thingy:91 can't program

[eyss5]

Hi, I just got my Thingy:91 and I'm trying to run through the getting started guide. On the nRF Connector v3.6.0 app, it doesn't change from "no devices available" to "select device". I hold down SW3 while powering on. When I don't hold SW3, the LEDs turn on and when I do hold SW3, the LEDs don't turn on, so it seems SW3 does make a difference. A window also pops up showing the contents of the USB drive, and I'm able to open and read the files, so it seems the USB connection is working (Config, README, etc.). The SIM card is in. 

Any ideas? Thanks.

[eyss5]

Hi, I switched to a diff Win10 computer and it seems to work. I am now able to update the application firmware and modem firmware. I see 2 COM ports, not 3. Reading through other posts and the guide, this seems to be correct? I'm using Thingy:91 over USB, not the debug header.

However, after updating these 2 items, the LEDs no longer turn on and it no longer connects to nRFcloud. This worked before the updates. I had a blue LED and I saw data on the dashboard. Any thoughts? Do I need to update the nrf52840?

app firmware: nrf9160dk_asset_tracker_item_2020-10-30_5522ca2b.hex

modem firmware: mfwnrf9160122.zip

Both complete successfully, but I need to reboot my thingy91 after the app fw update, otherwise the modem fw update will give me the error "MCUboot DFU failed.. Please make sure .. mode try again". Rebooting the Thingy91 gets me through, for some reason.

[Martin Lesund]

Hi,
You need to use the .hex files that are in the "images_dfu_hex" folder when updating via serial DFU as you are doing.
That is why there are no LEDs.

see CONTENTS.txt for more info:

Package contents:
images_full/          Full firmware images, updated over debug probe / development kit
images_dfu_hex/       Application images, updated over USB, HEX format
images_dfu_bin/       Application images, updated over USB, binary format

br,
martin L.

[eyss5]

Thanks Martin. I got it to work. I was programming nRF9160-DK images, not Thingy91 images. 

[eyss5]

Hi Martin, I'm able to build the asset_tracker code in SES and program it using the programmer in nRF Connect.

Next, I want to modify the asset_tracker source code to build a demo. Is there a guide somewhere or even a forum page that you'd recommend reading to learn about the asset_tracker source code? I see there are tons of questions asked, it'd be easiest if there was a guide somewhere, if possible!

[Martin Lesund]

Hi,
I would recommend checking out the Asset Tracker application documentation and our NCS tutorial series on how to configure and develop your projects:
https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/nordic/nrf-connect-sdk-guides/b/getting-started/posts/nrf-connect-sdk-tutorial---part-1-ncs-v1-4-0

Another recommendation would be to look into our other nRF9160 samples and use those as a starting point for your project since the "Asset Tracker" is a big application and can therefore be more challenging to work with.
At least that is my opinion when I develop code, I like the process of adding features instead of stripping down an already feature-rich project.

In any regard, the NCS tutorial series should be very helpful to get an overview and how you can get started.

Best regards,
Martin L.

[eyss5]

Great, I'll check out the samples. It's unfortunate that most of them don't support Thingy91. I clicked through a few and only A-GPS showed support for both Thingy and the DK. I suppose the DK makes more sense for development purposes, but I'm developing a demo.. is it complex to modify the samples to support the Thingy?

And, quickly scanning through Part 1 of the SDK tutorial, it seems it's also set up for DK and not Thingy. Thanks.

[Martin Lesund]

Hi,
Out of the box it is not listed as supported, however, it should be quite easy to port most of the samples over to thingy.

Just add the line in samples.yml file: https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-nrf/blob/master/samples/nrf9160/udp/sample.yaml#L7

And build for the sample for thingy:91 so it will use the board file.

if you have any issues just use one of our samples in NCS as reference that supports thingy and use that to port the functionality.