BestParts New PM2.5 PM10 Digital Particle Concentration Sensor PMS5003 with G5 Switch Board Cable for Arduino

I spent so much time trying to figure out what was preventing my microcontroller from communicating with it's ESP32 module and it turns out this thing was causing the communication issues. After trying it alone with nothing else attached, running some basic test code it refused to communicate at all.

These units are faulty on arrival. It worked for 20 minutes, after which it started reading zeros and ones. I tried for several months to get it to work but to no avail. Finally, I did a tear-down to inspect it. I think it's a bad circuit board. Don't waste your money on this one.

The sensor worked for about 5 minutes. I have spent a month and a half trying to determine whether the problem was the sensor, my connections, sketch, or some other issue. After much research, it is dead. Of course it was then too late to return. For $30 this was an extreme disappointment. In my research, I found MANY people who had this problem.

Great little device for DIY projects around the house.