PCA10059 programming problems.

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

Einar Thorsrud — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 08:48:18 GMT

I assume you have S140 version 6.1.0? There is a limitation in the nRF Connect Programmer app that you have to select SoftDevice version from a drop-down. So if the programmer app is not updated for the current SoftDevice it will not allow you to program the app alone. I have created an internal feature request suggesting that it be possible to select to skip the SoftDevice ID check (by setting ID 0x00). In the meantime the workaround is to simultaneously install the application and SoftDevice (by adding the SoftDevice .hex file in addition to the application .hex file before clicking "Write".

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

gio — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 16:09:45 GMT

Ok, thanks for answers.

2) Please see pictures below. I'm using the project ble_app_blinky_pca10059_s140 included in SDK 15.2.0. As can be seen from the pictures, the compiled hex does not contain neither bootloader, neither softdevice, only application. Start addresses seems to correctly overlap with the app on the dongle, not over memory blocks. Clicking "Write" on nrfconnect app, asks for softdevice and then selecting s140, it fails.

https://ibb.co/c27vv0
https://ibb.co/hXH62f
https://ibb.co/gZiDhf
https://ibb.co/i8rNa0

3) My aim is to have a unique environment where to develop and flash the device in a very simple way, by clicking once a menu option, withouth having to rely on external nrfconnect apps or extra steps. In a class of 50 students it would be feasible to let them experiment writing simple firmware with 50 USB dongles.On the contrary it would not be feasible to buy a DK, a tag connect cable and a dongle for each.

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

Einar Thorsrud — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 12:40:35 GMT

Hi,

[quote user="giowild"]1) It is NOT possible to flash via USB using the ses 'build and run feature' menu[/quote]

Yes. It is not and will never be possible to program the nRF52840 dongle directly from SES. (The exception is if you hook up an external debugger and connect that to the nRF52840 dongle.)

[quote user="giowild"]2) It is NOT possible via USB using nrf connect programming app due to error "DFU failed: Error message for known extended error code from DFU target: The array of supported SoftDevices for the update does not contain the FWID of the current SoftDevice."[/quote]

No. The nRF Connect Programmer app is now capable of programming the nRF52840 Dongle. However, you need to program it with an application that is suitable (projects for pca10059). To be suitable the application must be built with flash and RAM start addresses and size white make room for the MBR and Bootloader (please see project settings for one of the pca10059 projects in the SDK). You may also have to press the button while inserting the dongle to make it enter DFU mode. It will not be recognised by the Programmer app otherwise.

[quote user="giowild"]3) It is possible via usb using the nrfutil. In this case, is it possible to add ses post-build configuration to automatically execute nrfutil? If so, can someone provide steps, command line or videos on how to do it?[/quote]

It might be possible, but I have not attempted to do so. You would not be able to debug in any case, so I do not see a significant benefit of programming from SES. The lack of a debugger makes the Dongle a bad development platform in any case, so it would be better to use a DK.

[quote user="giowild"]4) It is possible to flash via "nrf52 DK and tag connect cable" using ses 'build and run feature' menu[/quote]

Yes, you can program (and debug) an application on the nRF52840 dongle using the DK as an external debugger.

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

gio — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 10:43:31 GMT

Hi, can you confirm that, as of today, this is still valid for nrf52 usb dongle on windows:
1) It is NOT possible to flash via USB using the ses 'build and run feature' menu
2) It is NOT possible via USB using nrf connect programming app due to error "DFU failed: Error message for known extended error code from DFU target: The array of supported SoftDevices for the update does not contain the FWID of the current SoftDevice."
3) It is possible via usb using the nrfutil. In this case, is it possible to add ses post-build configuration to automatically execute nrfutil? If so, can someone provide steps, command line or videos on how to do it?
4) It is possible to flash via "nrf52 DK and tag connect cable" using ses 'build and run feature' menu

Thanks

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

Einar Thorsrud — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 06:45:23 GMT

Hi,

I did not spot the extended advertising question. The short answer is that we do not have any example for it on PCA10059 (nRF52840 dongle), but the Running Speed and Cadence Service Application example demonstrate extended advertising and has a project for the nRF52840 DK. Not that extended advertising is quite limited in S140 version 6.0.0 which is part of SDK 15.0.0, but it has improved in S140 version 6.1.0 S140 version 6.1.0 which will be part of the next SDK release.

Can you please make a new thread for extended advertising question if you need any follow-up on it? Keeping separate topics to separate threads make them easier to follow and increases the likelihood of them being useful for others.

