[SOLVED] unexpected, repeated firmware upgrades

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  • [SOLVED] unexpected, repeated firmware upgrades

    I haven't installed a new version of JLink for a few weeks (running 5.12F), have been using my JLink, few years old now, pretty constantly.

    Yesterday after about 30 minutes of use I connected to my test board and got a message that the firmware was being upgraded

    Connecting to J-Link via USB...Updating firmware: J-Link V9 compiled Apr 22 2016 11:47:06
    Replacing firmware: J-Link V9 compiled Oct 12 2012 BTL
    Waiting for new firmware to boot
    FAILED: Communication timed out: Requested 4 bytes, received 0 bytes !
    Could not read J-Link capabilities.


    Did some unplugging/replugging and got the JLink working again but had random issues with timeouts, 'unable to connect via USB' and debugging issues on a board I know was working just fine, issues halting, issues reading registers. Ended up rebooting the laptop.

    The JLink now reports

    Firmware: J-Link V9 compiled Apr 22 2016 11:47:06
    Hardware version: V9.30


    and yet I've had the 'upgrading firmware message' randomly another 2 times, where randomly means I run JLinkExe, then quit it, a number of times and once in a while running it will trigger the 'upgrade'.

    So questions are, why didn't the Segger upgrade the very first time I ran a version of JLinkExe containing that firmware, which must have been weeks ago? Why does it keep trying to upgrade it and is this the correct version of the firmware for V9.30 hardware, because I've definitely had some issues with it.

  • Hi,

    Replacing firmware: J-Link V9 compiled Oct 12 2012 BTL

    This means the current firmware is damaged / not able to boot, therefore the J-Link boots from his RO memory (BTL = bootloader), which contains a little firmware without most of the J-Link functionality.
    This firmware expects the J-Link software on PC-side to provide a new firmware image in order to regain its functionality (Which it does during the "Update" procedure).


    If this happens repetitively, the J-Link is either temporarily or permanently damaged.

    Maybe it is worth a try to update to the current beta software and therefore to the most recent firmware: V5.41

    In case your are still experiencing this issue, you can contact your distributor / reseller regarding RMA options or take part in the SEGGER Trade-In Program.

    Best regards,
    Niklas
    Please read the forum rules before posting.

    Keep in mind, this is *not* a support forum.
    Our engineers will try to answer your questions between their projects if possible but this can be delayed by longer periods of time.
    Should you be entitled to support you can contact us via our support system: segger.com/ticket/
    Or you can contact us via e-mail.

  • Thanks - that explains what's going on at least. It was working properly again yesterday so hopefully it was just temporary. One thing I did was switch to another USB port, wonder if I have a balky one and that's causing problems.

    Please mark this solved, thanks.