |  20 |  18 |  40 |  15 | n/a | n/a |
[#]    1 of 4 coding reference |  31 |  20 |  18 |  34 |  15 |  50 |  66 |
[#]
[#] HF 14a config
[#]   [a] Anticol override........... std    ( follow standard )
[#]   [b] BCC override............... std    ( follow standard )
[#]   [2] CL2 override............... std    ( follow standard )
[#]   [3] CL3 override............... std    ( follow standard )
[#]   [r] RATS override.............. std    ( follow standard )
[#]   [m] Magsafe polling............ disabled
[#]   [p] Polling loop annotation.... disabled 00000000000000000000000000000000
[#] HF 14b config
[#]   [p] Polling loop annotation.... disabled 00000000000000000000000000000000
[#] Transfer Speed
[#]   Sending packets to client...
[#]   Time elapsed................... 500ms
[#]   Bytes transferred.............. 288256
[#]   Transfer Speed PM3 -> Client... 576512 bytes/s
[#] Various
[#]   Max stack usage..... 3520 / 8480 bytes
[#]   Debug log level..... 1 ( error )
[#]   ToSendMax........... -1
[#]   ToSend BUFFERSIZE... 2308
[#]   Slow clock.......... 32128 Hz
[#] Installed StandAlone Mode
[#]   LF HID26 standalone - aka SamyRun (Samy Kamkar)
[#]
[usb] pm3 --> hf search
[\] Searching for ThinFilm tag...[!] timeout while waiting for reply
[/] Searching for ISO14443-A tag...[!] Failed to get current device debug level
[\] Searching for Fuji/Xerox tag...
[!] Communicating with Proxmark3 device failed

[/] Searching for ISO14443-B tag...

This is where it crashes … i need to exit proxspace and start over.
Note that when the line saying com failed, windows drop the device and immediately re-detect it and put it on the same com port.

And here is the log of the session:

[+] Using UART port COM3
[+] Communicating with PM3 over USB-CDC
  [ Proxmark3 ]

    MCU....... AT91SAM7S512 Rev B
    Memory.... 512 KB ( 73% used )
    Target.... PM3 GENERIC

    Client.... Iceman/master/v4.21611-147-gab4eda6ce 2026-05-08 16:14:16
    Bootrom... Iceman/master/v4.21611-147-gab4eda6ce-suspect 2026-05-05 07:44:30 c92e2128b
    OS........ Iceman/master/v4.21611-147-gab4eda6ce-suspect 2026-05-08 16:10:43 c92e2128b

Any Proxmark gurus have any ideas?
My other proxmark has a torn USB port (beyond repairs) so I’m not sure how helpful it can be, but I’m happy using as donor if needed.

Thanks,

X

1 Like
2

Have you already tried a different cable/port?

How about a different client, to rule out proxspace?

2 Likes
3

I would also consider reflashing everything just in case.

You could also try https://proxmark3.app in Chrome

3 Likes
4

I tried different cables and ports, reflashed it a few times just to make sure I didn’t screwed something up :sweat_smile:

I didn’t though about the web app, I’ll try that next.

How do you change the proxspace route?

1 Like
5

Once you check the https://proxmark3.app website and update to the supported firmware on the site, you can also try downloading a portable client file from the site which runs as a portable bundle.. no proxspace necessary.

2 Likes
6

i didnt thought of trying that.
unfortunately i get the same result:

[+] Downloading WASM Proxmark3 client... 100% (12.0 / 12.0 MB)
[+] WASM client loaded, starting...
[WASM] PM3 client starting...
Could not retrieve $HOME from the environment
[-] Logging disabled!
[+] Using UART port wasm:bridge
[=] Opening WebSerial transport...
[+] WebSerial transport connected
  [ Proxmark3 ]

    MCU....... AT91SAM7S512 Rev B
    Memory.... 512 KB ( 72% used )
    Target.... PM3 GENERIC

    Client.... Iceman/master/v4.21128 2026-02-25 16:15:01
    Bootrom... Iceman/master/v4.21128-suspect 2026-02-25 16:15:01 ddaba4e24
    OS........ Iceman/master/v4.21128-suspect 2026-02-25 16:15:01 ddaba4e24


Could not retrieve $HOME from the environment
[!!] No history will be recorded
[usb|tcp] pm3 --> hw tune 

[=] -------- Reminder ----------------------------
[=] `hw tune` doesn't actively tune your antennas.
[=] It's only informative.
[=] Measuring antenna characteristics...
[-]  9

[=] -------- LF Antenna ----------
[!] LF antenna............ unusable

[=] -------- HF Antenna ----------
[+] 13.56 MHz............. 16.93 V
[+] 
[+] Approx. Q factor measurement
[+] Peak voltage.......... 4.9
[+] HF antenna ( ok )

[-] All values are zero. Not showing LF tuning graph


[=] Q factor must be measured without tag on the antenna

[usb|tcp] pm3 --> hf search
[|] Searching for ThinFilm tag...[!] timeout while waiting for reply
[-] Searching for ISO14443-A tag...[!] Failed to get current device debug level
[-] Searching for ISO14443-B tag...

