How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

Bjørn Kvaale — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 14:35:57 GMT

Hi Giova, you can upload your own custom firmware over the air, once you have generated a new public & private key & installed your own bootloader (see link). If you know the Nordic private key, it should work to upload custom FW to a device flashed with bootloader & app signed using the Nordic private key. But since you do not know the Nordic private key, this is most likely the reason you are getting this error. You will unfortunately need a DK or an external Segger J-Link to be able to erase & program the Thingy:52 device the first time with your own bootloader.

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

giova — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 14:15:31 GMT

Hi, is it possible to upload your own custom firmware using OTA only(no DK) to a device which is flashed with a bootloader and app signed using the Nordic private key?

I tried but I always get error INVALID_OBJECT ...

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

Bjørn Kvaale — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 06:58:27 GMT

Edit: Tip for OTA-DFU of the Nordic Thingy FW (NOT CUSTOM FW!): You can also use the Android or iOS Thingy apps for OTA-DFU of Nordic Thingy FW. Using iTunes and an iPhone 5s worked fine for me, but when I used an HTC Android phone, I got a weird error. This should hopefully not be a problem for different Android phones.

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

Bjørn Kvaale — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 09:49:16 GMT

Edit: I think that should be fine to make a zip file from the hex file. You have two options regarding doing an OTA-DFU, but only one option if you want to upload custom FW to the Thingy. Since you have an nrf52840, you can attach a JTAG cable to the P19 debug out port on the top left of the PDK. Then, attach the other end of the JTAG cable to the Thingy JTAG connector located under the cover to the right of the usb connector. Essentially just follow this guide here. That is the method I normally use for OTA-DFU & Secure DFU of the Thingy.

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

ToasTer86 — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 15:36:17 GMT

Hey Bjorn, thanks again. That is just the nrf52832_xxaa_s132.hex file generated by Keil?

EDIT: I used nrfutil to create a *.zip file from the *.hex file from the secure_boot project. Using nRFconnect on my phone I can see the thingy in DFU mode. I tried uploading the *.BIN , *.DAT , *.ZIP file using the dfu button at the top. It starts connecting and than it just disconnects.

When using nRF connect on my desktop through a DK52 PDK I get the error below:

DFU failed with error: When writing 'EXECUTE' command to Control Point Characteristic of DFU Target: Operation code 4 (EXECUTE) failed on DFU Target. Result code 11 (EXTENDED_ERROR) Extended error code 5 (FW_VERSION_FAILURE).
Discovered devices

Start scanClear
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RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

Bjørn Kvaale — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 15:30:34 GMT

Edit: This was wrong unfortunately. You need to use Secure DFU to upload custom FW to the Thingy.

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

ToasTer86 — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 15:16:44 GMT

Hey Gova & Bjorn, I got my device in DFU by following Daniel Wang advice, but now it does not have the new key compiled into it right ?

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

Gova — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 03:14:59 GMT

Thanks a ton ! Let me give a try on that and come back.

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

Bjørn Kvaale — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 06:18:16 GMT

@Daniel Wang I do not think this will work, as Secure DFU is needed to be able to upload custom FW to the Nordic Thingy:52. It is possible to use OTA-DFU with the Nordic Thingy FW (e.g. using the iOS or Android Thingy app) or via an nrf51/52 DK & SWD cable between P19 & the Thingy SWD connector to the right of the USB port on the Thingy:52. An open bootloader option is being considered in the future for custom FW, but currently you have to use secure DFU for this. See my updated answer above for a great blog post to read.

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

Daniel Wang — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 17:39:17 GMT

I think there is already a bootloader on the Thingy by default. you dont need to flash your own bootloader. Hold the thingy button down, while powering up, and it will go int DFU mode. And you can upload your own firmware(.ZIP) OTA-DFU using Thingy app or nRF-connect app.

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

Gova — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 17:30:18 GMT

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes with the attached images, I think i need a nRF DK to program the bootloader.

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

Bjørn Kvaale — Tue, 12 Sep 2017 05:57:35 GMT

Unfortunately, you need a nrf51 og nrf52 DK to be able to flash a bootloader to your Thingy via the nrfGoStudio program. In nrfGoStudio, you can flash the bootloader by clicking on the "Program Bootloader" tab.

It might be possible to flash the bootloader via the nrf connect app for android and/or iOS by transferring the bootloader to your mobile phone, but I am unsure if this works. Try this first by looking at the documentation title "Upgrading with nrfConnect for Mobile". If that doesn't work, you'll unfortunately need an nrf51 or 52 DK to flash the bootloader over to the Thingy. Hope that helps!

Update: You can easily do an OTA-DFU by using the Nordic Thingy app if you are trying to update the Nordic Thingy FW for example. Sorry that I didn't think about this earlier. Connect to the Thingy, press on Device Firmware Update & go over to the Custom tab. There, you can press the "How to..." button & it will show you how to add files using itunes (if you are using iOS) or from an e-mail for example.

Update 2: If you are using custom firmware, you need to do secure DFU. You can take a look at this fantastic blog post to help you get started!

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

Gova — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 12:56:19 GMT

No I don't have one. I have only a thingy board.

RE: How to flash bootloader to thingy 52?

Bjørn Kvaale — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 12:34:39 GMT

Do you have an nrf52 development kit?