How to fix Aruduino ESP32 flashing issues (A fatal error: Time out waiting for packet header)

I have successfully installed Arduino core for ESP32 Dev Module in my NB and iMac, and try to upload example program  of WiFiScan from Arduino IDE to ESP32 Dev Module. No matter what I did, I keep receiving "A fatal error occurred:  Time out waiting for packet header"


After a series of test, I found that the USB cable could be the key to fix the issue. So I tested 7 USB cables from different sources

and below are tested result

Cable #	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
USB Cable from	PQI Power Bank Charger	Asus Mobile Phone	Samsung Mobile Phone	Sony Mobile Phone	Unknown Blue	HTC Mobile Phone	Unknown White
Cable Length (CM)	25	94	120	81	52	100	50
Test Result - Windows NB	ESP32 dev. Module can’t be recognized	Flash Error	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK
Test Result - iMAC	ESP32 dev. Module can’t be recognized	ESP32 dev. Module can’t be recognized	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK

In the beginning, I think it's because of long cable length but based on the test result above, it's not. It could be the quality of the cable.

So if you see "A fatal error occurred:  Time out waiting for Header packet .." on the Arduino IDE, the best way to fix the issue is to try another USB cable.

Successfully upload example file of WiFiScan from Arduino IDE to my NodeMCU-32S Lua ESP32S development module shown as below