Can't flash nRF52840 dongle with nRF Connect Programmer

[sonus89]

Dear Nordic Team,

I can not flash my nRF52840 USB dongle with the nRF Connect Programmer application.

The window looks like this:

Erase / Read / Write functions on the right are greyed out.

As you can see the hex file contains a software which begins at 0x00026000 HEX 
Is it a problem? Suggested begin value is 0x00001000

How can I change the begin value?

I am trying to flash my USB dongle with nRF Connect programmer because SEGGER Embedded Studio neither worked for me.
I received an error message like:

1. I select Build & Run
2. I receive this message:

3. When I select YES ( or NO ):

So... How can I flash my USB dongle?

Thank you very much!

Matthew

[awneil]

The dongle doesn't have a J-Link on it - so you need a separate J-Link (possibly the one on a DK)

[sonus89]

I don't really understand. Sorry.
What do you mean by "separate J-Link" ?
What is a DK ?
Can you please give a more detailed description?
Thanks!

[Bjørn Kvaale]

A Segger J-Link is a component used to be able to flash nRF51/2 devices. The DKs (development kits) have an integrated Segger J-Link, while the dongle does not have this. Most likely, you have forgotten to upload the softdevice to the Programmer application. As soon as you upload the softdevice, in addition to the HRS application, you should be able to click on the Write button to program the 52840 dongle.

[awneil]

sonus89 said:

What do you mean by "separate J-Link"

One of these:

https://www.segger.com/products/debug-probes/j-link/

This is a standard tool for any form of microcontroller development - giving you access to program and debug your target.

As Bjørn Kvaale says, the Nordic DKs come with this functionality built in.

I would strongly suggest that you get a DK for learning & gaining familiarity with the product & the tools - See:

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/47187/sparkfun-nrf52832-breakout-board-programming-without-nrf52-dk-through-serial-beefy-3-bootloader-and-arduino-ide-for-2-4-ghz-radio-communication-to-nrf24l01/186590#186590

And:

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/47156/use-nrf52-for-smartwatch-spi/186567#186567

(Other brands of debug probe are available)

[sonus89]

Thank you very much for the information!
It was very useful! :-)
My dongle is brand new. 
Does it already contain a softdevice? ( MBR, Bootloader...etc. is the softdevice? )
If not: The only way to flash my dongle without a special hardware ( J-Link ) is with nrfutil or can I also use nRF Connect application for this purpose?
 I am able to compile source code for the dongle with armgcc and SEGGER emStudio but the upload is extremely difficult. The dongle programming tutorial is also obsolete ( none of the URLs work in it )

[Bjørn Kvaale]

sonus89 said:

Does it already contain a softdevice? ( MBR, Bootloader...etc. is the softdevice? )

 I believe the dongle comes pre-shipped with the MBR & bootloader. The MBR is never updated & it's main purpose is to facilitate safe bootloader updates. Not sure it comes shipped with anything else. The softdevice is our version of the Bluetooth stack & is separate from both the MBR & the bootloader.

sonus89 said:

If not: The only way to flash my dongle without a special hardware ( J-Link ) is with nrfutil or can I also use nRF Connect application for this purpose?

I would highly recommend flashing examples with the nRF Connect for Desktop Programmer application.

sonus89 said:

 I am able to compile source code for the dongle with armgcc and SEGGER emStudio but the upload is extremely difficult. The dongle programming tutorial is also obsolete ( none of the URLs work in it )

 The dongle programming tutorial might have some links that are not working, but it is still very useful. If you are using an example that requires the softdevice, remember to drag & drop the softdevice in addition to the application when programming via the Programmer app.

[sonus89]

Unfortunately the dongle programming tutorial does not contain any information about
1. where to find the softdevice hex
2. what is the softdevice ID of the nRF52840 dongle

I looked up the NRFSDK but no file or folder is named SoftDevice. :-(

The dongle programming tutorial however says:

"For BLE examples the SoftDevice and MBR is already present, so the only thing you need to do is to update the Preprocessor Definitions"

I can't use SEGGER Embedded Studio because I can simply not get a license and they don't answer my e-mail thus I use armgcc instead which examples already have preprocessor definitions in the makefiles.

There is a folder called hex here:
... \NRFSDK\examples\ble_peripheral\ble_app_blinky\hex\
That folder contains HEX files. Are these the "SoftDevice" files ?

Thanks!

[sonus89]

I forgot to mention one question:
The dongle programming tutorial says that the compiled
HEX files FLASH_START parameter should be 0x1000

How can I set this parameter if I use ARMGCC instead of SEGGER emStudio?

Thanks!

[awneil]

sonus89 said:

1. where to find the softdevice hex
2. what is the softdevice ID of the nRF52840 dongle

Neither of these is specific to the Dongle - they relate to the SoftDevice itself, irrespective of what board is used.

The SoftDevice hex files are under components\softdevice in the SDK folder tree

sonus89 said:

I can't use SEGGER Embedded Studio because I can simply not get a license

You don't actually need one - just click 'Continue' on the licence nag screen and it will all work!

You know that you are entitled to a licence, so there's no problem there - it's just Segger's administrative ineptitude!

sonus89 said:

There is a folder called hex here:
... \NRFSDK\examples\ble_peripheral\ble_app_blinky\hex\
That folder contains HEX files. Are these the "SoftDevice" files ?

No - they are the pre-built hex files just for the project.