The ConnectCore 6UL is shipped without a default operating system loaded. Only U-Boot is flashed in the device. This step demonstrates how to install Digi Embedded Yocto in your ConnectCore 6UL.

1. Establish a serial connection with your device

Open a serial connection with the device. You can use any serial terminal program such as Tera Term, Minicom, CoolTerm, or HyperTerminal.

PuTTY terminal program is not recommended due to an incompatibility with the USB/serial driver.

Open a serial connection with the following settings:

Parameter Value

Port

Serial port where the device is connected

Baud rate

115200

Data bits

8

Parity

None

Stop bits

1

Flow control

None

2. Download the firmware

To access firmware images, please fill out the following form to provide some information so we can better understand your project needs.

If the form doesn’t load after a few seconds, you may need to refresh the page. Contact Digi Support Services if you are not able to access the firmware images.

3. Program the firmware

There are multiple methods of programming the firmware to the target:

Program the firmware using UUU

These instructions assume that the target U-Boot version is v2020.04 or higher, where the fastboot command is available.
  1. Decompress the zip file in a directory of your choice.

  2. Download the latest Universal Update Utility (UUU), a software tool from NXP.

    UUU version should be 1.5.11 or higher.
  3. Place the uuu executable in a directory in your PATH, such as /usr/bin.

  4. Install udev rules to allow any user to run uuu to access the USB port:

    $ sudo sh -c "uuu -udev >> /etc/udev/rules.d/70-uuu.rules"
    $ sudo udevadm control --reload
  5. Connect a micro USB cable to your development PC and the other end to the target USB OTG connector.

  6. Reset the device by pressing the reset button on the board and immediately press any key in the serial terminal to stop the auto-boot process. The U-Boot bootloader prompt displays:

    U-Boot dub-2020.04-r6.1 (Sep 19 2023 - 07:12:31 +0000)
    
    CPU:   i.MX6UL rev1.2 528 MHz (running at 396 MHz)
    CPU:   Industrial temperature grade (-40C to 105C) at 32C
    Reset cause: POR
    I2C:   ready
    DRAM:  256 MiB
    MCA:   HW_VER=1  FW_VER=1.19
    PMIC:  PFUZE3000 DEV_ID=0x30 REV_ID=0x11
    NAND:  256 MiB
    MMC:   FSL_SDHC: 0
    In:    serial
    Out:   serial
    Err:   serial
    Model: Digi International ConnectCore 6UL SBC.
    ConnectCore 6UL SOM variant 0x06: Industrial Ultralite 528MHz, 256MB NAND, 256MB DDR3, -40/+85C, Wireless, Bluetooth
      Board version 3, ID 135
    Boot device:  NAND
    Net:   FEC0 [PRIME]
    Fastboot: Normal
    Normal Boot
    Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0
    => 
    Information in the console log may vary.
  7. On the target, in U-Boot, execute the following command:

    => fastboot 0
  8. On your development PC, change to the directory where you extracted the ZIP file:

    $ cd <zip-folder>
  9. Run the install_linux_fw_uuu.sh script with -h parameter to check the syntax:

    $ ./install_linux_fw_uuu.sh -h
    ############################################################
    #           Linux firmware install through USB OTG         #
    ############################################################
    Usage: ./install_linux_fw_uuu.sh [options]
    
      Options:
       -b                     Activate bootcount mechanism (3 boot attempts).
       -d                     Install firmware on dualboot partitions (system A and system B).
                              (Implies -b).
       -h                     Show this help.
       -i <dey-image-name>    Image name that prefixes the image filenames, such as 'dey-image-qt',
                              'dey-image-webkit', 'core-image-base'...
                              Defaults to 'dey-image-qt' if not provided.
       -k <dek-filename>      Update includes dek file.
                              (implies -t)."
       -n                     No wait. Skips 10 seconds delay to stop script.
       -t                     Install TrustFence artifacts.
       -u <u-boot-filename>   U-Boot filename.
                              Auto-determined by variant if not provided.
  10. To program the default image files (dey-image-qt):

    $ ./install_linux_fw_uuu.sh
  11. Once the firmware is installed, the device boots automatically. The default username is root with no password.

Program the firmware using uSD card

  1. Decompress the zip file.

  2. Place the decompressed files in the root of a FAT-formatted microSD card and insert it in the microSD socket of the board.

