ST-LINK V2 not detecting Blue Pill (STM32F103C8T6) – “No STM32 target found” error in STM32CubeIDE and STM32CubeProgrammer

[Bharath_5]

Hi Everyone,

I am facing an issue where my Blue Pill development board (STM32F103C8T6) is not being detected by ST-LINK V2 when using either STM32CubeIDE or STM32CubeProgrammer.

Both tools consistently show the “No STM32 target found” error message. I have two Blue Pill boards and two ST-LINK V2 programmers, and I am facing the same issue on both setups, which makes me believe it’s not a wiring or hardware fault on a single unit.

My Hardware Setup:

• Boards tested: 2 × Blue Pill (STM32F103C8T6)

• Programmers tested: 2 × ST-LINK V2 (Firmware version: V2J34S7)

• Target voltage: ~3.1V (as detected by STM32CubeProgrammer)

• Connections:

  • 3.3V → VCC

  • GND → GND

  • SWDIO → SWDIO

  • SWCLK → SWCLK

Steps Tried:

1. Verified all SWD wiring and signal continuity using a multimeter.

2. Tested both “Hardware reset” and “Software reset” modes in STM32CubeProgrammer.

3. Updated ST-LINK firmware to the latest version (V2J34S7).

4. Switched between multiple USB ports and cables.

5. Verified target power (3.3V stable).

6. Ensured BOOT0 = 0 (Normal boot from Flash).

7. Tried connecting with and without NRST line connected.

8. Reinstalled all ST drivers and software tools.

Despite all these attempts, the target MCU is not detected in either CubeIDE or CubeProgrammer on both ST-LINKs and both Blue Pill boards.

I have tried the above steps then also I cannot resolve this issue, can anyone please help me to resolve this issue.
Thank You

[Issamos]

Hello @Bharath_5 

I think that this is may be due to the fact that some blue pill may are based on a clone MCU and not an original one. Also, some of the ST-LINK V2 are also clone products (more details here). So, those products may not connect to the ST Tools.

Best Regards.

II

[AScha.3]

Hi,

You have any other STM CPU or board, that you can connect and flash?

Or is it your first time to try debug connection on these tools?

Just to know, what could be wrong or cannot be.

As long as we don't know, everything is possible, even simply both st-link defective.