Unable to update GPy modem firmware

bqpd

@florianrdt Hmm, I think the sqnupgrade.info() method also tries to create an instance of "LTE" and is also failing.
Sorry I can't really help you. I hope your Sequans modem isn't bricked.
Maybe the developer team has some better insights and can help you. As @Paul-Thornton said, they are looking into the whole modem firmware upgrade process in the near future.

florianrdt

@bqpd ok, thanks anyway for your support!

combaindeft

@florianrdt

did you try to reset the modem?

lte.reset()
lte.disconnect()
lte.dettach()

I had the same issues ... and it's because the modem has been turned / power off in "active" state ... and it remembers that as it saves it state to it's internal memory ...

bqpd

@combaindeft Wait, so DID your upgrade of the sequans modem on the FiPy (where it failed in the first place) succeed AFTER you did:

lte.reset()
lte.disconnect()
lte.dettach()

or did i misunderstand you and it is still not working?
Sadly i have no SIM-card at the moment so i can't test it myself for the next few days.
Did it actually work in the end just doing sqnsupgrade.run('NB1-40343.dup', debug=True) even without using the update.elf file after you did the lte.reset()?

@combaindeft said in Unable to update GPy modem firmware:

We bought a bunch of FiPy's ... and one one of them, had the same issue.
...
but that didn't work, so I just ran
sqnsupgrade.run('NB1-40343.dup', debug=True)

florianrdt

@combaindeft I can't try this because I can't initialize the LTE object. The comand freeze.

combaindeft

@bqpd said in Unable to update GPy modem firmware:

@combaindeft Wait, so DID your upgrade of the sequans modem on the FiPy (where it failed in the first place) succeed AFTER you did:
lte.reset()
lte.disconnect()
lte.dettach()

Affirmative! ...

I couldn't get it to update the modem firmware ... and I read somewhere, that the update firmware function won't work if the modem is in "active mode" ... ergo I tired to Reset, disconnect and dettach it ... and followed by a reboot (I did a reboot, just to make sure...) ... I could update the firmware of the modem.

or did i misunderstand you and it is still not working?

No, It is working superfine now :-)

Sadly i have no SIM-card at the moment so i can't test it myself for the next few days.
Did it actually work in the end just doing sqnsupgrade.run('NB1-40343.dup', debug=True) even without using the update.elf file after you did the lte.reset()?

@combaindeft said in Unable to update GPy modem firmware:
We bought a bunch of FiPy's ... and one one of them, had the same issue.
...
but that didn't work, so I just ran
sqnsupgrade.run('NB1-40343.dup', debug=True)

Step 1)

lte.reset()
lte.disconnect()
lte.dettach()

Step 2)
reboot the device.

Step 3a) identify if this is the ABSOLUTE 1ST TIME that you are updating the modem firmware

sqnsupgrade.run('upgdiff_33080-to-40343.dup', 'updater.elf', debug=True)
time.sleep(5)
sqnsupgrade.run('NB1-40343.dup', debug=True)

Step 3b) - if not 3a) ... That is, it this isn't the 1st time you are updating the modem's firmware

sqnsupgrade.run('NB1-40343.dup', 'updater.elf', debug=True)
time.sleep(5)
sqnsupgrade.run('NB1-40343.dup', debug=True)

Step 4) if 3a) and 3b) both fail ... by this point you might try this step too ...

sqnsupgrade.run('NB1-40343.dup', debug=True)

... and yes ... since 3a) and 3b) failed me ... i did Step 4) as I didn't have anything to loose ...and it worked *yay-me*

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lastly - a tiny explanation - as may be asking yourselves "Why do you run two firmware updates after each other?!?!?" - in Step 3a) & 3b) ....

As explained in the "Modem Firmware Update" in the docs: https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lte/firmware.html

"After you have updated your modem once using the recovery method, you can now flash your modem again using just the CATM1-38638.dup or NB1-37781.dup file without specifying the updater.elf file. However, should the upgrade fail, your modem may end up in recovery mode and you will need the updater.elf file again. The updater will check for this and prompt you if using the updater.elf file is necessary."

combaindeft

@florianrdt said in Unable to update GPy modem firmware:

@combaindeft I can't try this because I can't initialize the LTE object. The comand freeze.

