Unable to program NRF9151 DK

[Jonathon Ross]

I'm having some trouble connecting to the onboard jlink with the NRF9151 devkit that I've recently received. The quickstart seems to detect the NRF9151 dev kit, but when I attempt to program the example code I run into issues




The log doesn't have super helpful information

2025-06-12T20:28:10.326Z INFO Initialising the bundled nrfutil device
2025-06-12T20:28:10.352Z DEBUG Started watching devices
2025-06-12T20:28:11.740Z INFO Using the bundled core version for nrfutil device: 8.0.0
2025-06-12T20:28:11.763Z INFO Using nrfutil-device version: 2.10.2
2025-06-12T20:28:11.763Z INFO Using nrf-device-lib version: 0.17.71
2025-06-12T20:28:11.763Z INFO Using nrf-probe version: 0.38.0
2025-06-12T20:28:11.763Z INFO Using JLink version: JLink_V8.42
2025-06-12T20:28:11.764Z INFO Your version of SEGGER J-Link (8.42) is newer than the one this app was tested with (8.18). The tested version is not required, and your J-Link version will most likely work fine. If you get issues related to J-Link with your devices, use the tested version.
2025-06-12T20:28:13.328Z DEBUG Selected device: nRF9151 DK
2025-06-12T20:28:13.350Z DEBUG Changed step: Info
2025-06-12T20:28:15.493Z DEBUG Changed step: Rename
2025-06-12T20:28:16.315Z DEBUG Changed step: Program

When I attempt to detect the device using nrfjprog, I don't see anything either

PS C:\Users\jonross> nrfjprog --version
nrfjprog version: 10.24.2 external
JLinkARM.dll version: 8.42
PS C:\Users\jonross> nrfjprog --family nrf91 --eraseall --log
ERROR: No debuggers were discovered.

There is a mass storage device that shows up in windows explorer when I plug in the development kit


I'll note that I can connect to a separate unrelated device (USB JLINK PLUS) with nrfjprog and other Segger tools, but nothing shows up from the nrf9151 dk.

Any ideas on how to debug or configure the onboard jlink?

[dejans]

Hi,

Have you tried to erase your device using "nrfutil device erase"?

Have you tried to update modem firmware and application firmware using Programmer application?

Best regards,
Dejan

[Jonathon Ross]

Hello Dejan,

When trying to use nrfutil device erase I get the following response:

PS C:\Users\jonross\git\argus> .\nrfutil.exe device list
1051236715
Product         J-Link
Board version   PCA10171
Traits          devkit, usb, modem, boardController

Supported devices found: 1

PS C:\Users\jonross\git\argus> .\nrfutil.exe device erase --serial-number 1051236715
❌ Failed to erase 1051236715, No plugins support device operation
Error: One or more erase tasks failed:
 * 1051236715: No plugins support device operation (NotFound)

PS C:\Users\jonross\git\argus>

Unfortunately the development kit doesn't show up in the programmer application:



Which is sort of odd because the device is found with the "Quick Start" application.



Another data point is that the onboard jlink doesn't show up when I list the devices using seggers utilities. There is no output from the command.

J-Link>ShowEmuList

However if I plug in a dedicated JLINK, the output shows my device

J-Link>ShowEmuList
J-Link[0]: Connection: USB, Serial number: 600103367, ProductName: J-Link PLUS
J-Link>

This leads me to believe there is a problem with the onboard JLINK. Odd that it shows up with nrfutil,exe but not with jlink.exe, though.

Let me know what you think I can do from here to recover the device.

Thank you,
Jon

[dejans]

Hi Jon,

It seems that drivers are installed but there might be some problem related to USB. Could you try to disconnect all other USB devices connected to the system? Do you still get the error?

Can you try "winget install uwesieber.usbtreeview", run usbtreeview, select File -> Save XML report and upload your xml file?

Best regards,
Dejan

[Jonathon Ross]

Hello Dejan,

Attached is the usbtreeview report. I've resorted to using my personal PC rather than my work laptop. I think it may be an installation permissions issue based on what I'm seeing in the DPINST.LOG and this error when I try to manually install drivers from the device tree.

Thanks,
Jon

INFO:   RETURN: DriverPackageInstallW  (0xE0000246)
INFO:   ENTER:  DriverPackageInstallW
INFO:   Installing INF file 'c:\program files\segger\jlink_v818\usbdriver\x64\jlinkcdc.inf' (Plug and Play).
INFO:   Looking for Model Section [_Models.ntamd64]...
INFO:   Installing devices with Id "USB\VID_1366&PID_1059&REV_0100&MI_00" using INF "C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\jlinkcdc.inf_amd64_0eb41b334f4618ba\jlinkcdc.inf".
INFO:   ENTER UpdateDriverForPlugAndPlayDevices...
ERROR:  RETURN UpdateDriverForPlugAndPlayDevices. (Error code 0xE0000246: One of the installers for this device cannot perform the installation at this time.)
ERROR:  Installation failed. (Error code 0xE0000246: One of the installers for this device cannot perform the installation at this time.)
ERROR:  PnP Install failed. (Error code 0xE0000246: One of the installers for this device cannot perform the installation at this time.)
INFO:   Attempting to rollback ...
INFO:   No devices to rollback
INFO:   RETURN: DriverPackageInstallW  (0xE0000246)
INFO:   ENTER:  DriverPackageInstallW
INFO:   Installing INF file 'c:\program files\segger\jlink_v818\usbdriver\x64\jlinkwinusb.inf' (Plug and Play).
INFO:   Looking for Model Section [Devices.NTamd64]...
INFO:   No matching devices found in INF "C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\jlinkwinusb.inf_amd64_49af5181f194cb13\jlinkwinusb.inf" on the Machine.
INFO:   No drivers installed. No devices found that match driver(s) contained in 'C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\jlinkwinusb.inf_amd64_49af5181f194cb13\jlinkwinusb.inf'.
INFO:   RETURN: DriverPackageInstallW  (0xE000020B)
INFO:   No matching device was found for 'c:\program files\segger\jlink_v818\usbdriver\x64\jlinkwinusb.inf'. Driver will be installed when plugged in.
INFO:   Returning with code 0x80020100
INFO:   06/17/2025 13:00:29

UsbTreeView_report_LUS-5CG41339JG.xml

[dejans]

Hi Jon,

If you have access to a different computer where J-Link is recognized, the easiest fix for this is probably to update the version of the J-Link onboard debugger and configure it to use the WinUSB driver. This can be done using the J-Link Configurator, which is installed when you install the J-Link tools. You can right-click on the debugger and click on "Update firmware" to ensure that the latest version of the onboard firmware is installed. Then, right-click on the probe again and click on "Configure". This will open a new window where the usb driver can be selected. Ensure that "WinUSB" is selected. With this configuration, it should not be necessary to install any drivers on Windows.

Best regards,
Dejan

[Jonathon Ross]

Hello Dejan,

Apologies for the run around. This appears to have been a permissions issue with my work laptop. Thanks very much for helping me dig into the issue. I think we can resolve this thread/ticket now.

Thank you,
Jon

[dejans]

Hi Jon,

Jonathon Ross said:

Apologies for the run around. This appears to have been a permissions issue with my work laptop. Thanks very much for helping me dig into the issue. I think we can resolve this thread/ticket now.

Thank you for the update. I will close this ticket.

Best regards,
Dejan