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

egross — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 19:37:20 GMT

Einar, from my post 4 days ago, do you have any suggestions to get extended advertising running on a PCA10059? I found some example code on the web for an earlier version of the SDK and softdevice, but I can't a modifed blinky or rscs to run on the PCA10056.

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

Einar Thorsrud — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 07:00:48 GMT

Yes, all precompiled example hex files that need the SoftDevice include it within the hex file. This is usually a good thing, but you cannot use it to generate the DFU zip. You should build the example instead and use the resulting hex file which only contain the application.

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

Esteban — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 20:27:06 GMT

This was very helpful! Thank you

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

Esteban — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 20:11:13 GMT

Hey, thank you for your answer. I can confirm the app loads with this command but the blinky project does not work for some reason. Does ble_app_blinky_pca10059_s140.hex come with the soft device already or do you have to merge this hex file with the provided SD found in the SDK before flashing to the dongle?

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

egross — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 19:31:33 GMT

Thanks Einar, that makes sense. My next task is to modify our application to run with extended advertising. I found that the ble_app_rscs does not have a version for the PCA10059, and a quick check confirmed it does not run (i.e modified defines for PCA10059). Do you know if this app can be easily made to run on the PCA10059? Or is there some other app that will utilize extended advertising on the PCA10059?

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

Einar Thorsrud — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 13:58:35 GMT

The precompiled hex is merged with the SoftDevice, so you cannot use it directly. You could modify the .hex file to strip away the SoftDevice before you make the DFU .zip file, but it is much easier to just build the example yourself like you have done.

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

egross — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 12:24:18 GMT

Thanks, --sd-req 0x00 made it work. Note that some of your documentation says that 0xffee is the "any" softdevice version key, but this doesn't work.

Also, the pre-built BLE Blinky hex file did not work on the pca10059. I had to build the app. Here's what I did to install the softdevice and my compiled app from the hex directory in ble_app_blinky. I used 0xa9 for --sd-id, it didn't seem to like 0x00:

nrfutil pkg generate --debug-mode --softdevice ../../../../components/softdevice/s140/hex/s140_nrf52_6.0.0_softdevice.hex --application ../pca10059/s140/ses/Output/Release/Exe/ble_app_blinky_pca10059_s140.hex app_and_sd_package.zip --hw-version 52 --sd-req 0x00 --sd-id 0xa9

nrfutil -vvv dfu usb_serial -pkg app_and_sd_package.zip -p COM17

I can confirm that nRF Connect does appear to show the valid firmware layout on the device, even though you can't program the device with nRF Connect.

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

Einar Thorsrud — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 07:55:01 GMT

It should work if you skip the SoftDevice ID check by using --sd-req 0x00 (0x00 meaning any SoftDevice version). For instance, the command to generate the zip package for the application from the initial question should be changed to:

nrfutil pkg generate --debug-mode --application ble_app_blinky_pca10059_s140.hex blinky_package.zip --hw-version 52 --sd-req 0x00

Then a normal serial DFU upgrade should work out of the box with the following command (same as in the question):

nrfutil -vvvv dfu usb_serial -pkg blinky_package.zip -p COM54

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

robple11 — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 02:43:37 GMT

Getting exact same problem as you are below: " Extended Error 0x07: The array of supported SoftDevices for the update does not contain the FWID of the current SoftDevice." when trying to program the nRF52840-Dongle using nrfutil.exe, tried all combinations and nothing seems to work. The weird part is using the nRFConnect App v2.4.0 to launch the Bluetooth Low Energy app, it was able to program the example onto the dongle. Then when I launch the Programmer app it shows the softdevice with App is present in memory. So obviously the nRFConnect Bluetooth Low Energy app can load to the dongle but we cant using the Programmer App!

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

egross — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 20:36:50 GMT

OK, made some progress, but still having a problem farther downstream.

I generated a package via:

nrfutil pkg generate --debug-mode --application ble_app_blinky_pca10059_s140.hex blinky_package.zip --hw-version 52 --sd-req 0xA9

I've running it with the prepackaged blinky hex with and without the S140 softdevice. I try to program the device with:

nrfutil -vvvv dfu usb_serial -pkg blinky_package.zip -p COM18

produces the following traceback:

File "c:\users\egross\documents\projs\rackareanetwork\nordic\nrf5_sdk_15.0.0_a53641a\examples\ble_peripheral\ble_app_blinky\hex\p2\lib\site-packages\nordicsemi\dfu\dfu_transport_serial.py", line 463, in __get_response
raise NordicSemiException('Extended Error 0x{:02X}: {}'.format(resp[3], data))
pc_ble_driver_py.exceptions.NordicSemiException: Extended Error 0x07: The array of supported SoftDevices for the update does not contain the FWID of the current SoftDevice.