  3. Reset the device by pressing the reset button on the board and immediately press any key in the serial terminal to stop the auto-boot process. The U-Boot bootloader prompt displays:

    U-Boot dub-2020.04-r6.1 (Sep 19 2023 - 07:12:31 +0000)
    
    CPU:   i.MX6UL rev1.2 528 MHz (running at 396 MHz)
    CPU:   Industrial temperature grade (-40C to 105C) at 32C
    Reset cause: POR
    I2C:   ready
    DRAM:  256 MiB
    MCA:   HW_VER=1  FW_VER=1.19
    PMIC:  PFUZE3000 DEV_ID=0x30 REV_ID=0x11
    NAND:  256 MiB
    MMC:   FSL_SDHC: 0
    In:    serial
    Out:   serial
    Err:   serial
    Model: Digi International ConnectCore 6UL SBC.
    ConnectCore 6UL SOM variant 0x06: Industrial Ultralite 528MHz, 256MB NAND, 256MB DDR3, -40/+85C, Wireless, Bluetooth
      Board version 3, ID 135
    Boot device:  NAND
    Net:   FEC0 [PRIME]
    Fastboot: Normal
    Normal Boot
    Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0
    => 
    Information in the console log may vary.
  4. To install the default firmware images (dey-image-qt) into the internal NAND, run the following command:

    => run install_linux_fw_sd

    To program other images, set the variable image-name to the DEY image name (such as dey-image-webkit or core-image-base) before running the script.

    => setenv image-name core-image-base
    => run install_linux_fw_sd
  5. Once the firmware is installed, the device boots automatically. The default username is root with no password.

    During installation, error messages appear when the installation process attempts to override MAC addresses. These messages are expected.

    ## Resetting to default environment
    oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9A  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fa
    ## Error: Can't overwrite "ethaddr"
    himport_r: can't insert "ethaddr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fa" into hash table
    oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9B  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fb
    ## Error: Can't overwrite "eth1addr"
    himport_r: can't insert "eth1addr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fb" into hash table
    oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9C  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fc
    ## Error: Can't overwrite "wlanaddr"
    himport_r: can't insert "wlanaddr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fc" into hash table
    oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9D  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fd
    ## Error: Can't overwrite "btaddr"
    himport_r: can't insert "btaddr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fd" into hash table

Program the firmware using USB mass storage

These instructions assume that the target U-Boot version is v2020.04 or higher, where USB support is available.

Follow these steps to install Yocto in the device:

  1. Decompress the zip file.

  2. Place the decompressed files in the root of a FAT-formatted USB mass storage and insert it in the USB host connector of the board.

  3. Reset the device by pressing the reset button on the board and immediately press any key in the serial terminal to stop the auto-boot process. The U-Boot bootloader prompt displays:

    U-Boot dub-2020.04-r6.1 (Sep 19 2023 - 07:12:31 +0000)
    
    CPU:   i.MX6UL rev1.2 528 MHz (running at 396 MHz)
    CPU:   Industrial temperature grade (-40C to 105C) at 32C
    Reset cause: POR
    I2C:   ready
    DRAM:  256 MiB
    MCA:   HW_VER=1  FW_VER=1.19
    PMIC:  PFUZE3000 DEV_ID=0x30 REV_ID=0x11
    NAND:  256 MiB
    MMC:   FSL_SDHC: 0
    In:    serial
    Out:   serial
    Err:   serial
    Model: Digi International ConnectCore 6UL SBC.
    ConnectCore 6UL SOM variant 0x06: Industrial Ultralite 528MHz, 256MB NAND, 256MB DDR3, -40/+85C, Wireless, Bluetooth
      Board version 3, ID 135
    Boot device:  NAND
    Net:   FEC0 [PRIME]
    Fastboot: Normal
    Normal Boot
    Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0
    => 
    Information in the console log may vary.
  4. To install the default firmware images (dey-image-qt) into the internal NAND, run the following command:

    => run install_linux_fw_usb

    To program other images, set the variable image-name to the DEY image name (such as dey-image-webkit or core-image-base) before running the script.

    => setenv image-name core-image-base
    => run install_linux_fw_usb
  5. Once the firmware is installed, the device boots automatically. The default username is root with no password.

    During installation, error messages appear when the installation process attempts to override MAC addresses. These messages are expected.

    ## Resetting to default environment
    oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9A  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fa
    ## Error: Can't overwrite "ethaddr"
    himport_r: can't insert "ethaddr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fa" into hash table
    oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9B  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fb
    ## Error: Can't overwrite "eth1addr"
    himport_r: can't insert "eth1addr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fb" into hash table
    oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9C  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fc
    ## Error: Can't overwrite "wlanaddr"
    himport_r: can't insert "wlanaddr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fc" into hash table
    oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9D  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fd
    ## Error: Can't overwrite "btaddr"
    himport_r: can't insert "btaddr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fd" into hash table