Dusted it Off and cannot connect WiFi

Troubleshooting
1

I dusted off the unopened boxes of two Spark Cores. I cannot get them to connect. I have used the iPhone app and the Android app, but neither connect to either core. I have also set up and made a serial connection. Here’s were it gets weirder. I can use command i to get info but command m doesn’t respond. IOW, I don’t get a mac addr. I can not use v or s either. I can use w and it goes into WiFi connect mode, but never connects. I have tried this three time and with both cores.

As it looks now, there is something wrong with the cores.

Can somebody help me troubleshoot this and/or work towards exchanging them for working cores?

2

What colors are the LEDs blinking?

3

Many of the listener commands were added quite recently relative to the Spark Core, so I think you just have older firmware on them.

The first step I would take is to get the CLI installed and then upgrade them to latest Tinker and firmware over USB.

4

If I unplug it and plug it in, it flashes green, as if it was attempting to make the Wi-Fi connection.

5

That sound good. I will research that.

I understand firmware. What is Tinker?

I cannot connect via particle cli. It doesn’t find my spark (yes even via USB)

The only way I have been able to communicate with it is via serial connection (PuTTY on Windows 10).

6

Hi @tinjaw

Tinker is the default app on your device that it came with–it lets you control the pins via the phone app or other web commands.

You want to research DFU of flashing yellow mode. That is the easiest way to put new firmware on a device that will not connect to your router and is used by the CLI over USB.

If your router uses WEP security, you will have a tough (impossible?) time setting up a core on it. I have personally never had that work but I think other people have.

If your router uses WPA, WPA2 etc. it should work just fine.

You would be able to set this up over PuTTY in listening mode, so you either must have WEP or something else is wrong.

7

I have tried with two WiFi networks. Both WPA 2.

OK, DFU and yellow mode. Let me get my Google on.

8

I can’t flash the firmware

c:\Program Files (x86)\dfu-util-0.8-binaries\win32-mingw32>dfu-util -d 2b04:d006 -a 0 -s 0x8020000 -D system-part1-0.4.9-photon.bin
dfu-util 0.8

Copyright 2005-2009 Weston Schmidt, Harald Welte and OpenMoko Inc.
Copyright 2010-2014 Tormod Volden and Stefan Schmidt
This program is Free Software and has ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
Please report bugs to dfu-util@lists.gnumonks.org

Invalid DFU suffix signature
A valid DFU suffix will be required in a future dfu-util release!!!
Opening DFU capable USB device...
ID 1d50:607f
Run-time device DFU version 011a
Claiming USB DFU Interface...
Setting Alternate Setting #0 ...
Determining device status: state = dfuIDLE, status = 0
dfuIDLE, continuing
DFU mode device DFU version 011a
Device returned transfer size 1024
DfuSe interface name: "Internal Flash  "
Downloading to address = 0x08020000, size = 249916
Last page at 0x0805d03b is not writeable

c:\Program Files (x86)\dfu-util-0.8-binaries\win32-mingw32>dfu-util -d 2b04:d006 -a 0 -s 0x8060000:leave -D system-part2-0.4.9-photon.bin
dfu-util 0.8

Copyright 2005-2009 Weston Schmidt, Harald Welte and OpenMoko Inc.
Copyright 2010-2014 Tormod Volden and Stefan Schmidt
This program is Free Software and has ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
Please report bugs to dfu-util@lists.gnumonks.org

Invalid DFU suffix signature
A valid DFU suffix will be required in a future dfu-util release!!!
Opening DFU capable USB device...
ID 1d50:607f
Run-time device DFU version 011a
Claiming USB DFU Interface...
Setting Alternate Setting #0 ...
Determining device status: state = dfuIDLE, status = 0
dfuIDLE, continuing
DFU mode device DFU version 011a
Device returned transfer size 1024
DfuSe interface name: "Internal Flash  "
Downloading to address = 0x08060000, size = 181428
Last page at 0x0808c4b3 is not writeable

c:\Program Files (x86)\dfu-util-0.8-binaries\win32-mingw32>
9

OK. I was following the tut, but it looks like I need different params for the core. I got this to work…

c:\Program Files (x86)\dfu-util-0.8-binaries\win32-mingw32>dfu-util -d 1d50:607f -a 1 -s 0x00020000 -D  system-part1-0.4.9-photon.bin
dfu-util 0.8

Copyright 2005-2009 Weston Schmidt, Harald Welte and OpenMoko Inc.
Copyright 2010-2014 Tormod Volden and Stefan Schmidt
This program is Free Software and has ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
Please report bugs to dfu-util@lists.gnumonks.org

