Secure Bootloader does not start application

RE: Secure Bootloader does not start application

Lex — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 07:34:02 GMT

Well, then thank you very much for your help and patience! I am glad that everything seems ok now.

RE: Secure Bootloader does not start application

Edvin — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 10:13:59 GMT

[quote user="Lex89"] I also find it weird that the application region takes up the SoftDevice region.[/quote]

It does not, it is just nRF Connect -> programmer that struggles to distinguish the application from the softdevice. You can check out the flash content from your hex files, and see that the softdevice region is equal between the two.

The number of black lines near the top is also just nRF Connect that is trying to make sense of something it is not able to. There is nothing wrong in the flash of the nRF. The coloring and naming of the different regions in the flash is just a "nice to have" feature in nRF Connect for Desktop that is not working optimal.

As you see in the black lines on the top, there are some parts that have changed from 0xFF to 0x00, which is confusing nRF Connect, but this is just the way that the bootloader updates these settings. There is nothing wrong (as I can tell) in the flash here. It will not be filled/used up or anything. The bootloader will manage this for you.

So as long as the bootloader and application is working, I wouldn't be concerned about any of this.

BR,

Edvin

RE: Secure Bootloader does not start application

Lex — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 08:15:34 GMT

Hi,

Here is a flash dump right after programming the Production.hex onto the device:

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../Production_5F00_flash_5F00_dump.hex

Here is a flash dump after performing a DFU update (the application hex is the same in both cases):

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../After_5F00_DFU_5F00_flash_5F00_dump.hex

Please note that the black lines are not the only thing that looks weird. I also find it weird that the application region takes up the SoftDevice region.

RE: Secure Bootloader does not start application

Edvin — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 13:27:08 GMT

Hello,

Can you please provide a flash dump of the nRF when there are 3 or 4 black lines? I suspect that this is just the way that nRF Connect for Desktop -> Programmer interprets the flash, and it doesn't reflect the number of actual flash pages used by the nRF.

Also attach a flash dump from when there are only two black lines.

To capture a flash dump, you can use the command "nrfjprog --readcode my_flash_dump.hex".

Best regards,

Edvin

RE: Secure Bootloader does not start application

Lex — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 10:36:04 GMT

Hi Edvin,

Indeed, uninstalling version 10.12.1 of the nRF Command line tools and then installing 10.11.1 has partially solved the problem: nRF Connect -> Programmer does not complain anymore, and as soon as I program the merged hex file onto my device, the application starts running. Very nice!

But one problem still remains, which is that the way flash memory looks still resembles a horror movie. If you look at the picture below, on the right side you can see how the merged hex file (Production.hex) looks, according to the Programmer. The yellow, blue and green regions are correctly recognized as MBR, SoftDevice and Application. The red region is also correctly recognized as Bootloader region. However, there are three black lines instead of two: The first (from bottom) black section and the last are not recognized as any region. The middle one is an MBR Parameters region.

On the left side, you can see that the SoftDevice region is not recognized anymore, but instead, Application region is written there. The green section above it is also an Application region. It is followed by a red Bootloader region, a black MBR Parameters region and, an unrecognized region.

When on top of this I do a UART DFU process, then the memory looks like this:

Yellow: MBR Parameters;

Three green regions, each of them Application regions;

Red: Bootloader region;

1st black: MBR Parameters;

2nd, 3rd and 4th black: not recognized.

RE: Secure Bootloader does not start application

Edvin — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 08:18:59 GMT

Hello,

It looks like you are correct. There is an issue with mergehex (probably introduced in version 10.12.x, where it sometimes generates invalid merged files. Until fixed, can you please try to remove nrfjprog and mergehex, and use version 10.11.1 instead?

mergehex is part of nRF Command line tools, and you can find and download the different versions here.

Best regards,

Edvin

RE: Secure Bootloader does not start application

Lex — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 07:11:03 GMT

Yes, the right hand window is empty in the beginning. Here is how it looks in full window:

Notice the red text at the bottom of the window.

Below is a full window image about how it looks when I choose the files separately:

Even though this setup does not trigger an error message, I do not believe this is how it should look. There are three black sections on the image although there should only be two: one for the MBR parameters page and one for the bootloader settings page. I don't know where the extra section comes from...

RE: Secure Bootloader does not start application

Edvin — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 10:51:23 GMT

[quote user="Lex89"]but if you look at the second sentence in my post, it says: [/quote]

Yes. Sorry. I missed that part when I started looking for possible issues.

[quote user="Lex89"]Anyway, I have just found another clue! I get the following message in the desktop nRF Connect v3.6.1 - Programmer:[/quote]

So before you upload the merged .hex file into nRF Connect for Desktop -> Programmer, is the window to the right completely empty before you do this?

If not, try to click the "-" signs that appear when you hover your mouse over the regions in the right hand window before you drag and drop your merged .hex file into the programmer app:

Best regards,

Edvin

RE: Secure Bootloader does not start application

Lex — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 16:51:47 GMT

Hi, thanks for your fast reply! My wording might have been confusing, but if you look at the second sentence in my post, it says:

[quote userid="81244" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/70612/secure-bootloader-does-not-start-application"]1. Create a bootloader settings page with nrfutil 6.1.0:[/quote]

I mean, it was a previously developed product that I used SDK 15 and an older version of nrfutil. And, in that product, everything worked just fine.

Anyway, I have just found another clue! I get the following message in the desktop nRF Connect v3.6.1 - Programmer:

I get this message when I try to program the merged Production.hex file by clicking the menu option "Add HEX file", then choosing Production.hex. It fails to open the hex file. However, if I choose the four hex files separately, in that case I do not get any error messages, but the flash looks the same erroneous after programming it with the option "Erase & write".

RE: Secure Bootloader does not start application

Edvin — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 15:10:56 GMT

Hello,

It looks like your setup should work. Perhaps you have a too old version of nrfutil? Since it was working in SDK15.0.0. Does your nrfutil output this warning when you generate the settings?

Note: Generating a DFU settings page with backup page included.
This is only required for bootloaders from nRF5 SDK 15.1 and newer.
If you want to skip backup page generation, use --no-backup option.

If not, try to update to nrfutil v6.1.0. You can find the executable here: https://github.com/NordicSemiconductor/pc-nrfutil/releases

or you can use python pip:

pip install nrfutil

Let me know if upgrading nrfutil doesn't work, and we will look deeper into this.

Best regards,

Edvin

RE: Secure Bootloader does not start application

Lex — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 14:07:36 GMT

Sorry, I have to clarify my last sentence about successfully implementing a similar bootloading process before. It was the UART bootloader indeed that I used (in SDK 15.0.0), not the BLE bootloader.