Exactly what steps do I follow?
Exactly what steps do I follow?
I think I may see part of the problem: the dongle contains no dedicated USB chip. So, unless the "Hello World" sketch that I upload to the dongle contains some USB initialization code in it, the dongle basically loses all USB connectivity at that point. Correct? At least that might explain why nRF Connect can no longer find the dongle after I uploaded my Hello World sketch to it.
If that is true, what is some very simple USB initialization code that I can include with my "Hello World" sketch so that this doesn't happen in the future?
The dongle contains a bootloader, which is what makes it possible to update the FW via the nRF Connect Programmer app. Before we try any more drastic measures, could you try unplugging the dongle, plugging it back in & then pressing the reset button? The dongle LED should then blink red, indicating that the dongle is in bootloader mode.
Great! Can you try uploading the softdevice & the application (e.g. ble_app_blinky) using the nrf connect for desktop programmer app. The dongle needs to blink red for nrf connect to connect to the dongle. You could also try running the ble app & upload the firmware when it asks you to. This will enable you to use the dongle as a bluetooth device sniffer.
Uh, where is the ble_app_blinky? I tried going to the dongle page to find it, but right now I instead get "The requested URL /topic/com.nordic.infocenter.nrf52/dita/nrf52/development/nrf52840_dongle/getting_started.html was not found on this server."
So, instead of that, I tried writing to it a hex file I wrote that works on the nrf52840-dk, which acts as a simple radio beacon (using Nordic's proprietary mode for the radio). Well, that almost worked, but in the end it apparently failed. Here is the log:
06:45:38.576 Application data folder: C:\Users\CoolerMaster\AppData\Roaming\nrfconnect\pc-nrfconnect-programmer
06:45:38.866 Using nrfjprog library 9.7.1, pc-nrfjprog-js 1.2.0
06:45:46.298 Using USB SDFU protocol to communicate with target
06:45:46.353 Protocol Version: 1 found
06:45:46.368 Hardware: 52840 found
06:45:46.381 Firmware: Bootloader found
06:45:46.382 Firmware: SoftDevice found
06:45:46.382 Firmware: Application found
06:46:47.965 Parsing .hex file: C:\Users\CoolerMaster\Downloads\experiment_v001.NRF52840_DK (39).hex
06:46:47.975 File was last modified at 9/12/2018, 8:14:47 PM
06:46:48.566 Data block: 0x00000000-0x00000964 (0x00000964 bytes long)
06:46:48.566 Data block: 0x00001000-0x000206F0 (0x0001F6F0 bytes long)
06:47:41.063 Hash is generated by SHA256
06:47:41.064 Hash is generated by SHA256
06:47:41.078 Performing DFU. This may take a few seconds
06:47:41.129 DFU procedure starts. This may take a few seconds.
06:47:48.664 DFU for SoftDevice completed successfully!
06:47:48.664 1 dfu package(s) left.
06:47:48.664 Waiting for device
06:47:48.685 DFU procedure starts. This may take a few seconds.
06:47:52.036 DFU for Application completed successfully!
06:47:52.036 0 dfu package(s) left.
06:47:52.036 Waiting for device
06:47:57.037 Reopen device failed: Timeout while waiting for device C4A688852ED9 to be attached and enumerated
06:47:57.038 Nordic DFU Trigger Interface was not found.Please physically reset device.
06:47:57.041 Device not found due to failure during DFU
06:47:57.125 Target device closed.
And the radio beacon isn't sending either.
i.e. Close, but no cigar. What to do now?
You will need to download the nordic sdk found here. You can download the latest one. Then, go to examples/ble_peripheral/ble_app_blinky. Take a look at the documentation here for more info.
Thanks. I just now tried that, and it fails in the same way. Here's the log:
07:40:44.723 Application data folder: C:\Users\CoolerMaster\AppData\Roaming\nrfconnect\pc-nrfconnect-programmer 07:40:45.042 Using nrfjprog library 9.7.1, pc-nrfjprog-js 1.2.0 07:40:54.050 Using USB SDFU protocol to communicate with target 07:40:54.106 Protocol Version: 1 found 07:40:54.120 Hardware: 52840 found 07:40:54.136 Firmware: Bootloader found 07:40:54.137 Firmware: SoftDevice found 07:40:54.137 Firmware: Application found 07:41:05.972 Parsing .hex file: C:\Users\CoolerMaster\Downloads\nRF5_SDK_15.2.0_9412b96 (1)\nRF5_SDK_15.2.0_9412b96\examples\ble_peripheral\ble_app_blinky\hex\ble_app_blinky_pca10059_s140.hex 07:41:05.981 File was last modified at 9/7/2018, 11:43:56 PM 07:41:06.638 Data block: 0x00000000-0x00000A18 (0x00000A18 bytes long) 07:41:06.639 Data block: 0x00001000-0x00025E7C (0x00024E7C bytes long) 07:41:15.629 Hash is generated by SHA256 07:41:15.630 Hash is generated by SHA256 07:41:15.642 Performing DFU. This may take a few seconds 07:41:15.696 DFU procedure starts. This may take a few seconds. 07:41:24.093 DFU for SoftDevice completed successfully! 07:41:24.093 1 dfu package(s) left. 07:41:24.093 Waiting for device 07:41:24.112 DFU procedure starts. This may take a few seconds. 07:41:27.270 DFU for Application completed successfully! 07:41:27.270 0 dfu package(s) left. 07:41:27.270 Waiting for device 07:41:32.272 Reopen device failed: Timeout while waiting for device C4A688852ED9 to be attached and enumerated 07:41:32.272 Nordic DFU Trigger Interface was not found.Please physically reset device. 07:41:32.278 Device not found due to failure during DFU 07:41:32.363 Target device closed.
