Unable to discover device Micro:bit v2.21 with the nRF Connect for VS Code - Incompatible with J-Link

[vyritecht]

I appear to be running into an issue whereby I cannot see my device connected in VS Code using the nRF Connect for VS Code extension.

I have followed all the steps to set it up but have seen that the J-Link required and mentioned on this page appears to not be supported for my version of the board:

https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/nrf-connect-vscode/page/reference/ui_sidebar_connected_devices.html

It has been mentioned here as well, with many useful other links in the thread:

https://forum.segger.com/index.php/Thread/9562-J-Link-OB-Firmware-for-Micro-Bit-v2-2x/

I'd like to ask if there's an alternative to the J-Link device discovery in the mean time - as I suspect it may be some time before they release the fix. Can we switch it somehow to use the DAPLink instead?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Elfving]

Hello Kyle,

I am not too familiar with the Microbit myself, but I agree with what my coworker said in the DevZone ticket that was linked to: The interface could be broken if you somehow flash the interface MCU with an incompatible firmware. 

Can we switch it somehow to use the DAPLink instead?

That is currently not supported, as you can see. I can forward this as a request to the relevant team, but I suspect that this won't get much of a priority. Would flashing the board using SWD and an external board be an option for you?

Regards,

Elfving

[vyritecht]

Hi Elfving,

While I can't see my connected device, I've discovered I can use west/pyocd to directly flash the Micro:bit via the command line. This opens up options for me to load applications onto the board, but just limits my compatibility with the full features of the VS Code extension.

I've ordered a nRF52833 DK so I can utilise the on-board J-Link here to help me with development purposes and will revert to the board occasionally to affect my changes and test them in the mean time.

I'll make a post on the SEGGER forums hoping to get an updated J-Link version that works with micro:bit v2.2x, so will hope that progresses before any changes in the Nordic suppor tfor DAPLink for Devicetree etc.

I'm brand new to embedded development, so perhaps I might have some of this wrong and can find other workarounds, but I'll stick with this for now and come back if I needed additional support.

As a back-up, I don't suppose you can clarify for me what you mean by flashing the board with SWD and an external board, however? Any pointers to documentation or examples on what this means exactly would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

[Elfving]

vyritecht said:

As a back-up, I don't suppose you can clarify for me what you mean by flashing the board with SWD and an external board, however? Any pointers to documentation or examples on what this means exactly would be greatly appreciated.

Sure.

You can use the DK to debug and flash external boards using 10pin debug connectors (for some docs on this, see here). But you can also use swd, which it seems that you microbit supports as well. I believe this page of ours mentions how to do it a bit, but this older ticket I found after a quick search might explain it even better.

Doing it this way takes advantage of the debugger on the DK, and allows you to use VSC to flash and find your boards the way you otherwise would.

Regards,

Elfving