nRF9151 modem production programming

[caeg]

Many DevZone tickets inquire about programming the nRF9160 modem firmware through the SWD interface using nrfjprog or other command-line tool on a PC. Several of those tickets make reference to an application note nAN41, and most of those include a dead link. I've tracked down what seems to be the latest version of nAN041: nRF9160 Production Programming. I've not been able to find similar information marked for the nRF9151.

Is it appropriate and recommended to follow these nAN041 instructions for production programming of the nRF9151 modem as well?

I'm interested in reliability and execution speed for the production environment. Is the nrfjprog command below a preferred way of executing the steps described in the app note section 4 "Updating the modem?"

nrfjprog --program mfw_nrf91x1_2.0.1.zip -f nrf91 --chiperase –verify

nrfjprog --program mfw_nrf9160_1.3.5.zip -f nrf91 --chiperase –verify

[dejans]

Hi,

I've tracked down what seems to be the latest version of nAN041: nRF9160 Production Programming. I've not been able to find similar information marked for the nRF9151.

I was not able to find it either. I do not think that we have such document for nrf9151 at the moment, but I will check this internally.

Is it appropriate and recommended to follow these nAN041 instructions for production programming of the nRF9151 modem as well?

I'm interested in reliability and execution speed for the production environment. Is the nrfjprog command below a preferred way of executing the steps described in the app note section 4 "Updating the modem?"

I would need to discuss this internally with a relevant team. I expect to come back to you by the end of this week.

Best regards,
Dejan

[dejans]

Hi,

Our internal discussion is still ongoing. I hope that I will be able to provide you with the answers by the end of next week.

Thank you for your patience.

Best regards,
Dejan

[caeg]

Thanks for the update. Up to now I've programmed a few pieces of prototype hardware using the nrfjprog command above and noticed no ill effect.

It seems to take around 2 seconds to run --recover and another 12 seconds to program the modem firmware. We'll need to program the PTI firmware, if the chips don't arrive with that pre-loaded, so that an IMEI may be written and some RF tests performed. Then we'll need to program again with the regular modem firmware. The total of 30 seconds will be a considerable portion of the total per-unit time so we'll want to be sure these steps are done efficiently.

[dejans]

Hi,

It seems that we do not yet have something similar to previously linked production programming document (nan_041) for nrf9151, but I have got information regarding recommended production programming tool for nrf9151. nrfjprog is not recommended tool for programming. You should use the following command instead 

nrfutil 91 modem-firmware-upgrade --firmware <PATH> --verify --serial-number <SN>

Best regards,
Dejan

[dejans]

Hi,

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Best regards,
Dejan

[caeg]

Thanks! Yes nrfutil worked for me. It took about the same time as the nrfjprog takes.

A note for other visitors who (like me) may not have used or even installed nrfutil previously: After installing the tool itself one also must install the 91 sub-command. Execute nrfutil install 91 first, then execute the nrfutil 91 modem-firmware-upgrade command shown above.