Updating the Thingy:91 X firmware using nRF Util

You can use the nrfutil device command for the following:

You can perform these operations through USB using MCUboot, or through an external debug probe. When developing with your Thingy:91 X, it is recommended to use an external debug probe.

Note

The external debug probe must support Arm Cortex-M33, such as the nRF9151 DK. You need a 10-pin 2x5 socket-socket 1.27 mm IDC (Serial Wire Debug (SWD)) JTAG cable to connect to the external debug probe.

Both nRF Util and the device command are part of the nRF Connect SDK toolchain bundle and you get them when you Install the nRF Connect SDK code and toolchain.

Updating the firmware on the nRF5340 SoC

This section describes how you can update the firmware of the nRF5340 SoC on the Nordic Thingy:91 X through USB or with an external debug probe.

To update the nRF5340 SoC firmware over USB, complete the following steps:

  1. Connect the Thingy:91 X to your computer with a USB-C cable.

  2. Power on the device by switching SW1 to the ON position.

  3. Open a terminal window.

  4. Enter the following command to list the connected devices and their traits:

    nrfutil device list

    The Nordic Thingy:91 X will be listed as a Thingy:91 X UART product and have the following details:

    • A 21-character serial number, for example, THINGY91X_C2E0AC7F599.

    • mcuboot, nordicUsb, serialPorts, and usb traits.

  5. Enter the following command to update both the application and network core of the nRF5340 application core with a multi-image dfu_application.zip file:

    nrfutil device program --firmware dfu_application.zip --serial-number <Thingy:91 X Serial number>

For more information about this nRF Util command, see Programming modem firmware using MCUboot serial recovery in the tool documentation.

Updating the application firmware on the nRF9151 SiP

This section describes how you can update the application firmware of the nRF9151 SiP on the Nordic Thingy:91 X through USB or with an external debug probe.

When updating the firmware through USB and MCUboot method, you must not connect the USB/UART0 with any terminal since it is used by this method.

To update the nRF9151 SiP application firmware over USB, complete the following steps:

  1. Connect the Thingy:91 X to your computer with a USB-C cable.

  2. Power on the device by switching SW1 to the ON position.

  3. Open a terminal window.

  4. Enter the following command to list the connected devices and their traits:

    nrfutil device list

    The Nordic Thingy:91 X will be listed as a Thingy:91 X UART product and have the following details:

    • A 21-character serial number, for example, THINGY91X_C2E0AC7F599.

    • mcuboot, nordicUsb, serialPorts, and usb traits.

  5. Enter the following command to program the application binary to the nRF9151 application core:

    nrfutil device program --firmware dfu_application.zip --serial-number <Thingy:91 X Serial number>

For more information about this nRF Util command, see Programming application firmware using MCUboot serial recovery in the tool documentation.

Updating the modem firmware on the nRF9151 SiP

Note

Modem firmware update through USB and MCUboot is currently not supported.

To update the nRF9151 modem firmware using an external debug probe, complete the following steps:

  1. Connect the Thingy:91 X to your computer with a USB-C cable.

  2. Connect the 10-pin Serial Wire Debug (SWD) programming cable from the external debug probe to the programming connector (P8) on the Thingy:91 X.

  3. Connect the external debug probe to your computer.

  4. Power on the device by switching SW1 to the ON position.

  5. Set the programming target select switch SW2 to nRF91 on the Thingy:91 X.

  6. Open a terminal window.

  7. Enter the following command to list the connected devices and their traits:

    nrfutil device list

    The external debug probe will be listed as a J-Link product with the jlink trait and will have a 9 or 10 digit J-Link serial number depending on the J-Link probe used.

  8. Enter the following command to program the modem firmware on the nRF9151 SiP:

    nrfutil device program --firmware <modem.zip> --serial-number <J-Link Serial number> --traits jlink --x-family nrf91