Description

Serial.setTimeout() sets the maximum milliseconds to wait for serial data. It defaults to 1000 milliseconds.

Serial.setTimeout() inherits from the Stream utility class.

Syntax

Use the following function to set the serial time-out.

Serial.setTimeout(time)

Parameters

The function admits the following object and parameter:

Serial: serial port object. See the list of available serial ports for each board on the Serial main page.
time: timeout duration in milliseconds. Allowed data types: long.

Returns

The function returns nothing.

Example Code

The following code modifies the default serial timeout time:

char data[6]; // 5 characters + null terminator

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  while (!Serial);

  Serial.setTimeout(5000); // Set timeout to 5 seconds

  Serial.println("Send 5 characters (you have 5 seconds):");
}

void loop() {
  if (Serial.available()) {
    int bytesRead = Serial.readBytes(data, 5);
    data[bytesRead] = '\0';

    Serial.print("Received: ");
    Serial.println(data);
  }
}

Notes and Warnings

Serial functions that use the timeout value set via Serial.setTimeout():