USB Firmware Upgrade

Introduction

This article describes how to upgrade the firmware file on the host to the flash memory of the development board through the Type-C data cable. When upgrading, you need to choose the appropriate upgrade mode according to the host operating system and firmware type.

Preparatory Tools

ROC-RK3568-PC development board
Firmware
Host computer
Type-C data cable

Prepare Firmware

The firmware can be obtained by compiling the SDK, or downloaded from Resource Download as a public firmware (unified firmware). There are two types of firmware files:

A single unified firmware

The unified firmware is a single file packaged and merged by all files such as the partition table, bootloader, uboot, kernel, system and so on. The firmware officially released by Firefly adopts a unified firmware format. Upgrading the unified firmware will update the data and partition table of all partitions on the motherboard, and erase all data on the motherboard.
Multiple partition images

That is, files with independent functions, such as partition table, bootloader, and kernel, are generated during the development phase. The independent partition image can only update the specified partition, while keeping other partition data from being destroyed, it will be very convenient to debug during the development process.

Through the unified firmware unpacking / packing tool, the unified firmware can be unpacked into multiple partition images, or multiple partition images can be merged into a unified firmware.

Install the Upgrade Tool

Windows Operating System

Tool: Use tools in the firmware package or download here Androidtool_xxx (version number)

AndroidTool defaults to display in Chinese. We need to change it to English. Open config.ini with a text editor (like notepad). The starting lines are:

#Language Selection: Selected=1(Chinese); Selected=2(English)
[Language]
Kinds=2
Selected=1
LangPath=Language\

Change Selected=1 to Selected=2, and save. From now on, AndroidTool will display in English. Now, run AndroidTool.exe: (Note: If using Windows 7/8, you’ll need to right click it, select to run it as Administrator)

Note

In order to avoid the burning problem caused by the download tool version, it is recommended to use the tool packaged inside the public firmware package for burning.

After decompressing the public firmware package, it is as follows:

XXXX_Android11_HDMI_XXXX
├── XXXX_Android11_HDMI_XXXX.img
├── linux
│   └── Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.59.zip
└── windows
    ├── DriverAssitant_v5.1.1.zip
    └── RKDevTool_Release_v2.81.zip

Install RK USB drive

Download Release_DriverAssistant.zip, extract, and then run the DriverInstall.exe inside. In order for all devices to use the updated driver, first select Driver uninstall(驱动卸载) and then select Driver install(驱动安装).

Linux Operating System

There is no need to install device driver under Linux.

Tool: Use tools in the firmware package or download here upgrade_tool_xxx (version number)

Install it into the system as follows for easy invocation:

unzip Linux_Upgrade_Tool_xxxx.zip
cd Linux_UpgradeTool_xxxx
sudo mv upgrade_tool /usr/local/bin
sudo chown root:root /usr/local/bin/upgrade_tool
sudo chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/upgrade_tool

Enter Upgrade mode

There are two upgrade modes: Loader mode and MaskRom mode. Before flashing the firmware, we need to connect the device and make the board enter an upgradable mode.

Loader mode

Enter Loader mode by hardware

Connect the device and enter the Loader upgrade mode through the RECOVERY key as follows:

Disconnect the device from the power supply
Press and hold the earphone hole on Station-P2 with a pin tool
The device is plugged into the power supply and powered on

The earphone hole position is shown in the figure below:

At this point, the device enters Recovery mode. Once the host detects the device, the upgrade tool displays as follows:

Enter Loader mode by software

With the Type-C data cable connected, use the command in the serial debugging terminal or adb shell:

reboot loader

MaskRom mode

MaskRom mode is the last line of defense against device being bricked. Forced entry MaskRom involved hardware operation, have certain risk, so only in the situation that device failed entering the Loader mode, you can try MaskRom mode.

Warning

Please read carefully and operate carefully!

How to Enter MaskRom Mode

The operation steps are as follows:

Disconnect all power supplies.
You need to open the enclosure (the box) of Station-P2 before operating.
Connect the device and host PC with Type-C data cable.
Hold down the Maskrom button.
Connect DC power.
Wait a few seconds, release the button.

Confirming MaskRom Mode

At this point, the device should go into MaskRom mode.

Upgrade the Firmware Using the Firefly Method

Flash the latest official firmware or the firmware compiled from the latest SDK. This method does not require storage switching. Flash the whole firmware directly in MaskRom mode. Whether the flashing succeeds or not, any data in the NOR Flash will be automatically erased after the device is powered off or restarted (it takes about 30 to 60 seconds). After erasing, the device automatically enters Loader mode, and then you can flash the whole firmware following the "Upgrade the firmware" section.

The firmware can be downloaded from the Download page.

Switch to the "upgrade firmware" page.
Press the "firmware" button to open the firmware file to be upgraded. The upgrade tool displays detailed firmware information.
Press the "upgrade" button to start the upgrade.
If the upgrade fails, you can try to erase the Flash by pressing the EraseFlash button first, and then upgrade.

Linux Operating System

Upgrade unified firmware - update.img

sudo upgrade_tool uf update.img

Note

If the upgrade fails, try erasing before upgrading.

# erase flash : Using the ef parameter requires the loader file or the corresponding update.img to be specified.
# update.img :The ubuntu firmware you need to upgrade.
sudo upgrade_tool ef update.img
# upgrade again
sudo upgrade_tool uf update.img

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