Thingy:53 Can't be reached with Programmer Tool / nrfjprog using SWD Cable over nRF7002DK

[drselim]

Hi, this case is an extension of the case I created (In which I was not able to restore the Thingy.53 to its original FW (Edgeimpulse) even though it had worked when I first received the device)

• Case ID: 302938

(Can not reset Thingy 53 back to its original Edge Impulse FW.)

The conclusion in that discussion was to obtain an SWD cable and fully erase the Thingy:53 over a DK (I'm using an nRF7002DK). Finally I obtained the cable and tried to do the operation with no success. This is the setup for Thing:53:

And this is the case when I open the programmer, the usb connected setup recognized as J-link, and please check the message "unsupported device. The detected device coulnd not be recognized as neither Jlink device nor Nordic USB device"

However if I connect my Thingy:91 with exactly the same components, USB and SWD cable, the devkit:

I see my connected device as nRF7002DK (instead of j-link) and I can see that in the log that everything is fine and I can read the memory, erase/write etc.

and here's the full log.

2023-03-16T13:57:21.383Z DEBUG Application data folder: C:\Users\Lenovo\AppData\Roaming\nrfconnect\pc-nrfconnect-programmer
2023-03-16T13:57:21.574Z DEBUG App pc-nrfconnect-programmer v3.0.7 local
2023-03-16T13:57:21.575Z DEBUG App path: C:\Users\Lenovo\.nrfconnect-apps\node_modules\pc-nrfconnect-programmer
2023-03-16T13:57:21.575Z DEBUG nRFConnect 4.0.0, required by the app is (>=4.0.0)
2023-03-16T13:57:21.575Z DEBUG nRFConnect path: C:\Users\Lenovo\AppData\Local\Programs\nrfconnect\resources\app.asar
2023-03-16T13:57:21.578Z DEBUG HomeDir: C:\Users\Lenovo
2023-03-16T13:57:21.578Z DEBUG TmpDir: C:\Users\Lenovo\AppData\Local\Temp
2023-03-16T13:57:22.460Z INFO Using nrf-device-lib-js version: 0.5.0
2023-03-16T13:57:22.461Z INFO Using nrf-device-lib version: 0.13.11
2023-03-16T13:57:22.461Z INFO Using nrfjprog DLL version: 10.18.2
2023-03-16T13:57:22.462Z INFO Using JLink version: JLink_V7.80c
2023-03-16T13:57:23.267Z INFO Installed JLink version does not match the provided version (V7.66a)
2023-03-16T13:57:40.639Z INFO Using @nordicsemiconductor/nrf-device-lib-js to communicate with target via JLink
2023-03-16T13:57:40.640Z INFO JLink OB firmware version J-Link OB-nRF5340-NordicSemi compiled Dec  3 2021 15:46:49
2023-03-16T13:57:40.640Z INFO Device family NRF91_FAMILY
2023-03-16T13:57:40.640Z INFO Device version NRF9160_xxAA_REV2
2023-03-16T13:57:40.640Z INFO Board version PCA10143
2023-03-16T13:57:40.641Z INFO Loading readback protection status for Application core
2023-03-16T13:57:42.732Z INFO Readback protection status: NRFDL_PROTECTION_STATUS_NONE
2023-03-16T13:57:43.737Z INFO Modem detected
2023-03-16T13:57:43.755Z INFO Parse memory regions for Application core
2023-03-16T13:57:43.766Z INFO Update files regions according to Application core
2023-03-16T13:57:43.766Z INFO Parse memory regions for file
2023-03-16T13:57:43.777Z INFO Device is loaded and ready for further operation

And this is the output when I click on "read", so everything is OK for Thingy 91:

When I searched in the devzone for similar problems , I came accross this ticket:

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/62925/failed-to-erase-flash-for-nrf5340

So I tried nrfjprog to access & erase.

it again works fine with Thingy:91:

and if we read the memory with the programmer, it's totally empty:

However for the thingy 53, I can't erase or even read with the nrfjprog (recover):

Same thing happens with the Network core. And as far as I can tell, after each access attempt (be it read/write/recover), the thingy53 gets a reset.

nrfjprog version: 10.19.0 external
JLinkARM.dll version: 7.80c

programmer version 3.0.7

I hope you can support me with this problem.

Regards

Selim

[Håkon Alseth]

Hi,

 

The nRF7002-DK requires the external board to be 1.8V powered:

https://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/topic/ug_nrf7002_dk/UG/nrf7002_DK/hw_debug_out_v2.html?cp=3_0_2_3_10

The thingy:91 is 1.8V, while the thingy:53 requires 3V.

 

Do you have a nRF5340-DK for instance? Or standalone J-Link programmer that you can use?

 

Kind regards,

Håkon

[drselim]

Hi Håkon Alseth , thank you for your response. I didn't know that 91 and 53 had different power levels . Unfortunately I only have the nRF7002 DK. I'll let you know about the outcome if I can have access to one of the devices you suggested. 

Regards

Selim

[drselim]

Hi Håkon Alseth  I solved my issue with upgrading the programmer app to 3.0.8 in nRF connect for desktop 4.0.1. Now as I write the "edge_impulse_1.0.0_thingy53_nrf5340" from "2023-03-24-precompiled-application-firmware" (https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-hardware/Nordic-Thingy-53/Downloads#infotabs) the Thingy:53 goes back to its original state and I can connect with the Edge Impulse mobile app and collect sensor data.

Thank you for your support.

Selim