Invalid DFU suffix signature
A valid DFU suffix will be required in a future dfu-util release!!!
Opening DFU capable USB device...
ID 1d50:607f
Run-time device DFU version 011a
Claiming USB DFU Interface...
Setting Alternate Setting #1 ...
Determining device status: state = dfuIDLE, status = 0
dfuIDLE, continuing
DFU mode device DFU version 011a
Device returned transfer size 1024
DfuSe interface name: "SPI Flash : SST25x"
Downloading to address = 0x00020000, size = 249916
Download        [=========================] 100%       249916 bytes
Download done.
File downloaded successfully

c:\Program Files (x86)\dfu-util-0.8-binaries\win32-mingw32>

But now I don’t know how to get part 2 flashed.

===update====
OK I made some guesses based on other examples and flashed part 2

Now how do I flash Tinker? Where do I get Tinker? Probably from GitHub. Does this do what I want (but use Tinker)?

User firmware

dfu-util -d 1d50:607f -a 0 -s 0x08005000 -D user-firmware.bin
10

The file name you’re trying to flash contains ‘photon’, so that’s definitely not going to work on a Core. Assuming you’ve got the latest CLI installed, could you try particle flash --usb tinker?

11

I tried this and it “took” but still cannot connect

Once the Particle CLI and dfu-util are installed, you have to enter DFU mode. Once that is done, please run the following commands through the Particle CLI:
particle flash --factory tinker
particle flash --usb cc3000
particle flash --usb tinker
These commands replace the factory reset image, and re-patch the radio, bringing your Core to an upgraded factory state.

12

I unistalled the spark and removed all the drivers. I started over. I got to the point where the spark as seen as a COM device. I ran particle setup

C:\WINDOWS\system32>particle setup
_ _ _ _
_ __ __ _ _ | |() | | ___ () ___
| ' \ / _` | '| | |/ | |/ _ \ | |/ _
| |) | (| | | | |_| | (| | /| | () |
| ./ _,|| _|_|_|_|_()|__/
|_| https://particle.io/

Setup is easy! Let's get started...
It appears as though you are already logged in as chaim@chaim.com
? Would you like to log in with a different account? No

! PROTIP: Hold the MODE/SETUP button on your device until it blinks blue!
! PROTIP: Please make sure you are connected to the internet.

I have detected a Core connected via USB.
? Would you like to continue with this one? Yes
? Should I scan for nearby Wi-Fi networks? Yes
? Select the Wi-Fi network with which you wish to connect your device: Tinjaw
? Security Type WPA2
? Wi-Fi Password #############
Done! Your device should now restart.
? Press ENTER when your core is breathing CYAN

This seemed to work, however it is still flashing green and never leaves that state. I have tried two different wireless networks.

13

I saw this elsewhere

Try the cc3000 patch/deep update if you haven’t already. It might just fix it. There are instructions on this to be found in the docs (troubleshooting section if I’m not mistaken).

It doesn’t seem to be in the docs. Is this something I should try? Where is it?

14

Do this:

particle flash --factory tinker
particle flash --usb cc3000
particle flash --usb tinker

This is the section of the doc under Deep Update.

15

Thanks bko, but I already tried that. (It is about 4/5 posts up).

Still blinking green.

I found and applied the cc3000 patch, but still flashing green.

16

Ok then it must be something more basic.

  • 2.4GHz router right?
  • Router on channel 11 or lower?
  • If the router has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, do they have separate SSIDs?
  • Try a hotspot from your phone?
  • Try removing security temporarily?
17

I am wide open right now, Set up a hotspot from my phone. I am connected to it on this computer right now. Used particle setup to provide info and it is still flashing green – even when attempting to connect to the open WiFi network. The network from my phone is 2.4Ghz.

== update ===

#1) I can’t post any more on day one. Limited to 21 posts. So these will be updates now.

Things just got weirder.

I was working with core #1. I decided to try core #2. It didn’t work either. So I went back to core #1 and realized it was set to my phone hotspot. I put it in flashing blue mode and ran particle setup and chose the same WPA2 network I chose before… BUT… this time it worked. It connected. I am about to disconnect it and try core #2 again.

When it is not working it is flashing ONLY green.

=== update 2

Problem Solved.

It turns out that my uFL connecting was faulty. Using a different antenna and making a new solid connection everything worked fine.

I forgot rule #1. When having problems that don’t make sense go back to plugs, cords, wires, and power.

THANK YOU so much for your help. I am now off to try and Hello World these things.

1 Like
18

Is it green only, or are there flashes of other colors as well (orange in particular)?