Manually flash the nRF9160 DK

RE: Manually flash the nRF9160 DK

Albrecht Markus Schellenberger — Fri, 15 Jul 2022 07:30:24 GMT

[quote user="Sebastian Stein"]In any case, thank you allot for your help, Markus![/quote]

My pleasure, Sebastian! And again, thanks a lot for your input :-)

Cheers,

Markus

RE: Manually flash the nRF9160 DK

Sebastian Stein — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 09:42:40 GMT

Hi Markus,

thank you for your hint. Again, it looks promising.

I stumbled across the DFU target library in the in nRF Connect SDK and it looks like exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately there is no sample which shows the library in action. However, I had a look into the source code of the FOTA download library which uses the DFU target library to perform modem and application firmware updates.

Long story short: I think I will try to stream a firmware image over the UART connected to the USB interface of the nRF9160 DK and use the DFU target library to perform the update.

Cheers,
Sebastian

------------------- EDIT -------------------

As it turns out, the approach with DFU target library has certain flash limitations and cannot be used for a new nRF9160 DK without an appropriate user application which includes the MCBoot boot loader and the DFU target library. I think I will have to facilitate both approaches (nrfjprog and DFU target) for different scenarios.

In any case, thank you allot for your help, Markus!

RE: Manually flash the nRF9160 DK

Albrecht Markus Schellenberger — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 07:59:11 GMT

Hello Sebastian,

[quote user="Sebastian Stein"]This boils down to the following question: How do I enable a desktop app, written by me, to flash a user application or modem firmware to the nRF9160 SiP via the USB interface of the nRF9160 DK board?[/quote]

Ok, now I understand! Thanks for elaborating :-)

I have not been into this particular matter myself, but what you probably should do to achieve this is making usage of nrfjprog executable. It has a DLL which provides an API that you should be able to use for your GUI. You could have a look at nRF pynrfjprog, which provides a simple Python interface for the nrfjprog DLL.

I hope this will help you.

Cheers,

Markus

RE: Manually flash the nRF9160 DK

Sebastian Stein — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 10:34:17 GMT

Hi Markus,

thank you again for your reply.

[quote userid="100109" url="~/f/nordic-q-a/89795/manually-flash-the-nrf9160-dk/376370"]I’m honestly not a 100% sure what you are asking for here[/quote]

Sorry for not being clear. I understand that the documentation (Production Programming) you pointed me at discusses how to directly flash a standalone nRF9160 SiP. In my case, I don't have a standalone nRF9160 SiP. The nRF9160 SiP I want to flash is embedded in a nRF9160 DK board. Thus, I am looking for a method to manually flash (without SES, Nordic Programmer App, etc.) a user application or modem firmware to the nRF9160 SiP via the USB interface of the nRF9160 DK board.

This boils down to the following question: How do I enable a desktop app, written by me, to flash a user application or modem firmware to the nRF9160 SiP via the USB interface of the nRF9160 DK board?

Cheers,
Sebastian

RE: Manually flash the nRF9160 DK

Albrecht Markus Schellenberger — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 09:13:48 GMT

Hello Sebastian,

[quote user="Sebastian Stein"]Can you please comment on the implications of that special case?[/quote]

I’m honestly not a 100% sure what you are asking for here, but the USB communication on the nRF9160 DK is done via a SEGGER J-Link OB Debugger.

If you would like to know how it is designed on the development kit, I recommend you having a look at the schematic layout. It shows both the USB connector itself and how it is connected to the Interface MCU & UART control.

Regards,

Markus

RE: Manually flash the nRF9160 DK

Sebastian Stein — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 07:27:47 GMT

Hi Markus,

thank you for your reply.

I had a look at the documentation you mentioned and it looks very promising in terms of manuality. However, while browsing the documentation, I was not able find anything related to the special case of flashing the nRF9160 via the nRF9160 DK's USB interface.

Can you please comment on the implications of that special case?

Cheers,
Sebastian

RE: Manually flash the nRF9160 DK

Albrecht Markus Schellenberger — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 13:38:36 GMT

Hello Sebastian,

[quote user=""]Can you please tell me (or point at the documentation) how to enable a custom software to flash an user application and/or modem firmware to the nRF9160 DK via its USB interface?[/quote]

Referring to the Production Programming chapter of the nRF9160. This is the “as manually as possible” documentation that we can provide :-)

Cheers,

Markus