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Flashing Images

1. Equipment Preparation​

  • Luckfox Omni3576 main unit
  • USB Type-A to Type-C data cable
  • 5V/3A Type-C power adapter (to prevent insufficient power, the Core3576 must be powered on with the adapter)
  • Monitor or TV with HDMI interface, and HDMI cable
  • 100M/1000M Ethernet cable and router
  • USB wireless/wired mouse/keyboard
  • Serial to USB module

Note: The default baud rate for Omni3576 is 1500000. Some USB to serial chips may not support this baud rate, and different series of the same chip may also have variations. Therefore, be sure to confirm support before purchasing. It is recommended to use CH343, FT232, or CP2102 serial modules, while PL2303 and CH340 serial modules are not recommended.

2. Image Download​

Omni3576 provides images compatible with HDMI displays and DSI displays. Users can download the image files according to their needs. The naming convention for images is: Luckfox-(Processor Model)-(Development Board System)-(Desktop Type)-(Storage Media)-(Update Time).

3. Install Drivers​

  1. Download RK Driver Assistant DriverAssitant-RK and flashing tool RKDevTool.

  2. Open RK Driver Assistant to install the USB driver. This process does not require a connection. Restart the computer after installation is complete.

3.1 Enter Upgrade Mode​

Loader mode and MaskRom mode are two common device upgrade modes used for loading firmware or boot programs.

  • Loader mode loads via a software-level boot program, typically used for firmware upgrades.
  • MaskRom mode is a hardware-level boot mode that operates by directly loading firmware, usually used for factory programming or device recovery.

3.1.1 Loader Mode​

The development board comes pre-installed with a test image. When the data cable is connected and power is turned on, the RKDevTool flashing tool will display "Found One ADB Device." To flash the system, the development board must be switched to LOADER mode or MASKROM mode; LOADER mode is recommended. There are two methods to switch to LOADER mode:

  • In the firmware upgrade section of the tool, directly click "Switch," and after a moment, it will display "Switch rkusb succeeded," or you can successfully log into the development board and execute reboot loader in the terminal.

  • Manual switch: Hold down the RESET button, then press and hold the RECOVERY button, and release the RESET button. When the device is recognized as LOADER mode, release the RECOVERY button.

  1. First, ensure that the data cable and power cable are connected.
  2. Open RKDevTool and click "Switch" in the firmware upgrade section.
  3. When you see the message Found One LOADER Device, you can proceed with flashing the image.

3.1.2 MaskRom Mode​

If the device cannot enter Loader mode, you can try to force it into MaskRom mode.

  1. Connect the data cable and open the Rockchip flashing tool RKDevTool.
  2. Disconnect the power from the Omni3576 and short the ADC0 and GND pins on the development board.
  3. Power on, and you will see the message Found One MASKROM Device. After the download is complete, remove the jumper cap.

4. Flashing Images (eMMC)​

4.1 Windows​

Flashing Images​

  1. Open the Rockchip flashing tool RKDevTool. At this point, you will see the device in MASKROM/LOADER mode. Click "Firmware," select the system image path, and open the .img image file.

  2. Wait for the image to load successfully, then click "Upgrade."

  3. Once flashing is complete, you will see "Found One ADB Device."

Flashing Kernel Files​

  1. Update the firmware by opening the Rockchip writing tool and right-clicking in a blank area to import the configuration.
  2. Select all files, click on the parameter.txt file, and click "Open."
  3. This indicates successful loading.
  4. Check and load the MiniLoaderAll.bin file and boot, then click "Run" to update the firmware.
  5. Flash the kernel file separately.

4.2 Linux(X86_64 platform)​

Upgrade_Tool is a tool for writing raw firmware, RK firmware, and partition images to eMMC under Linux. It is a closed-source command-line tool provided by Rockchip. This tool only supports programming using SPI NAND FLASH. If you need to flash firmware to a TF card, you must use SDDiskTool software in a Windows environment. The rkflash.sh script and Upgrade_Tool tool are stored in the SDK by default. The SDK recommends using Ubuntu 22.04; our testing environment is also Ubuntu 22.04. For other versions, the flashing operation may require further research.