That is where it looses connection and immediately re-connect :unamused_face:

I tried direct hf commands

[usb|tcp] pm3 --> hf mf info
[usb|tcp] pm3 -->

about 30 seconds later it disconnect and re-connect right after.

But LF does works


[usb|tcp] pm3 --> lf search

[=] Note: False Positives ARE possible
[=] 
[=] Checking for known tags...
[=] 
[+] EM 410x ID xx
[+] EM410x ( RF/64 )
[=] -------- Possible de-scramble patterns ---------
[+] Unique TAG ID      : xx
[=] HoneyWell IdentKey

.
. [card data here]
.

[=] ------------------------------------------------

[+] Valid EM410x ID found!

[+] Chipset... T55xx
7

And the portable client does the same? This is the WASM terminal.. click the Client nav option and download the portable client. I don’t think it’ll make a difference at this point but worth trying.

Sounds like either your computer is having issues with COM port over USB drivers, or the proxmark3 hardware is borked somehow. Can you try it on another computer? The proxmark3.app site also works with android if you have the correct cable.

8

i tried a few cables, and ports .. all the same …
the odd thing is the LF side seam to work fine …

i have another one coming in so ill be able to do a bit more testing

9

well … starting to think its a hardware failure :unamused_face:
the new PM3 easy came it, flashed perfectly and works as expected, loaded the same firmware on the questionable PM3, and get this:

.
.
.

[+] Flashing...
[+] Writing segments for file: ...
[+]  0x00102000..0x0015df7d [0x5bf7e / 736 blocks]


$$$$$$\  $$$$$$\  $$$$$$$$\ $$\      $$\  $$$$$$\  $$\   $$\
\_$$  _|$$  __$$\ $$  _____|$$$\    $$$ |$$  __$$\ $$$\  $$ |
  $$ |  $$ /  \__|$$ |      $$$$\  $$$$ |$$ /  $$ |$$$$\ $$ |
  $$ |  $$ |      $$$$$\    $$\$$\$$ $$ |$$$$$$$$ |$$ $$\$$ |
  $$ |  $$ |      $$  __|   $$ \$$$  $$ |$$  __$$ |$$ \$$$$ |
  $$ |  $$ |  $$\ $$ |      $$ |\$  /$$ |$$ |  $$ |$$ |\$$$ |
$$$$$$\ \$$$$$$  |$$$$$$$$\ $$ | \_/ $$ |$$ |  $$ |$$ | \$$ |
\______| \______/ \________|\__|     \__|\__|  \__|\__|  \__|
.......................................................
.............................................................
.............................................................
................. ok

[+] All done

[=] Have a nice day!


pm3 ~/proxmark3$ ./pm3
[=] Session log ...
[+] loaded ...
[+] Using UART port COM3
[+] Communicating with PM3 over USB-CDC


  8888888b.  888b     d888  .d8888b.
  888   Y88b 8888b   d8888 d88P  Y88b
  888    888 88888b.d88888      .d88P
  888   d88P 888Y88888P888     8888"
  8888888P"  888 Y888P 888      "Y8b.
  888        888  Y8P  888 888    888
  888        888   "   888 Y88b  d88P
  888        888       888  "Y8888P"


  [ Beggar after knowledge!  ]

  [ Proxmark3 ]

    MCU....... AT91SAM7S512 Rev B
    Memory.... 512 KB ( 73% used )
    Target.... PM3 GENERIC

    Client.... Iceman/master/v4.21611-147-gab4eda6ce 2026-05-15 06:41:45
    Bootrom... Iceman/master/v4.21611-147-gab4eda6ce-suspect 2026-05-15 06:37:52 c92e2128b
    OS........ Iceman/master/v4.21611-147-gab4eda6ce-suspect 2026-05-15 06:38:24 c92e2128b


[=] No previous history could be loaded
[usb] pm3 --> lf search

[=] Note: False Positives ARE possible
[=]
[=] Checking for known tags...
[=]
[|]Searching for COTAG tag......
[!] command execution time out

[=] Searching for auth LF and special cases...
[=] Couldn't identify a chipset
[?] Hint: try `hf search` - since tag might not be LF

[usb] pm3 --> hf search
[-] Searching for ThinFilm tag...[!] timeout while waiting for reply
[|] Searching for ISO14443-A tag...[!] Failed to get current device debug level
[-] Searching for Fuji/Xerox tag...
[!] Communicating with Proxmark3 device failed

[|] Searching for ISO14443-B tag...
3 Likes