Also, it's not blinking either. :(
However, there is a green LED on the dongle, and it is fully lit and staying that way. Does that mean something? So, on a positive note, at least something has changed compared to how it was before.
What to do now?
OK, I just now tried downloading my nRF52840 hex file to a brand new, fresh out of the wrapper dongle, and I get the same result:
07:59:29.873 Application data folder: C:\Users\CoolerMaster\AppData\Roaming\nrfconnect\pc-nrfconnect-programmer 07:59:30.170 Using nrfjprog library 9.7.1, pc-nrfjprog-js 1.2.0 07:59:39.705 Parsing .hex file: C:\Users\CoolerMaster\Downloads\experiment_v001.NRF52840_DK (39).hex 07:59:39.714 File was last modified at 9/12/2018, 8:14:47 PM 07:59:40.315 Data block: 0x00000000-0x00000964 (0x00000964 bytes long) 07:59:40.316 Data block: 0x00001000-0x000206F0 (0x0001F6F0 bytes long) 07:59:40.316 Data block: 0x00021000-0x00027D4C (0x00006D4C bytes long) 07:59:40.334 SoftDevice detected, id 0x8F (S132 v5.0.0) 07:59:52.557 Using USB SDFU protocol to communicate with target 07:59:52.613 Protocol Version: 1 found 07:59:52.628 Hardware: 52840 found 07:59:52.638 Firmware: Bootloader found 07:59:52.668 SoftDevice detected, id 0x8F (S132 v5.0.0) 08:00:03.582 SdReq for SoftDevice is set as 0x00. 08:00:03.586 Hash is generated by SHA256 08:00:03.587 Hash is generated by SHA256 08:00:03.601 Performing DFU. This may take a few seconds 08:00:03.654 DFU procedure starts. This may take a few seconds. 08:00:11.186 DFU for SoftDevice completed successfully! 08:00:11.187 1 dfu package(s) left. 08:00:11.187 Waiting for device 08:00:11.203 DFU procedure starts. This may take a few seconds. 08:00:14.556 DFU for Application completed successfully! 08:00:14.556 0 dfu package(s) left. 08:00:14.556 Waiting for device 08:00:19.559 Reopen device failed: Timeout while waiting for device C33AAD4959C9 to be attached and enumerated 08:00:19.559 Nordic DFU Trigger Interface was not found.Please physically reset device. 08:00:19.565 Device not found due to failure during DFU 08:00:19.650 Target device closed.
So, clearly, this is not a case of a defective dongle. Rather, it looks to me like Nordic's experimental USB programmer app is fatally flawed.
Can you confirm?
OK, I just now tried downloading my nRF52840 hex file to a brand new, fresh out of the wrapper dongle, and I get the same result:
07:59:29.873 Application data folder: C:\Users\CoolerMaster\AppData\Roaming\nrfconnect\pc-nrfconnect-programmer 07:59:30.170 Using nrfjprog library 9.7.1, pc-nrfjprog-js 1.2.0 07:59:39.705 Parsing .hex file: C:\Users\CoolerMaster\Downloads\experiment_v001.NRF52840_DK (39).hex 07:59:39.714 File was last modified at 9/12/2018, 8:14:47 PM 07:59:40.315 Data block: 0x00000000-0x00000964 (0x00000964 bytes long) 07:59:40.316 Data block: 0x00001000-0x000206F0 (0x0001F6F0 bytes long) 07:59:40.316 Data block: 0x00021000-0x00027D4C (0x00006D4C bytes long) 07:59:40.334 SoftDevice detected, id 0x8F (S132 v5.0.0) 07:59:52.557 Using USB SDFU protocol to communicate with target 07:59:52.613 Protocol Version: 1 found 07:59:52.628 Hardware: 52840 found 07:59:52.638 Firmware: Bootloader found 07:59:52.668 SoftDevice detected, id 0x8F (S132 v5.0.0) 08:00:03.582 SdReq for SoftDevice is set as 0x00. 08:00:03.586 Hash is generated by SHA256 08:00:03.587 Hash is generated by SHA256 08:00:03.601 Performing DFU. This may take a few seconds 08:00:03.654 DFU procedure starts. This may take a few seconds. 08:00:11.186 DFU for SoftDevice completed successfully! 08:00:11.187 1 dfu package(s) left. 08:00:11.187 Waiting for device 08:00:11.203 DFU procedure starts. This may take a few seconds. 08:00:14.556 DFU for Application completed successfully! 08:00:14.556 0 dfu package(s) left. 08:00:14.556 Waiting for device 08:00:19.559 Reopen device failed: Timeout while waiting for device C33AAD4959C9 to be attached and enumerated 08:00:19.559 Nordic DFU Trigger Interface was not found.Please physically reset device. 08:00:19.565 Device not found due to failure during DFU 08:00:19.650 Target device closed.
So, clearly, this is not a case of a defective dongle. Rather, it looks to me like Nordic's experimental USB programmer app is fatally flawed.
Can you confirm?
No, that is not the case. The dongle is not defective & the programmer works exactly like it should most likely. Just check out my other comment. 
You're right. It works! Thank you for your help.