index.md

flash_firmware

flash_firmware is a Python script that flashes a compiled firmware ino.zip file to the device over a USB connection. The script assumes your computer has Python and the adafruint-nrfutil library installed, but does not require Arduino.

Instructions

1. Install the adafruit-nrfutil Python library with shell command

   pip3 install --user adafruit-nrfutil
   

   or see the installation instructions for other options.

2. Download the flash_firmware.py script and new firmware ino.zip to your computer.

3. Use a micro USB cable to connect the device to the computer.

4. Turn on the device.

5. Navigate to the directory with the script and firmware, and run the script with shell command

   python3 flash_firmware.py firmware.ino.zip
   

   The script prints "Device programmed" if successful.

A successful run looks like

$ python3 flash_firmware.py ~/Downloads/firmware.ino.zip
Available ports:
/dev/ttyACM1         Feather nRF52840 Express - TinyUSB Serial
/dev/ttyACM0         QT Py M0

Upgrading target on /dev/ttyACM1 with DFU package /home/getreuer/Downloads/firmware.ino.zip.
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Activating new firmware
Device programmed.

Troubleshooting

The script auto-detects the port where the device is connected. It looks for a device with "nrf52" in its name, otherwise it just attempts to use the first available port. If this port selection fails for some reason, you can specify the port with the following command, replacing the port name with the correct port:

python3 flash_firmware.py /dev/ttyACM1 firmware.ino.zip