The ConnectCore 8X is shipped without a default operating system loaded. Only U-Boot is flashed in the device. This step demonstrates how to install Yocto in your ConnectCore 8X.

1. Establish a serial connection with your device

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

Due to an incompatibility between the USB/serial driver and the PuTTY terminal program, you must use another serial terminal program such as Tera Term, 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 the serial connection, you can start the firmware update process. Follow these steps to install Yocto in the device:

  1. Download the firmware images from this location: https://ftp1.digi.com/support/digiembeddedyocto/2.4/r3/images/ccimx8x-sbc-express-installer.zip

  2. Decompress ccimx8x-sbc-express-installer.zip.

  3. Place the decompressed files in the root of a FAT-formatted microSD card and insert it in the microSD socket of the ConnectCore 8X SBC Express (bottom side).

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

    U-Boot dub-2018.03-r2.2+g2854efc (Sep 13 2019 - 20:07:29 +0000)

CPU:   Freescale i.MX8QXP revB A35 at 1000 MHz at 37C
DRAM:  2 GiB
MCA:   HW_VER=1  FW_VER=0.16
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: Industrial QuadXPlus 1.0GHz, 16GB eMMC, 2GB LPDDR4, -40/+85C, Wireless, Bluetooth
Board: ConnectCore 8X SBC Pro, version 1, ID 135
Boot:  MMC0

BuildInfo:
 - SCFW 494c97f3, SECO-FW d7523fe8, IMX-MKIMAGE abd6ce55, ATF 727cf89
 - U-Boot dub-2018.03-r2.2+g2854efc

Net:   eth0: ethernet@5b040000
Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0
=>
    Information in the console log may vary.

  5. Install the firmware into the internal eMMC, executing the following command:

    => run install_linux_fw_sd

  6. Once the firmware is installed, the device boots automatically. The default username is root with no password.

Once you have established the serial connection, you can start the firmware update process. Follow these steps to install Yocto in the device:

  1. Download the firmware images from this location: https://ftp1.digi.com/support/digiembeddedyocto/2.4/r3/images/ccimx8x-sbc-pro-installer.zip

  2. Decompress ccimx8x-sbc-pro-installer.zip.

  3. Place the decompressed files in the root of a FAT-formatted microSD card and insert it in the microSD socket of the ConnectCore 8X SBC Pro (bottom side).

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

    U-Boot dub-2018.03-r2.2+g2854efc (Sep 13 2019 - 20:07:29 +0000)

CPU:   Freescale i.MX8QXP revB A35 at 1000 MHz at 37C
DRAM:  2 GiB
MCA:   HW_VER=1  FW_VER=0.16
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: Industrial QuadXPlus 1.0GHz, 16GB eMMC, 2GB LPDDR4, -40/+85C, Wireless, Bluetooth
Board: ConnectCore 8X SBC Pro, version 1, ID 135
Boot:  MMC0

BuildInfo:
 - SCFW 494c97f3, SECO-FW d7523fe8, IMX-MKIMAGE abd6ce55, ATF 727cf89
 - U-Boot dub-2018.03-r2.2+g2854efc

Net:   eth0: ethernet@5b040000
Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0
=>
    Information in the console log may vary.

  5. Install the firmware into the internal eMMC, executing the following command:

    => run install_linux_fw_sd

  6. Once the firmware is installed, the device boots automatically. The default username is root with no password.

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