Firmware Upgrade

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Overall

This guide provides information which will help you choose a firmware upgrade way.

 


MASKROM

MASKROM is the simplest way. 

Belows are the advantages and disadvantages of using maskrom.

Advantages:

  • Avoid brick
  • Simple

Disadvantages:

  • Need a maskrom key

Support update from

  • USB OTG

 

U-boot

Rockchip mainline u-boot have support various upgrade ways, such as rockusb/fastboot/ums, each of them could be used.

It could be entered by issuing "reboot ums/fastboot/rockusb" from linux, or add the board-spefic key-detection code

(Common key detect support is added after 20171218, now the board can enter rockusb mode by pressing recovery key).

It's also possible to do network/usb-disk upgrade in u-boot.

Belows are the advantages and disadvantages of using u-boot.

Advantages:

  • Common

Disadvantages:

  • Must be familiar with u-boot

Support update from

  • USB OTG
  • USB DISK
  • Network

 

Linux

Both yocto and debian use deb as the package manager, so firmware upgrade could be done by deb installation.

(SDK build scripts can pack kernel/u-boot in deb)

Advantages:

  • standard
  • user-friendly

Disadvantages:

  •  could be brick

 


SD-Card Recovery

By changing boot order in u-boot, it's possible to let u-boot load kernel and rootfs from sd-card first.

We could use it to create a sd-card recovery image. When the board boot into sd-card, the init script run and install kernel/u-boot debian packages, which burn firmware to eMMC.

Advantages:

  • Convenient

Disadvantages:

  • Slow

 

Initramfs/Recovery

Advantages:

  • Powerful

Disadvantages:

  • Slow