Thundercomm TurboX C8550 - Flashing the Images

In this section we will explain the steps on how to flash the images to the TurboX C8550 Development Kit. It is assumed that you already have the image zip to flash. If not, please check either the Downloading Prebuilt Images or Building Images from Source sections.

Flash the Image

There are two ways of flashing the board based on the image format:

• FlatBuild: is an image format released by Thundercomm, which can be flashed in EDL (Emergency Download) mode. When a device is unable to boot due to software issues, you can repair it by flashing FlatBuild. This image format is flashed using the Tflash tool.
• Fastboot: is an image format released by Thundercomm, which can be flashed in Fastboot mode. The device needs to be able to enter Fastboot mode in normal booting condition through commands or button pressing. If the device fails to boot up after image flashing with Fastboot, try to flash the FlatBuild image again with Tflash.

Flash FlatBuild Image with Tflash

1. Put the board into the 9008 mode.

2. Execute the SDK Manager container:

turbox-sdkmanager-setup.sh --os-version 18.04 -u

3. Inside the Docker container, go to the images directory:

cd workspace/images/

4. Unzip the FlatBuild_TurboX_C8550_xx.xx_LE1.0.R.debug.FC.r001003.zip archive:

unzip FlatBuild_TurboX_C8550_xx.xx_LE1.0.R.debug.FC.r001003.zip

Note

The name of the zip file may slightly differ depending on how you obtained it, so modify it accordingly.

5. Go to the unpacked directory:

cd FlatBuild_TurboX_C8550_xx.xx_LE1.0.R.debug.FC.r001003/ufs

6. Close any serial terminal applications (i.e. minicom, picocom, etc) and disable the ModemManager service on a different host terminal outside the container:

sudo systemctl stop ModemManager

Note

You can reenable this service after the process with sudo systemctl start ModemManager.

7. Back in the container, execute the tflash application:

tflash

When asked, press Enter to continue. At the end of the process, you should see the following log:

02:30:14: INFO:      _             (done)
02:30:14: INFO:     | |
02:30:14: INFO:   __| | ___  _ __   ___
02:30:14: INFO:  / _` |/ _ \| '_ \ / _ \
02:30:14: INFO: | (_| | (_) | | | |  __/
02:30:14: INFO:  \__,_|\___/|_| |_|\___|
02:30:14: INFO: {All Finished Successfully}

8. Unplug the USB C cable and reboot the board by re-plugging the power cable and pressing the Power Button.

Flash Fastboot Image with Fastboot

1. Put the board into the Fastboot mode.

2. Inside the Docker container, go to the images directory:

cd workspace/images/

3. Unzip the FastbootBuild_TurboX_C8550_xx.xx_LE1.0.R.debug.FC.r001003.zip archive:

Note

The name of the zip file may slightly differ depending on how you obtained it, so modify it accordingly.

unzip FastbootBuild_TurboX_C8550_xx.xx_LE1.0.R.debug.FC.r001003.zip

4. Go to the unpacked directory:

cd FastbootBuild_TurboX_C8550_xx.xx_LE1.0.R.debug.FC.r001003/

5. Run the turbox_flash.sh script:

sudo ./turbox_flash.sh -a -b -r -v debug 

When asked, press Y to continue. At the end of the process, you should see a similar log:

writing 'tz_a'...
OKAY [  0.014s]
finished. total time: 0.044s
Loading complete, Device rebooting ...
rebooting...

finished. total time: 0.804s

Then the board will reboot automatically.