Firmware update on nRF7002 with non-nRF host MCU

[djgj]

Hello,

We are planning to use RT500 MCU as host of nRF7002 WiFi chip. 

We are looking into firmware update for nRF7002 chip.

I read through these documents

https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ps_nrf7002/page/chapters/functional/doc/sw_patch.html
https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ncs-2.7.0/page/nrf/device_guides/nrf70/fw_patches_ext_flash.html

https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ncs-2.7.0/page/nrf/device_guides/nrf70/nrf70_fw_patch_update.html

However to avoid confusion and for the sake of clarity i have the following questions.

* Will these nRF7002 update patches be available in Zephyr driver releases in future?

* Is there any licensing aspect to note when storing the nRF7002 patch on RT500 MCU's memories?

* Does nRF7002 need access to external memory for this feature as mentioned here? Or MCU connection to nRF7002 is enough for ensuring this?

https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ncs-latest/page/nrf/app_dev/device_guides/nrf70/fw_patches_ext_flash.html

* Are there any example patches available that I can try this on nRF7002 using nRF5340 to understand the flow?

Thanks for your support.

Regards,

djgj

[Marte Myrvold]

Hi,

Will these nRF7002 update patches be available in Zephyr driver releases in future?

I assume it will be available in some form, but as per Binary Blobs, Zephyr does not allow hosting blobs within its repos. I will check this internally.

Is there any licensing aspect to note when storing the nRF7002 patch on RT500 MCU's memories?

I will check this internally as well.

Does nRF7002 need access to external memory for this feature as mentioned here? Or MCU connection to nRF7002 is enough for ensuring this?

This is handled by the host MCU, so the nRF7002 does not need access to external memory.

Are there any example patches available that I can try this on nRF7002 using nRF5340 to understand the flow?

The default binary is located in nrfxlib/nrf_wifi/fw_bins/default/nrf70.bin, so you can try this.

I will get back to you when I hear from the team, either later today or early next week.

Best regards,
Marte

[Marte Myrvold]

Hi,

Will these nRF7002 update patches be available in Zephyr driver releases in future?

Firmware patches are hosted on sdk-nrfxlib and will need to be manually fetched using west blobs fetch hal_nordic.

Is there any licensing aspect to note when storing the nRF7002 patch on RT500 MCU's memories?

The firmware bins are licensed as Nordic-5-Clause, but they can be downloaded from non-Nordic hosts. For details, see https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/hal_nordic/blob/master/zephyr/module.yml and https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/hal_nordic/blob/master/zephyr/LICENSE.txt.

Best regards,
Marte

[djgj]

Thank you for the answers Marte.
In Future, will there be an example showcasing this firmware update on nRF7002 in the zephyr project? 

Regards,

djgj

[Marte Myrvold]

Hi,

I do not know their plans regarding this, but I will register it as a feature request. I cannot comment on the schedule since this needs to be prioritized against other tasks.

Best regards,
Marte