  1. Press the boot button to connect to the host, use lsusb to check the device. If the device is not recognized, try replacing the Type-C cable.
    • Omni3576 main unit in "ADB" mode
    • Omni3576 main unit in "LOADER" mode
    • Omni3576 main unit in "MASKROM" mode

  1. Flashing can only be performed when the Omni3576 main unit is in "LOADER" or "MASKROM" mode.

  2. Download and extract the SDK. For specific operations, refer to the "Setting Up SDK Development Environment" section.

    ~/new3576$ ls -l
    total 52
    drwxrwxr-x  7 xt xt 4096  8月 22 14:45 app
    drwxrwxr-x 19 xt xt 4096  8月 24 12:29 buildroot
    lrwxrwxrwx  1 xt xt   39  8月 22 14:45 build.sh -> device/rockchip/common/scripts/build.sh
    lrwxrwxrwx  1 xt xt   22  8月 22 14:46 common -> device/rockchip/common
    lrwxrwxrwx  1 xt xt   21  8月 22 14:45 Copyright_Statement.md -> docs/licenses/LICENSE
    drwxrwxr-x 11 xt xt 4096  8月 24 12:29 debian
    drwxrwxr-x  3 xt xt 4096  8月 22 14:45 device
    drwxrwxr-x  7 xt xt 4096  8月 22 14:45 docs
    drwxrwxr-x 33 xt xt 4096  8月 23 21:39 external
    lrwxrwxrwx  1 xt xt   10  8月 22 14:46 kernel -> kernel-6.1
    drwxrwxr-x 27 xt xt 4096  8月 28 18:22 kernel-6.1
    lrwxrwxrwx  1 xt xt   31  8月 22 14:45 Makefile -> device/rockchip/common/Makefile
    drwxrwxr-x 10 xt xt 4096  8月 24 12:29 output
    drwxrwxr-x  3 xt xt 4096  8月 22 14:46 prebuilts
    lrwxrwxrwx  1 xt xt   32  8月 22 14:46 README.md -> device/rockchip/common/README.md
    drwxrwxr-x 10 xt xt 4096  8月 24 12:18 rkbin
    lrwxrwxrwx  1 xt xt   41  8月 22 14:45 rkflash.sh -> device/rockchip/common/scripts/rkflash.sh
    lrwxrwxrwx  1 xt xt   15  8月 24 12:29 rockdev -> output/firmware
    drwxrwxr-x  6 xt xt 4096  8月 22 14:46 tools
    drwxrwxr-x 28 xt xt 4096  8月 24 12:18 u-boot
    drwxrwxr-x  8 xt xt 4096  8月 22 14:46 yocto

  3. Execute the script with administrator privileges.

    $ sudo ./rkflash.sh update 
    [sudo] password for luckfox: 
    Using /home/luckfox/new3576/tools/linux/Linux_Upgrade_Tool/Linux_Upgrade_Tool/config.ini
    Loading firmware...
    Support Type:3576   FW Ver:1.0.00   FW Time:2024-08-24 12:30:00
    Loader ver:1.100    Loader Time:2024-08-24 12:18:28
    Start to upgrade firmware...
    Test Device Start
    Test Device Success
    Check Chip Start
    Check Chip Success
    Get FlashInfo Start
    Get FlashInfo Success
    Prepare IDB Start
    Prepare IDB Success
    Download IDB Start
    Download IDB Success
    Download Firmware Start
    Download Image... (100%)
    Download Firmware Success
    Upgrade firmware ok.

  4. Expected results:

4.3 Mac OS​

  1. Download and extract upgrade_tool:

    sudo ditto -xk upgrade_tool_v2.3_mac.zip .

  2. Run the program to flash the firmware (please modify the path according to the actual location of the image):

    cd upgrade_tool_v2.3_mac
    sudo ./upgradetool uf Luckfox-RK3576-Debian12-Xfce-HDMI-202409.img

  3. he result will be as follows:

4.4 Image Erasure​

  • To erase data in the eMMC, select the update.img firmware and click Erase Flash:

5. TF Card Image Flashing​

  1. Download the TF card erasure tool SD Card Formatter, extract and install it with one click.

  2. Select the TF card drive letter and click Format (be sure to remove other TF cards to avoid data loss)

  3. Download the TF card flashing tool SDDiskTool, extract and use without installation.