Serial.begin()

Description

Sets the data rate in bits per second (baud) for serial data transmission. For communicating with Serial Monitor, make sure to use one of the baud rates listed in the menu at the bottom right corner of its screen. You can, however, specify other rates - for example, to communicate over pins 0 and 1 with a component that requires a particular baud rate.

An optional second argument configures the data, parity, and stop bits. The default is 8 data bits, no parity, one stop bit.

Syntax

Serial.begin(speed)

Serial.begin(speed, config)

Parameter Values

  • Serial: serial port object. See the list of available serial ports for each board on the Serial main page.
  • speed: in bits per second (baud). Allowed data types: long.
  • config: sets data, parity, and stop bits. Valid values are:
    • SERIAL_5N1
    • SERIAL_6N1
    • SERIAL_7N1
    • SERIAL_8N1 (the default)
    • SERIAL_5N2
    • SERIAL_6N2
    • SERIAL_7N2
    • SERIAL_8N2
    • SERIAL_5E1: even parity
    • SERIAL_6E1
    • SERIAL_7E1
    • SERIAL_8E1
    • SERIAL_5E2
    • SERIAL_6E2
    • SERIAL_7E2
    • SERIAL_8E2
    • SERIAL_5O1: odd parity
    • SERIAL_6O1
    • SERIAL_7O1
    • SERIAL_8O1
    • SERIAL_5O2
    • SERIAL_6O2
    • SERIAL_7O2
    • SERIAL_8O2

Return Values

  • Nothing

Example Code

void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); // opens serial port, sets data rate to 9600 bps Serial.println("ArduinoGetStarted.com"); } void loop() { }

The result on Serial Monitor:

COM6
Send
ArduinoGetStarted.com
Autoscroll Show timestamp
Clear output
9600 baud  
Newline  

Arduino Mega example:

// Arduino Mega using all four of its Serial ports // (Serial, Serial1, Serial2, Serial3), // with different baud rates: void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); Serial1.begin(38400); Serial2.begin(19200); Serial3.begin(4800); Serial.println("Hello Computer"); Serial1.println("Hello Serial 1"); Serial2.println("Hello Serial 2"); Serial3.println("Hello Serial 3"); } void loop() {}

Thanks to Jeff Gray for the mega example

※ NOTES AND WARNINGS:

  • For USB CDC serial ports (e.g. Serial on the Leonardo), Serial.begin() is irrelevant. You can use any baud rate and configuration for serial communication with these ports. See the list of available serial ports for each board on the Serial main page.

The only config value supported for Serial1 on the Arduino Nano 33 BLE and Nano 33 BLE Sense boards is SERIAL_8N1.

  • Serial functions are not only used for the communication between an Arduino board and Serial Monitor of Arduino IDE but also used for the communication between:
  • An Arduino board and other Arduino board
  • An Arduino board and other sensors/devices
  • An Arduino board and computer (any Serial software on computer)

See Also

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Arduino UNO R3
Arduino Starter Kit
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