Step 1)

###
### STEP ONE
###
import pycom
print('LOG: pycom.lte_modem_en_on_boot() # to check, should be False')
print(pycom.lte_modem_en_on_boot()) # to check, should be False

print('LOG: pycom.lte_modem_en_on_boot(0) #set to False if above command is True')
print(pycom.lte_modem_en_on_boot(0)) #set to False if above command is True

print('LOG: pycom.lte_modem_en_on_boot() # to check again if change was made')
print(pycom.lte_modem_en_on_boot()) # to check again if change was made

Step 2)

A) It is imperative that you do a "HARD" reset of the board!
DO NOT PRESS THE "RESET" BUTTON ON THE BOARD
B) To do a "HARD" reset:
- Un-plug any battery source you might have attached!
- Un-plug the USB-mini cable from the board
- wait a few seconds
- Re-attach the USB-mini to power up the device
- continue to Step 3)

Step 3)

###
### STEP THREE
###
from network import LTE
lte = LTE()
lte.reset()
lte.disconnect()
lte.dettach()

# few AT commands to check if modem is alive and responsive
lte.send_at_cmd('AT') 
lte.send_at_cmd('ATI')
lte.send_at_cmd('ATZ')

If you got back your LTE() ... done the "Reset", "Disconnect" and "Dettach" ... and could execute the AT commands... continue to Step 3a) or 3b) in https://forum.pycom.io/topic/4022/unable-to-update-gpy-modem-firmware/24

florianrdt

@combaindeft said in Unable to update GPy modem firmware:

STEP THREE

from network import LTE
lte = LTE()

Thank you for your reply, but unfortunately the command freezes again.

import pycom
print(pycom.lte_modem_en_on_boot())

was already set to False.

bqpd

@combaindeft Thanks a lot for the in-depth step-by-step walkthrough! I will try this tomorrow, when I get my NB-IoT SIM-card back and i will share if it works for me as well.

I really appreciate your help, thanks again!

bqpd

@ktleh @wtrocel @Paul-Thornton @combaindeft
It works now for me as well!

So following the steps @combaindeft suggested did indeed result in a successful upgrade of the firmware.
One slight change: if using the upgdiff-file the updater.elf is not needed as @Paul-Thornton said, so for me (using an SD card)

sqnsupgrade.run('/sd/upgdiff_33080-to-40343.dup',  debug=True)

worked perfectly fine.
(Update paused at 96% for about 15 seconds as described in the guide at https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lte/firmware.html - whole upgrade took about 5-7 minutes)

So the whole process was:

>>> from network import LTE
>>> lte = LTE()
>>> import pycom
>>> print(pycom.lte_modem_en_on_boot())
False
>>> lte.reset()
>>> lte.disconnect()
>>> lte.dettach()
>>>
>>> lte.send_at_cmd('AT')
'\r\nOK\r\n'
>>> lte.send_at_cmd('ATI')
'\r\nSEQUANS Communications\r\nVZM20Q\r\n'
>>> lte.send_at_cmd('ATZ')
'\r\nOK\r\n'
>>> lte.reset()

Hard Reset

>>> from machine import SD
>>> sd = SD()
>>> os.mount(sd, '/sd')
>>> os.listdir('/sd')
['NB1-40343.dup', 'updater.elf', 'upgdiff_33080-to-40343.dup', 'upgdiff_38729-to-40343.dup']
>>> import sqnsupgrade
>>> sqnsupgrade.run('/sd/upgdiff_33080-to-40343.dup', debug=True)

This first upgrade took about 3-5 minutes -> it resulted in:

SYSTEM VERSION
==============
  FIRMWARE VERSION
    Bootloader0  : 5.1.1.0 [33080]
    Bootloader1  : 6.0.0.0 [40343]
    Bootloader2* : 5.1.1.0 [38638]
    NV Info      : 1.1,0,0
    Software     : 6.0.0.0 [40343] by robot-soft at 2018-11-07 13:57:00
    UE           : 6.0.0.0
  COMPONENTS
    ZSP0         : 1.0.99-3171
    ZSP1         : 1.0.98-3170

