Unable to program nrf52840dongle

RE: Unable to program nrf52840dongle

user116327 — Wed, 25 May 2022 06:09:07 GMT

That worked. Thanks:-) Maybe that link could be placed at the programming howto for the dongle as a Ubuntu suggestion for programming errors?
Best Regards,
Joanna

RE: Unable to program nrf52840dongle

user92402 — Tue, 24 May 2022 13:42:27 GMT

Hi,

Please try installing nrf-udev, https://github.com/NordicSemiconductor/nrf-udev.

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Unable to program nrf52840dongle

user92402 — Tue, 24 May 2022 13:10:38 GMT

Hi,

I have forwarded this to the developers, and I will update you when I get a response.

In the meantime, I found another ticket with a similar or the same issue, and it seems like some of the people there have managed to find different solutions working for them, so you can see if any of them fixes the issue on your side as well: https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/81989/error-when-fetching-device-versions-readfwinfo-error.

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Unable to program nrf52840dongle

user116327 — Tue, 24 May 2022 06:45:49 GMT

Thanks again for the fast reply. I am attaching the log file.test-devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../nrf52840dongle_5F00_verbose.log

I have my user added to the dialout group (owner of /dev/ttyACM0). I have also tried changing the permissions of the /dev/ttyACM0 to 0666 ( same as the developmentKit when it comes up) and I still experience the same error.

When the dongle is started in a normal mode ( as a sniffer), the dongle is opened, and used by Wireshark without any issues.
Let me know if you need any other info.

RE: Unable to program nrf52840dongle

user92402 — Mon, 23 May 2022 13:38:20 GMT

Hi,

It is good to hear that you are able to program it from Windows at least. I will check internally if there are any known issues with Ubuntu.

Please gather a log of this issue in Ubuntu with verbose logging enabled:

Make sure the dongle is plugged into the computer and in bootloader mode.
Go to the 'about' tab in the Programmer app.
Enable verbose logging and select 'restart with verbose logging'.
After the Programmer restarts try to select the dongle from the device list.
Select 'open log file' at the bottom of the terminal in the Programmer.
Upload the log here.

I will forward the log to the developers.

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Unable to program nrf52840dongle

user116327 — Mon, 23 May 2022 12:42:50 GMT

Thanks for the reply.
I was pressing the RESET button and the LED2 was flashing red indicating bootloader mode. Syslog on ubuntu was also indicating bootloader mode:
May 23 09:32:33 jyu-ThinkPad-T470p kernel: [ 4146.453946] usb 1-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
May 23 09:32:33 jyu-ThinkPad-T470p kernel: [ 4146.453951] usb 1-2: Product: Open DFU Bootloader

In the and I have managed to program it for the "nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth LE" from Windows on the same PC(using exactly the same steps) in the end. Apparently there was an issue with the Ubuntu 20.04 environment for the nrf52840dongle ( although it works fine with the nrf528400dk)

Now when booting without pressing RESET device is recognized as "nRF Sniffer for Bluetooth LE" . When booting with RESET pressed LED blinks red and device is recognized as "Product: Open DFU Bootloader" but still the nrfProgrammer is unable to program the device:

2022-05-20T10:38:48.210Z ERROR Error when fetching device versions: readFwInfo error
2022-05-20T10:40:42.521Z DEBUG Sending usage data...
2022-05-20T10:40:42.522Z DEBUG Category: pc-nrfconnect-programmer
2022-05-20T10:40:42.522Z DEBUG Action: Close device

We need to be able to program the device from the Linux system. Any hints on resolving the programming issues on Ubuntu 20.04?

RE: Unable to program nrf52840dongle

user92402 — Mon, 23 May 2022 11:37:17 GMT

Hi,

The nRF52840 Dongle does not have an onboard debugger, so you cannot program it using west unless you are using an external debug probe. Instead, you can put it in bootloader mode and use the Programmer app or nrfutil to upload the new firmware to it. To make the dongle enter bootloader mode you need to press the RESET button:

If the dongle is already plugged in when you press the RESET button it might not go into bootloader mode, so please try to unplug the dongle from your computer, and then hold in the RESET button while you plug it in. It should show up in the Programmer app as a bootloader device.

Best regards,

Marte

RE: Unable to program nrf52840dongle

user116327 — Mon, 23 May 2022 08:18:03 GMT

Red LED is blinking after plugging the dongle into the PC USB port.
I have also tried multiple USB ports on the PC.