nRF Connect fails to update nRF9160 DK Modem

[AmiguelS]

I'm trying to update the modem firmware on my nRF9160-DK through the Programmer app available in nRF Connect (v3.6.1), but the app is returning an error, saying it cannot connect to the target:

2020-12-20T23:34:45.879Z INFO Application data folder: /home/miguel/.config/nrfconnect/pc-nrfconnect-programmer
2020-12-20T23:34:45.923Z INFO Using nrfjprog library 10.12.1, pc-nrfjprog-js 1.7.6
2020-12-20T23:34:45.972Z DEBUG App pc-nrfconnect-programmer v1.4.8 official
2020-12-20T23:34:45.972Z DEBUG App path: /home/miguel/.nrfconnect-apps/node_modules/pc-nrfconnect-programmer
2020-12-20T23:34:45.972Z DEBUG nRFConnect 3.6.1 is supported by the app (^3.6.0)
2020-12-20T23:34:45.972Z DEBUG nRFConnect path: /tmp/.mount_nrfconQd5GZd/resources/app.asar
2020-12-20T23:34:45.972Z DEBUG HomeDir: /home/miguel
2020-12-20T23:34:45.972Z DEBUG TmpDir: /tmp
2020-12-20T23:34:46.900Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS1
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS10
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS11
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS12
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS13
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS14
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS15
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS16
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS17
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS18
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS19
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS2
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS20
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS21
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS22
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS23
2020-12-20T23:34:46.901Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS24
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS25
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS26
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS27
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS28
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS29
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS3
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS30
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS31
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS4
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS5
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS6
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS7
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS8
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS9
2020-12-20T23:34:46.902Z VERBOSE Could not fetch serial number for serial port at /dev/ttyS0
2020-12-20T23:34:50.052Z INFO Using nrfjprog to communicate with target
2020-12-20T23:34:50.055Z ERROR Could not fetch memory size of target devkit: Error: Error occured when get library info. Errorcode: CouldNotOpenDevice (0x4)
Lowlevel error: Unknown value (ffffff5e)

I'm trying to run the tool on Linux.

What could be the problem?

[Håkon Alseth]

Hi,

 

According to the error message, it has problems connecting and reading params from the nRF device.

If you use, for instance nrfjprog, from a terminal (this should read the content of address 0), does it work then?

nrfjprog --memrd 0 -f nrf91

 

nrfjprog can be downloaded from this link if you do not already have it:

https://www.nordicsemi.com/Software-and-tools/Development-Tools/nRF-Command-Line-Tools/Download

 

*edit* Have you ensured that the udev rules for jlink is properly loaded? Its normally provided in /etc/udev/rules.d/99-jlink.rules and needs a udev reload or a reboot to take effect.

 

Kind regards,

Håkon

[AmiguelS]

Hello,

Thank you for your reply.

Yes, nrfjprog is working. Here's the output of the command you pasted:

0x00000000: 20000C70                              |p.. |

Yes, udev rules have been loaded. I can even read output from the target through RTT.

Thanks.

[Håkon Alseth]

Hi,

 

Happy new year!

My apologies for the late response.

 

Q1: Which distro are you using? If debian based; did you install the jlink .deb package?

Q2: Are you able to read/write any other .hex file (not modem upgrade)?

 

If you are really stuck here, you can do a workaround by trying to use pynrfjprog to upgrade the modem. Here's an example:

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/53208/updating-nrf9160-modem-firmware-through-the-command-line

 

Kind regards,

Håkon