nrfjprog times out with error flashing Thingy:91 - Did worker process die?

[cgnd_chris]

I'm getting timeout errors when trying to program a Thingy:91 with a J-Link Pro PoE on macOS on an ARM Apple M3 Max.

Here's the command and error message:

❯ west flash -i 1196000003
-- west flash: rebuilding
[0/26] Performing build step for 'tfm'
ninja: no work to do.
[1/7] Performing build step for 'mcuboot_subimage'
ninja: no work to do.
[2/7] Performing install step for 'tfm'
-- Install configuration: "MinSizeRel"
[6/6] Completed 'mcuboot_subimage'
-- west flash: using runner nrfjprog
-- runners.nrfjprog: Flashing file: /Users/chris/cgnd/clients/golioth/thingy91-golioth-workspace/app/build/zephyr/merged.hex
Timed out waiting for progress updates.sing non-volatile memory - block 2 of 2                                         
Did worker process die?
[ #################### ]  14.809s | Erase file - Done erasing                                                          
ERROR: An internal error has occurred, please try again.
NOTE: For additional output, try running again with logging enabled (--log).
NOTE: Any generated log error messages will be displayed.
FATAL ERROR: command exited with status 63: nrfjprog --program /Users/chris/cgnd/clients/golioth/thingy91-golioth-workspace/app/build/zephyr/merged.hex --sectorerase --verify -f NRF91 --snr 1196000003

I get the same error when running nrfjprog manually (I've attached the log file):

❯ nrfjprog --program /Users/chris/cgnd/clients/golioth/thingy91-golioth-workspace/app/build/zephyr/merged.hex --sectorerase --verify -f NRF91 --snr 1196000003 --log
Timed out waiting for progress updates.sing non-volatile memory - block 2 of 2                                         
Did worker process die?
[ #################### ]  16.435s | Erase file - Done erasing                                                          
ERROR: An internal error has occurred, please try again.

However, running nrfjprog --recover appears to fix whatever is causing the errors:

❯ nrfjprog --recover
Recovering device. This operation might take 30s.
Erasing user code and UICR flash areas.

❯ nrfjprog --log --program /Users/chris/cgnd/clients/golioth/thingy91-golioth-workspace/app/build/zephyr/merged.hex --sectorerase --verify -f NRF91 --snr 1196000003
[ #################### ]  13.059s | Erase file - Done erasing                                                          
[ #################### ]   2.836s | Program file - Done programming                                                    
[ #################### ]   2.820s | Verify file - Done verifying

Is there a way to get a better understanding of what's going on here? Is there something that my application code is doing that is preventing the J-Link from being able to flash the device reliably? What is nrfjprog --recover doing to "fix" this issue?

3173.log.log

[cgnd_chris]

Here is the nrfjprog I'm using:

❯ nrfjprog --version
nrfjprog version: 10.23.2 external
JLinkARM.dll version: 7.94c

[cgnd_chris]

I updated to the latest nrfjprog and still got the same errors.

❯ nrfjprog --version
nrfjprog version: 10.23.4 external
JLinkARM.dll version: 7.94d

❯ west flash -i 1196000003
-- west flash: rebuilding
[0/26] Performing build step for 'tfm'
ninja: no work to do.
[1/7] Performing build step for 'mcuboot_subimage'
ninja: no work to do.
[2/7] Performing install step for 'tfm'
-- Install configuration: "MinSizeRel"
[6/6] Completed 'mcuboot_subimage'
-- west flash: using runner nrfjprog
-- runners.nrfjprog: Flashing file: /Users/chris/cgnd/clients/golioth/thingy91-golioth-workspace/app/build/zephyr/merged.hex
Timed out waiting for progress updates.sing non-volatile memory - block 2 of 2                                         
Did worker process die?
[ #################### ]  15.212s | Erase file - Done erasing                                                          
ERROR: An internal error has occurred, please try again.
NOTE: For additional output, try running again with logging enabled (--log).
NOTE: Any generated log error messages will be displayed.
FATAL ERROR: command exited with status 63: nrfjprog --program /Users/chris/cgnd/clients/golioth/thingy91-golioth-workspace/app/build/zephyr/merged.hex --sectorerase --verify -f NRF91 --snr 1196000003

However, after getting this error, I immediately tried to program the board using the nRF Connect for Desktop Programmer GUI software and it worked without any errors. I've attached the log file.

2024-01-09T05_04_32.599Z-log.txt

It appears that this issue is specific to the nrfjprog CLI tool.

[cgnd_chris]

BTW, I only get these timeout errors when trying to flash a board that is running an existing firmware image. Flashing a board with empty flash works.

Also, if I first open the nRF Connect for Desktop Programmer GUI software and do "Erase all", and THEN run west flash, it works every time:

❯ west flash -i 1196000003
-- west flash: rebuilding
[0/26] Performing build step for 'tfm'
ninja: no work to do.
[1/7] Performing build step for 'mcuboot_subimage'
ninja: no work to do.
[2/7] Performing install step for 'tfm'
-- Install configuration: "MinSizeRel"
[6/6] Completed 'mcuboot_subimage'
-- west flash: using runner nrfjprog
-- runners.nrfjprog: Flashing file: /Users/chris/cgnd/clients/golioth/thingy91-golioth-workspace/app/build/zephyr/merged.hex
[ #################### ]  13.381s | Erase file - Done erasing                                                          
[ #################### ]   2.829s | Program file - Done programming                                                    
[ #################### ]   2.810s | Verify file - Done verifying                                                       
Applying system reset.
Run.
-- runners.nrfjprog: Board with serial number 1196000003 flashed successfully.

[Michal]

Hello,

Are you using APPROTECT on this board?

Best regards,

Michal

[cgnd_chris]

Michal I'm not doing anything explicitly with APPROTECT in my app (I actually had not learned about APPROTECT until your question). It looks like deps/zephyr/soc/arm/nordic_nrf/Kconfig is defaulting to NRF_APPROTECT_USE_UICR=y when I check the built .config for both my app and the mcuboot image. From the documentation it sounds like this should make AP-Protect disabled by default (although it's possible I'm missing something and it's getting enabled by accident in something I'm pulling in from the nRF connect SDK).

If you suspect it may be related to AP-Protect, is there something I can add to my Zephyr app to confirm that AP-Protect is not enabled?

In case it matters, I'm building for the thingy91_nrf9160_ns board using nRF connect SDK v2.5.0.