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Error "invalid device signature" when trying to upload a sketch

If you get this error:

avrdude: Yikes! Invalid device signature.
Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override this check.

It can mean one of two things:

  1. You have the wrong board selected from the Tools > Board menu.
  2. You’re not using the right version of avrdude. Arduino uses a slightly modified version of avrdude to upload sketches to the Arduino board. The standard version queries for the board’s device signature in a way not understood by the bootloader, resulting in this error. Make sure you’re using the version of avrdude that comes with the Arduino IDE.
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