Problems running setup photon

Troubleshooting
1

Hi,

I have access to three photons, two connected to the cloud with no problems but the third won’t seem to work.

I have tried setup using the mobile app, using the HTML file download and using the CLI.
It appears to connect to the cloud (I can see it in my account) but the led then changes to magenta and the device doesn’t respond.

In the Particle Console the device says - Device OS: unknown

I have also tried running particle doctor but there appears to be an error.
dfu-util: Invalid DFU suffix signature
dfu-util: A valid DFU suffix will be required in a future dfu-util release!!!

dfu-util: Error during download get_status

I receive the same error if I try and run particle flash tinker.

I’ve tried a manual flash which appears to work but the device still acts in the same way.

One difference with this device is the softAp shows as photon-XXXXX (5 letters rather than 4).
Could this be an old chip? It should be brand new.

Hoping someone can help.

Thanks,

2

The messages you get from dfu-util are not actually errors and occur every time you flash code.

It’s probably best to reset the state of the Photon to a known state first.

Put the Photon in DFU mode (blinking yellow) by holding down RESET and SETUP, releasing RESET and continuing to hold down SETUP while the main LED blinks magenta until it blinks yellow, then release.

Then enter the command:

particle flash --usb tinker

It’s also a good idea to put the Photon back into DFU mode (blinking yellow) and do:

particle update

if that doesn’t work, please copy and paste the command prompt output into the reply.

The normal sequence on the status LED is: white, blinking green, blinking cyan (light blue), fast blinking cyan, and finally breathing cyan.

Also let me know how far you get. And if you get to fast blinking cyan, are there any red or orange blinks before going back to blinking green or blinking cyan?

3

Thanks for the suggestions - afraid they don’t seem to work.
Output below.

$ particle flash --usb tinker
Error writing firmware: dfu-util: Invalid DFU suffix signature
dfu-util: A valid DFU suffix will be required in a future dfu-util release!!!

dfu-util: Error during download get_status

This comes back immediately and the LED goes white, blinking green, fast cyan and then magenta.
The console shows device came online -> spark/status auto-update

$ particle update

> Your device is ready for a system update.
> This process should take about 50 seconds. Here it goes!


! An error occurred while attempting to update the system firmware of your device:

dfu-util: Invalid DFU suffix signature

dfu-util: A valid DFU suffix will be required in a future dfu-util release!!!

dfu-util: Error during download get_status


> Please visit our community forums for help with this error:
https://community.particle.io/
Cannot read property 'code' of undefined

The LED blinks yellow, with some longer yellow pauses.
Once completed the LED goes white, blinking green, blinking cyan, fast cyan and then magenta.
The console shows device came online -> spark/status auto-update

4

I think you have a bootloader issue. With the Photon connected by USB:

particle serial inspect

Also, what version of the CLI are you using?

particle --version