The ConnectCore 8X SBC device ships without an operating system loaded. Only U-Boot is programmed in the device. The following instructions demonstrate how to install Android in your device.

1. Establish a serial connection with your device

Before programming the firmware, open a serial connection with your device. You can use any serial terminal, such as Tera Term, PuTTY, Minicom, CoolTerm, or HyperTerminal.

Open a serial connection with the following settings:

Parameter Value

Port

Serial port where the device is connected

Baud rate

115200

Data bits

8

Parity

None

Stop bits

1

Flow control

None

2. Program the firmware

Once you have established a serial connection with your device, you can start the firmware update process.

  1. Download the firmware images from https://ftp1.digi.com/support/android/9.0/r3/82004353_D.zip.

  2. Decompress 82004353_D.zip.

  3. Place the decompressed files in the root of a FAT formatted microSD card and insert it in the microSD socket of your device.

  4. Reset the device by pressing the Reset button on the board, and immediately press a key in the serial terminal to stop the auto-boot process. The U-Boot bootloader prompt displays:

U-Boot dub-2020.04-r2.2 (Jan 18 2021 - 15:54:04 +0000)

CPU:   NXP i.MX8QXP RevB A35 at 1200 MHz at 25C
DRAM:  2 GiB
MCA:   HW_VER=1  FW_VER=1.01
MMC:   FSL_SDHC: 0, FSL_SDHC: 1
In:    serial
Out:   serial
Err:   serial
Model: Digi International ConnectCore 8X SBC Pro Board.
ConnectCore 8X SOM variant 0x02: 2 GiB LPDDR4, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, MCA, Crypto-auth
  Board version 3, ID 135
Boot:  MMC0

 BuildInfo:
  - SCFW 56682d58, SECO-FW 0e4b9cee, IMX-MKIMAGE 8da5cd23, ATF c949a88
  - U-Boot dub-2020.04-r2.2

flash target is MMC:0
Net:   eth0: ethernet@5b040000 [PRIME], eth1: ethernet@5b050000
Fastboot: Normal
Normal Boot
Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0
{pu}

  1. Install the firmware into the internal eMMC, executing the following commands:

    => run install_android_fw_sd
    The first Android boot takes several minutes due to the system deployment.

  2. Verify Android has started.

    Work with your device as with any standard Android device. Use the All Apps button to navigate and explore the applications or configure your device in the Settings application.

During installation, error messages appear when the installation process attempts to override MAC addresses. These messages are expected.

## Resetting to default environment
oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9A  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fa
## Error: Can't overwrite "ethaddr"
himport_r: can't insert "ethaddr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fa" into hash table
oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9B  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fb
## Error: Can't overwrite "eth1addr"
himport_r: can't insert "eth1addr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fb" into hash table
oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9C  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fc
## Error: Can't overwrite "wlanaddr"
himport_r: can't insert "wlanaddr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fc" into hash table
oldval: 00:40:9D:7D:17:9D  defval: 00:04:f3:ff:ff:fd
## Error: Can't overwrite "btaddr"
himport_r: can't insert "btaddr=00:04:f3:ff:ff:fd" into hash table