I tried a couple of different id's, all with the same result. Turning on verbose produces this before the exception:

2018-07-31 12:38:30,382 Using board at serial port: COM18
2018-07-31 12:38:30,390 Sending SoftDevice image...
2018-07-31 12:38:33,392 Serial: Set Packet Receipt Notification 0
2018-07-31 12:38:33,392 SLIP: --> [2, 0, 0]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,392 SLIP: <-- [96, 2, 1]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,394 SLIP: --> [7]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,394 SLIP: <-- [96, 7, 1, 3, 8]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,394 Sending init packet...
2018-07-31 12:38:33,394 Serial: Selecting Object: type:1
2018-07-31 12:38:33,394 SLIP: --> [6, 1]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,394 SLIP: <-- [96, 6, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 68, 0, 0, 0, 100, 172, 200, 186]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,394 Serial: Object selected: max_size:256 offset:68 crc:3133713508
2018-07-31 12:38:33,394 SLIP: --> [1, 1, 70, 0, 0, 0]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,395 SLIP: <-- [96, 1, 1]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,395 Serial: Streaming Data: len:70 offset:0 crc:0x00000000
2018-07-31 12:38:33,395 SLIP: --> [8, 10, 68, 8, 1, 18, 64, 8, 255, 255, 255, 255, 15, 16, 52, 26, 4, 169, 1, 172, 1, 32, 1, 40, 200, 135, 9, 48, 0, 56, 0, 66, 36, 8, 3, 18, 32, 28, 16, 188, 234, 95, 167, 109, 20, 224, 222, 187, 150, 49, 101, 85, 191, 115, 225, 7, 223, 17, 209, 9, 123, 162, 51, 103, 115, 251, 45, 241, 197, 72, 1]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,395 SLIP: --> [3]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,397 SLIP: <-- [96, 3, 1, 70, 0, 0, 0, 59, 175, 95, 99]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,397 SLIP: --> [4]
2018-07-31 12:38:33,398 SLIP: <-- [96, 4, 11, 7]

Any suggestions are appreciated, hopefully a simple user error.

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

egross — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 14:14:20 GMT

Thanks, yes, I did try python2, but I retried, apparently the python2 virtualenv had a link or cache to the python3 pip installed version, so I wasn't really switching to the python2 pip installed version. Not sure why that way, but all is happy now.

RE: PCA10059 programming problems.

Einar Thorsrud — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 13:49:32 GMT

I am sorry, I did not read the full post. I have not seen this exact issue before, but it seems to be a python issue. The error message you get (AttributeError: 'dict' object has no attribute 'iteritems') is because it seems you are using Python 3, but nrfutil only work with Python 2. Can you try to install Python 2 (if you do not have i already) and then install nrfutil with "pip install nrfutil"?

RE: PCA10056 programming problems.

egross — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 12:27:15 GMT

But as you can see from my first post, nrfutil is not working on either Windows or Mac OS. Any idea what is causing the nrfutil attribute error?

The documentation for nrfutil implies you can run the command with less parameters, but I could only get it to run with the command shown in my post.

And please note, the title of the original post was wrong - the devices I'm having problems with are the PCA10059 (USB dongle), not the PCA10056. I will try the 10056 tomorrow.

RE: PCA10056 programming problems.

Einar Thorsrud — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 12:10:43 GMT

Hi,

This is correct. The nRF Programmer app for nRF Connect for Desktop does not currently support programming the SoftDevice to the dongle, but this will most likely be supported in the next release. The only option at this point is to use nrfutil, which is part of nRF5x-Command-Line-Tools.

RE: PCA10056 programming problems.

Mahesh Venkitachalam — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 07:43:51 GMT

I am seeing a similar issue.

Please see:

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/36381/nrf52840-dongle-write-problem

Not sure if it's the official response, but one user says:

"for the time being loading projects to the dongle using a softdevice is not supported by the nRF Connect for Desktop app. "

UPDATE 1:

You can program the dongle via SWD if you have a DK. Just power it from the DK so VTG is detected correctly.