Cannot connect to J-Link

[Rahav]

I am evaluating nRF52840 DK in the following development environment:

• Contiki-NG ver 4.7 running in the standard Contiki container. Per Contiki, the container has all the required development tools for Nordic devices.

After connecting the DK it is present as two devices: ttyACM0 and ttyACM1. I further validated that Contiki recognizes it and can connect:

make TARGET=nrf52840 motelist-all
python ../../tools/motelist/motelist.py
Port          Serial        VID     PID     Product  Vendor
------------  ------------  ------  ------  -------  ------
/dev/ttyACM0  0x1050232358  0x1366  0x1051  J-Link   SEGGER
/dev/ttyACM1  0x1050232358  0x1366  0x1051  J-Link   SEGGER

However, when programming the DK, I get the following error. Also attached is the requested log.log file.

I tried with different cables and the two device ports listed above to no avail.

make TARGET=nrf52840 PORT=/dev/ttyACM0 hello-world.upload
nrfjprog -f nrf52  --sectorerase --program build/nrf52840/dk/hello-world.hex
ERROR: JLinkARM DLL reported an error. Try again. If error condition
ERROR: persists, run the same command again with argument --log, contact Nordic
ERROR: Semiconductor and provide the generated log.log file to them.
../../arch/cpu/nrf52840/Makefile.nrf52840:127: recipe for target 'hello-world.upload' failed
make: *** [hello-world.upload] Error 33

Fullscreen 64157.log.log Download

[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] nrfjprog -f nrf52 --sectorerase --program build/nrf52840/dk/hello-world.hex --log 
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] nrfjprog version 10.12.1 
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [debug] [ nRF0x0] - open_dll
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] [ nRF0x0] - Load library at /opt/nrfjprog/libjlinkarm_nrf52_nrfjprogdll.so.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] [ nRF0x0] - Library loaded, loading member functions.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] [ nRF0x0] - Member functions succesfully loaded.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] [Backend] - Logger callback at 0x565740e0 registered in Segger backend logger.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] Logger callback at 0x565740e0 registered in JLink logger.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [debug] [nRF520x0] - open
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [debug] [Backend] - open_dll
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] [Backend] - No J-Link DLL path was provided. Attempting to auto detect.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] [Backend] - Load library at /opt/SEGGER/JLink/libjlinkarm_x86.so.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] [Backend] - Library loaded, loading member functions.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] [Backend] - Member functions succesfully loaded.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [debug] [Backend] - dll_version
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [ info] [Backend] - Segger dll version 6.88.a loaded.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [debug] [ nRF0x0] - enum_emu_snr
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [debug] [nRF520x0] - enum_emu_snr
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [debug] [Backend] - is_connected_to_emu
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [debug] [Backend] - enum_emu_snr
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [debug] [Backend] - ---just_enum_emu_snr
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:05] [debug] [Backend] - ---just_get_num_emus
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:06] [debug] [Backend] - is_connected_to_emu
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:06] [debug] [ nRF0x0] - connect_to_emu_with_snr
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:06] [debug] [nRF520x0] - connect_to_emu_with_snr
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:06] [debug] [Backend] - is_connected_to_emu
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:06] [debug] [Backend] - connect_to_emu_with_snr
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:06] [debug] [Backend] - is_connected_to_emu
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:06] [debug] [Backend] - ---just_enum_emu_snr
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:06] [debug] [Backend] - ---just_get_num_emus
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [debug] [Backend] - ---just_connect_to_emu_with_snr
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [debug] [Backend] - ---just_connect_to_emu_without_snr
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [Backend] - Segger logging enabled.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ]    ***** Error: 
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] Cannot connect to J-Link.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] - 12.528ms returns "Cannot connect to J-Link."  
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] JLINK_HasError()  
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [Backend] - JLinkARM.dll Open returned error 'Cannot connect to J-Link.'
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [debug] [Backend] - is_connected_to_emu
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] JLINK_IsOpen()  
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] - 0.009ms returns 0x00  
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] JLINK_HasError()  
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [debug] [ nRF0x0] - close_dll
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [debug] [nRF520x0] - close
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [debug] [Backend] - is_connected_to_emu
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] JLINK_IsOpen()  
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] - 0.009ms returns 0x00  
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] JLINK_HasError()  
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [debug] [Backend] - close
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [debug] [Backend] - disconnect_from_emu
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [debug] [Backend] - is_connected_to_emu
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] JLINK_IsOpen()  
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] - 0.010ms returns 0x00  
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [ info] [  JLink] - [Info    ] [JLink     ] JLINK_HasError()  
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [debug] [Backend] - Segger Backend closed.
[2023-Jun-29 19:29:08] [debug] [nRF520x0] - nRF family DLL closed

Thank you for your answer.

