MPLAB® PICkit™ 4 In-Circuit Debugger User's Guide Notice to Customers Important: All documentation becomes dated and this manual is no exception. Microchip tools and documentation are constantly evolving to meet customer needs, so some actual dialogs and/or tool descriptions may differ from those in this document. Please refer to our website (www.microchip.com) to obtain the latest documentation available. Documents are identified with a “DS” number. This number is located on the bottom of each page, in front of the page number. The numbering convention for the DS number is “DSXXXXXA,” where “XXXXX” is the document number and “A” is the revision level of the document. For the most up-to-date information on development tools, see the MPLAB® X IDE online help. Select the Help menu and then Topics, to open a list of available online help files. © 2020 Microchip Technology Inc. User Guide DS50002751D-page 1 Table of Contents Notice to Customers.......................................................................................................................................1 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 4 1.1. Document Layout......................................................................................................................... 4 1.2. Conventions Used in This Guide..................................................................................................4 1.3. Recommended Reading...............................................................................................................5 2. About the Debugger................................................................................................................................ 7 2.1. MPLAB PICkit 4 In-Circuit Debugger Description........................................................................ 7 2.2. MPLAB PICkit 4 In-Circuit Debugger Advantages....................................................................... 7 2.3. MPLAB PICkit 4 In-Circuit Debugger Components......................................................................8 2.4. MPLAB PICkit 4 Block Diagram................................................................................................... 9 3. Operation.............................................................................................................................................. 10 3.1. Debugger to Target Communication...........................................................................................10 3.2. Target Communication Connections...........................................................................................11 3.3. Debugging..................................................................................................................................14 3.4. Requirements for Debugging..................................................................................................... 15 3.5. Programming..............................................................................................................................17 3.6. Resources Used by the Debugger............................................................................................. 17 4. Debugger Usage................................................................................................................................... 18 4.1. Installation and Setup.................................................................................................................18 4.2. Debug Tutorial............................................................................................................................18 4.3. Quick Debug/Program Reference.............................................................................................. 18 4.4. Debugger Limitations................................................................................................................. 19 4.5. Common Debug Features..........................................................................................................19 4.6. Connecting the Target Board......................................................................................................20 4.7. Setting Up the Target Board.......................................................................................................20 4.8. Setting Up MPLAB X IDE...........................................................................................................21 4.9. Starting and Stopping Debugging.............................................................................................. 21 4.10. Viewing Processor Memory and Files........................................................................................ 22 4.11. Breakpoints and Stopwatch........................................................................................................22 5. MPLAB PICkit 4 Programmer-To-Go.................................................................................................... 24 5.1. Power Requirements for Programmer-To-Go.............................................................................24 5.2. Limitations for Programmer-To-Go.............................................................................................25 5.3. Setting up PICkit 4 for Programmer-To-Go Mode...................................................................... 26 5.4. Using Programmer-To-Go.......................................................................................................... 30 5.5. Exiting Programmer-To-Go Mode...............................................................................................31 6. Troubleshooting.....................................................................................................................................32 6.1. Some Questions to Answer First................................................................................................32 6.2. Top Reasons Why You Can't Debug.......................................................................................... 32 6.3. Other Things to Consider........................................................................................................... 33 7. Frequently Asked Questions................................................................................................................. 36 © 2020 Microchip Technology Inc. User Guide DS50002751D-page 2 7.1. How Does it Work?.....................................................................................................................36 7.2. What's Wrong?...........................................................................................................................36 8. Error Messages.....................................................................................................................................38 8.1. Types of Error Messages........................................................................................................... 38 8.2. General Corrective Actions........................................................................................................ 47 9. Engineering Technical Notes (ETNs).................................................................................................... 49 10. Debugger Function Summary............................................................................................................... 50 10.1. Debugger Selection and Switching............................................................................................ 50 10.2. Debugger Options Selection...................................................................................................... 50 11. Hardware Specification......................................................................................................................... 56 11.1. USB Connector.......................................................................................................................... 56 11.2. MPLAB PICkit 4 In-Circuit Debugger......................................................................................... 56 11.3. Communication Hardware..........................................................................................................58 11.4. Target Board Considerations......................................................................................................61 12. Revision History.................................................................................................................................... 63 12.1. Revision A (May 2018)...............................................................................................................63 12.2. Revision B (August 2018)...........................................................................................................63 12.3. Revision C (October 2018).........................................................................................................63 12.4. Revision D (January 2020).........................................................................................................63 13. Support..................................................................................................................................................64 13.1. Warranty Registration.................................................................................................................64 13.2. myMicrochip Personalized Notification Service..........................................................................64