I then did the full update without using the differential file:

>>> time.sleep(5)
>>> sqnsupgrade.run('/sd/NB1-40343.dup', debug=True)
>>> sqnsupgrade.info()
<<< Welcome to the SQN3330 firmware updater [1.2.1] >>>
>>> FiPy with firmware version 1.18.1.r7
Your modem is in application mode. Here is the current version:
UE6.0.0.0
LR6.0.0.0-40343

Thousand thanks to @combaindeft again for the great hint with the LTE.disconnect/reset/dettach
This hint should be added to the renewed version of the upgrade guide.

combaindeft

@florianrdt said in Unable to update GPy modem firmware:

from network import LTE
lte = LTE()

hmm, if you can't do that ... then I think there is an issue with our board / modem ...

What is our "main board?" ... a PySense, PyTrack or PyScan? ... you are using with your GPy?

And ...

did you update the firmware on the "main board"?
did you update the firmware on the GPy?

As it's most recommended that you

1st - update the firmware on the "main board" to the latest
2nd - update the firmware on the "Logic board" .. GPy in your case ... to the latest stable version.

combaindeft

@bqpd

You are welcomed :-)

Redferne

Was given a FiPY which had failed a modem upgrade. I have now tried almost every trick in the book and cannot get any life signs from the modem:


>>> import pycom
>>> print(pycom.lte_modem_en_on_boot())
False

>>> os.uname()
(sysname='FiPy', nodename='FiPy', release='1.18.1.r1', version='v1.8.6-849-b0520f1 on 2018-08-29', machine='FiPy with ESP32', lorawan='1.0.2', sigfox='1.0.1')

>>> sqnsupgrade.run('/sd/CATM1-39529.dup', '/sd/updater.elf', debug=True)
File /sd/updater.elf has size 429340
File /sd/CATM1-39529.dup has size 6059510
Modem state: None
Resume: False Retry: False
<<< Welcome to the SQN3330 firmware updater >>>
mirror? False  recover? False  resume? False  direct? False  atneg_only? False bootrom? True
Initial prepartion complete...
Loading built-in recovery bootrom
Attempting AT wakeup...
b''
count=1
b''
count=2
b''
count=3
b''
count=4
b''
count=5
b''
count=6
b''
count=7
b''
count=8
b''
count=9
b''
count=10
b''
Unable to upgrade bootrom.

It is not possible to create a LTE() instance, the board simply hangs. Any ideas?

combaindeft

@redferne

A) Try the: Boot modes and safe boot
FiPy Pin Layout

Hook it up to Board (PyTrack/PySense/Expansion/PyScan...) ... and shorten 3V3 + P12 with a wire for 7-9 sec ... and let go

B) Use the "upgdiff_33080-to*.dup" ... for the LTE-NB1 it is, and resp use the LTE-CATM1 version in the folder ...

sqnsupgrade.run('/sd/upgdiff_33080-to-40343.dup',  debug=True)

C) I haven't done this myself, but if I had the issue you have, I'd try to connect to the LTE-Modem by creating my own UART instance ...

https://docs.pycom.io/firmwareapi/pycom/machine/uart.html

Use the info from: https://github.com/pycom/pycom-micropython-sigfox/tree/master/esp32/lte

To figure out how to conf the UART instance ...

and lastly figure out how to send it the following AT_Command:

"AT!=\"setlpm airplane=1 enable=1\""

This will shut the modem down ... and after a Hard-reset (unplug everything, battery and usb-cable!) ... try to:

from network import LTE
lte = LTE()

and then run the firmware process ...

John Baird

@bqpd Thank you!! I've managed to un-brick a FiPy and a GPy by following these instructions. Very much appreciated!

grpatt

@bqpd Thank you from the future.

Explore Pybytes | Official Documentation | Report a Firmware Bug/Issue | GitHub

Unable to update GPy modem firmware

STEP THREE

Pycom on Twitter