Let’s face it — electronics are hard. Difficult concepts, tiny parts, inscrutable datasheets, and a hundred other factors make it easy to screw up in new and exciting ways. Sometimes the Magic Smoke is released, but more often things just don’t work even though they absolutely should, and no amount of banging your head on the bench seems to change things.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://hackaday.com/2024/04/25/chip-mystery-the-case-of-the-purloined-pin/