ByteBlasterII JTAG chain problem detected

Your question can be answered very different.

- There's always a certain risk of damaging electronic devices by ESD. Some reports say, that 50 % of unspecific device faults are caused by ESD events. It's recommended to use protection equipment not only in production but also in development and prototyping.

- It's unlikely, that a particular device has been damaged by ESD in an usual lab enviroment.

- More likely damaging mechanisms are overheating during solder and supply overvoltages

- Potentially dangerous equipment are isolated SMPS without protective ground connection, either supplying a mobile computer or a development kit