[Vidar Berg]

Hello,

The nrfjprog log indicates that communication is failing between the PC and the debugger, rather than between the debugger and the nRF, which is a more common issue. I'm not familiar with Contiki, but I wonder if this could be related to the container setup and permissions. I can see that the COM ports are being enumerated correctly (ttyACMx), but the programming is not being done through this interface.

To help narrow down the problem, could you try running nrfjprog outside the container or on another PC to see if you encounter the same error? You can run 'nrfjprog -e' as a test. This command is to erase the flash on the chip.

Best regards,

Vidar

[Rahav]

Thank you, Vidar. Here are the results of running inside the Contiki Docker container:

user@3ac6208fa39d:~/contiki-ng$ nrfjprog -e
ERROR: JLinkARM DLL reported an error. Try again. If error condition
ERROR: persists, run the same command again with argument --log, contact Nordic
ERROR: Semiconductor and provide the generated log.log file to them.
user@3ac6208fa39d:~/contiki-ng$ nrfjprog -e --log

Attached is the log.

I believe the authors of Nordic SoC for Contiki are Alex Stanoev and Wojciech Bober, both from Nordic. Here is the link to Contiki nRF52840 documentation.

While I wait for your answer, I will install Contiki on another VM.

[Vidar Berg]

I meant to suggest if you could run it outside the container. nrfjprog is part of our command-line tools package and can be downloaded at https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-tools/nrf-command-line-tools/download.

[Rahav]

Sure, I can try it on both the Mac host computer and the Linux VM outside of the container.

1) Where can I find instructions on installing the correct version for my Linux version? Here are the details:

uname -a
Linux ubuntu 5.15.0-56-generic #62~20.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Tue Nov 22 21:24:20 UTC 2022 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

2) After downloading the package for macOS, the installer does not let me choose where it is going to install the tools. It seems that it will install auxiliary packages such as `cmake`. Can you confirm that it will not override my current Mac configuration?

[Vidar Berg]

1. You need to select one of the x64 downloads. However, the choice of installer depends on the Linux distribution you are using. If you have a Debian-based distribution, you can use the *.deb package.

2. The only additional package that should be installed is the J-link driver. 

Installing the nRF Command Line Tools

[Rahav]

I installed nRF command line tools on the Linux VM, which runs on the same machine. Running the command you requested leads to the following:

nrfjprog -e
[error] [ Client] - Encountered error -90: Command read_device_info executed for 17 milliseconds with result -90
[error] [ Worker] - Access protection is enabled, can't read device version.
[error] [ Client] - Encountered error -90: Command read_memory_descriptors executed for 23 milliseconds with result -90
[error] [ Worker] - Can't read memory descriptors, ap-protection is enabled.
ERROR: The operation attempted is unavailable due to readback protection in
ERROR: your device. Please use --recover to unlock the device.
NOTE: For additional output, try running again with logging enabled (--log).
NOTE: Any generated log error messages will be displayed.

What is the next step?

[Rahav]

Similar results when running directly from the Mac computer:

nrfjprog -e

[error] [ Client] - Encountered error -90: Command read_device_info executed for 3 milliseconds with result -90

[error] [ Client] - Encountered error -90: Command read_memory_descriptors executed for 3 milliseconds with result -90

[error] [ Worker] - Access protection is enabled, can't read device version.

[error] [ Worker] - Can't read memory descriptors, ap-protection is enabled.

ERROR: The operation attempted is unavailable due to readback protection in

ERROR: your device. Please use --recover to unlock the device.

NOTE: For additional output, try running again with logging enabled (--log).

NOTE: Any generated log error messages will be displayed.