Yes, I think their countermeasures are both stupid and illegal in many countries. Unbricking and upgrading are possible, though Some people's genuine TL866 (including mine) have been bricked too and it may be bricked if you do the CS->A upgrade. The Chinese manufacturer is complaining about counterfeit TL866 on the market and bricked them intentionally via firmware upgrades. Why was it bricked? According to information at -universal-programmer-review/ and (and other sites): It was an annoying but learning experience! It is operational again and the upgrade (the ICSP header) is still functional. Searched the internet for more information and found this (including schematics, firmware tools, software for Linux and MacOS et c.):įollowing Radioman's instructions at (and using his firmware tool) I could rescue my Minipro. Had I damaged the hardware somehow? Disassembling, checking inside, no signs of damage. After upgrading the software I was prompted to upgrade the firmware and my programmer was bricked! I was a bit desoriented at first because it happened just after testing a fishy PLCC_to_DIP-adapter. The programmer was functioning until I upgraded the software to the latest version (v 6.85) for TL866CS and TL866A.

Success! My TL866CS was transformed into a TL866A with an ICSP header. I was a bit careless and went ahead (I do have many programmers). I read about a seemingly easy upgrade path here: I just had to upgrade my Minipro TL866CS to TL866A.

Tl866 software