Electron - Tinker hangs at boot with solid white

Troubleshooting
1

Hi all,
I have a Electron where I’ve just resetted fw (particle update) and flashed tinker (particle flash --usb tinker). I also updated windows cli a couple of days ago.

I have a switch to turn it on/off. Most of the times it starts correctly but sometimes (once in 15/20) it hangs with solid white. I recorded a video where you can see it starting from a freezed situation, then it boots pressing the button and eventually it hangs with another pressure.

No SIM inside.

Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dvyIQU-fxDbafS-CXd5zH-G1BvMMIoy7/view?usp=sharing

If I plug it via usb when it’s freezed, the system doesn’t recognize the device (https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ndIPo8nJjvc/maxresdefault.jpg)

How can I debug it?
Tnks

2

If you are running Tinker and have no SIM inserted the device won’t be able to run the firmware anyway since Tinker runs in AUTOMATIC mode and that blocks until the cloud connection is established.
Furthermore since we can’t see how you power your device it’s hard to tell whether your power supply is sufficient for reliable use.
Also that ratsnest of wires doesn’t make any assesment of your situation easy.

3

Sorry ScruffR, I’ll be more detailed.
I’m trying tinker just because I had a similar behaviour with my sampling program. In order to avoid code-related bug I flashed tinker, looking for the blocking behaviour. I consider tinker a bullet-proof code and it’s easy for all to debug :slight_smile:
I know it won’t connect but - you can confirm - that it must start with breathing white in any case, everytime you turn it on.

I removed the default power socket from the board and I soldered Electron LiPo +/- to the respective pins.
Then I plugged:
a GPS Ublox 8M to UART1, powered by 3V3 pin (inside the green box)
a Pm sensor to UART5 powered by 5V (below the battery)
a BME (Temp/Humidity/Pressure) to D0/D1 SDA/SCL powered by 3V3 pin (behind the battery)

3V3 also goes to a DC/DC (boost/step-up) converter 3v3 to 5V.
A detailed picture below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SlgSoPE3n81UZI5xZDtujTJQX4g53zvy/view?usp=sharing

With my program I can start every sensors without problems (when it boots without hanging) getting data from them.
Tell me if you need more info.

4

with

Actually if there is no SIM inserted the device should get into Listening Mode as good as instantly.

Other than that I haven't got an idea (yet) what may be the cause of your issue - I'll keep thinking :blush:
Maybe someone else has some hunch.

5

Mine starts beathing white, then it turns breathing blue after 10/15 sec and eventually blinking blue after another 10sec. When it hangs, it stays solid white forever :frowning: Isn’t it the standard tinker behaviour?

6

@ScruffR or others: is there a way to debug this problem? A debug serial port maybe…
When this bug happens, I can’t see any USB device connected to the laptop (even if it’s plugged).