Find answers to common questions or reach out to us directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
MagicTerm works with any USB-serial adapter that appears as a standard serial port on macOS, including FTDI, CH340, CP210x, PL2303, and others. If your adapter shows up as a /dev/cu.* device, MagicTerm can connect to it.
MagicTerm supports standard baud rates from 300 to 921,600 bps, including 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 230400, 460800, and 921600. These cover virtually all serial communication scenarios.
The Network Bridge lets you share your serial connection over the network. The TCP bridge creates a raw socket that you can connect to with telnet or any TCP client. The SSH bridge provides encrypted access with password authentication. Both can be bound to localhost only (secure) or all interfaces (accessible from other machines).
Yes! Open a new window with Cmd+N and each window can connect to a different serial port independently. Ports already in use by another window are shown as disabled to prevent conflicts.
Text Alerts let you define patterns that MagicTerm watches for in the incoming serial data. When a match is found, it plays a sound of your choice. This is useful for monitoring long-running processes or waiting for specific responses from your device.
First, check that your USB-serial adapter is plugged in and that macOS recognizes it (look for it in System Information > USB). Some adapters require a driver - check your adapter manufacturer's website for macOS drivers. If the port still doesn't appear, try unplugging and re-plugging the adapter, or restarting MagicTerm. Also check Settings to make sure "Hide Useless Serial Ports" isn't filtering out the port you're looking for.
MagicTerm requires macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or later. It runs natively on both Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) and Intel Macs as a universal binary.
Use the Save button in the toolbar to export your terminal session. In Settings > Log, you can configure the format: choose between Raw or Filter ANSI (strips escape codes), optionally include TX/RX direction markers, and add timestamps to each line.
Troubleshooting
No data appearing in terminal
Verify the correct baud rate - mismatched baud rates are the most common cause of garbled or missing data.
Check your data bits, parity, and stop bit settings match your device.
Try switching the Display Mode to HEX to see if raw data is arriving.
Ensure your cable supports data transfer (some USB cables are charge-only).
Connection drops or errors
If using hardware flow control (RTS/CTS), ensure your cable has the CTS/RTS lines connected.
Try switching to no flow control to rule out flow control issues.
MagicTerm will auto-reconnect when a device is unplugged and re-plugged - check the status indicator in the toolbar.
Network Bridge not connecting
Ensure you're connected to a serial port first - the bridge requires an active serial connection.
Check that the port number isn't already in use by another application.
If binding to all interfaces, check your firewall settings to ensure the port is accessible.
For SSH bridge, make sure you've set a password before enabling it.
Contact Us
Can't find what you're looking for? Send us a message and we'll get back to you.