Mass programming of Photon / P1 options

We received a request for a new project, and the Photon or P1 would be a great fit for it.
The customer says they would like 5k units.

This application would require the Wi-Fi to be turned off. So there will never be a registering for each module.
It’s been a while, but If I understand things correctly I will have to use the CLI to perform 3 steps for each module.

  1. particle flash --usb system-part1-0.6.2-photon.bin
  2. particle flash --usb system-part2-0.6.2-photon.bin
  3. particle flash --usb (my generated bin file)

I have a question concerning this when it comes to high volume. Is this the norm to do it this way? I ask because doing so will incur quite allot of time via this manual process. I was wondering if Particle has come out with a desktop GUI application that I could simply plug in my device to the USB, then open this app, and select what system version I wanted to use I.E. 0.6.2, then select my bin file, and just simply click a button called flash or program and it would handle all this in one shot.

2 Likes

@seulater, a simple batch file would do all the work for you. When you say no WiFi, that also means no Particle Cloud, no OTA and no internet. Basically, no connectivity. One thing to make sure of is that the bin file is generated with the matching system firmware version.

Particle used to (or still does) go with a monolithic (system + application) factory image that can be flashed in one go.
With a local toolchain you can produce such a binary.

When you're talking those numbers, it's always a good idea to reach out to Particle directly to see if they can be of assistance. You might be able to get the modules pre-programmed if you can work something out with them. Just a thought :wink:

3 Likes

Hi @seulater,

I have recently made a bash script for a client to perform this exact task. It supports multiple devices plugged into a USB hub at once and it automatically puts devices into DFU mode and flashes them with both 0.6.2 parts and then the product firmware. It has an option to claim each device to a Particle account and has the option to test if the device is operating correctly.

I’d be happy to help you use my script (I accept Paypal and Bitcoin, whichever is most convenient for you). It is written in bash and it performs best on macOS.

Thanks, However we use a PC. I think the best option for this would be two things.
Make a video showing it in operation and offer to sell it online or sell it to Particle.

1 Like

Then you could definitely create something similar like @peekay123 mentioned.

I mean you should create a video showing yours in action so people can see how great it is.
I personally would like to so that before I was to buy it, I hope you can understand that.

1 Like

Totally understood. I’m considering documenting it properly and making a video like you suggested.

Sweet, when you do please let me know. I would be most interested.

1 Like

Hi @nrobinson2000 - I would be very interested in this script although we use Windows as well. Please DM pricing and some documentation when you are ready. I also have some questions re. how the USB hub works, how many devices are you able to simultaneously flash with this?