Firmware update Over the Air



  • Hello,

    Just received FiPy and I am able to connect it using PyMakr and ran some example code to change RGB LED., so far so good. I have read documentation but it seems I need an expansion board to update firmware. I got a FiPy board only from the Kickstarter campaign. I had no idea i would need an expansion board or PySense or PyTrack so I only pledged a FiPy. I asked a question during the campaign that whether i would need an expansion board to program or power it. I was told I will not need it so I didn't add one. Is there any way to do it over the air using wifi or bluetooth?

    Thanks,
    Naveen



  • Hi @naveen, Sorry I'm late to the party here, but I believe that the PyMakr is the "expansion board". Take a look at the back of your PyMakr and it should say Expansionboard v2.X or v3.X. You should be able to update firmware using your PyMakr and this tutorial.
    https://docs.pycom.io/gettingstarted/installation/firmwaretool.html
    Hope this helps!



  • @naveen @misterlisty You can do both.
    You can use any USB/Serial bridge to connect to USB. Two things have to be considered:

    • Supply through the Vin and GND pins only, do NOT us the 3v3 Pin for supply.
    • The Voltage at Tx/Rx shall not exceed 3.3V

    That is a little bit tricky with standard USB/Serial bridges, because even when they can be switched between 3.3 and 5 V outputs, the 3.3V output is not able to provide sufficient power for the FiPy. For the Pinout DIagram, look at https://docs.pycom.io/chapter/datasheets/development/fipy.html
    I agree that it is inconvenient for a development board not to have that USB/Serial chip by default, especially if it is needed, at least for recovery.

    The WiF link provides both Telnet for the I/O and FTP for file transfer. You can also update the firmware with FTP. The main file system is /flash. If you want to update the firmware, transfer the file application.bin from the update package to /flash/sys and reset.

    Still, it is sometimes better to be able to connect via USB/Serial, for instance when you messed up with the WiFi-settings.



  • I assume you can just use a serial to USB adapter board? Just connect 3.3v,GND,RX and TX as indicated by the pinouts.


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