LR11xx firmware update

This sample updates the Semtech LR1110 transceiver firmware to version 0x0401, which is the minimum version required by Sidewalk. Use it when the LR1110 module runs older firmware and Sidewalk sub-GHz samples fail during radio initialization. After a successful update, flash a Sidewalk application such as Sidewalk end device.

Requirements

This sample supports the following development kits:

Hardware platforms

PCA

Board name

Build target

nRF54L15 DK

PCA10156

nrf54l15dk

nrf54l15dk/nrf54l15/cpuapp

nRF54LM20 DK

PCA10184

nrf54lm20dk
nrf54lm20dk/nrf54lm20a/cpuapp
nrf54lm20dk/nrf54lm20b/cpuapp

You also need one of the following LR1110 radio boards:

For hardware setup and pin assignment, refer to Setting up hardware.

Overview

The sample initializes the Sidewalk radio platform, resets the LR1110 into bootloader mode, erases flash, writes the embedded transceiver firmware image, and reboots the chip. It then verifies that the transceiver reports the expected firmware version.

The sample does not start the Sidewalk stack or connect to a gateway. Run it once before flashing a full Sidewalk application.

The LR1110 firmware images are available in the LR11xx firmware images repository. The sample already includes the 0x0401 firmware image.

Building and running

This sample can be found under samples/lr11xx_firmware_update.

For general instructions on building the sample, follow the steps in the Building and programming an application documentation.

Build and flash the sample for your board and shield combination using the following commands.

Semtech LR1110 Arduino shield

west build -b nrf54l15dk/nrf54l15/cpuapp --shield simple_arduino_adapter --shield semtech_lr1110mb1xxs
west flash

nRF Sidewalk EB shield

west build -b nrf54l15dk/nrf54l15/cpuapp --shield nrf_sidewalk_eb
west flash

Testing

See Testing and debugging an application for information on testing and debugging in the nRF Connect SDK.

After building and flashing the sample, complete the following steps to verify the update:

  1. Connect the development kit to your PC using a USB cable.

  2. Connect the LR1110 radio board to the development kit.

  3. Connect to the kit with a terminal emulator (115200 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity).

  4. Build and flash the sample.

  5. Observe the log output.

Sample output

On success, the sample prints messages similar to the following:

<inf> fwup: Reset the chip
<inf> fwup: Reset done
<inf> fwup: Chip in bootloader mode
<inf> fwup: Start flash erase
<inf> fwup: Flash erase done
<inf> fwup: Start flashing firmware (61320 bytes)
<inf> fwup: Flashing done
<inf> fwup: Rebooting
<inf> fwup: Reboot done
<inf> fwup: Chip in transceiver mode
<inf> application: Expected firmware running
<inf> application: Flash another application (for example sid_end_device) to continue

If the update fails, power-cycle the board and run the sample again.