Fail Firmware update

QA40x
6

Hi @jli, there are a few possibilities, and all should be recoverable without sending the unit back.

The way the flash programming works on the QA402 and QA403 is as follows:

  1. When you need to re-flash an image, the QA40x application puts the hardware into an “ISP” mode, and the processor inside the QA40x attaches to your PC with the VID:PID of 0x1FC9:0x022.

  2. The QA40x app then opens the “new” device as a HID device, and an image is sent to the QA40x.

  3. You then power cycle and the new image is validated as being received correct and the QA403 starts again and is ready for use.

Now, if during the update you pull out the USB plug, then upon reboot of the QA40x hardware an invalid image is detected and the QA40x firmware doesn’t start. The processor reverts to ISP mode.

And that’s where it looks like your QA403 hardware is today.

You should be able to re-flash this as follows:

  1. Try on a Win10 PC if possible. But if not, it’s worth a shot on Linux
  2. Unplug the QA403 hardware
  3. Start the QA40x application
  4. Once the app is up, click on the title bar of the app (to make sure it has focus) and type ‘QA40x’ (no quotes). You should hear a beep or similar.
  5. Notice there is a new menu called “DEBUG” just after the HELP menu
  6. Plug in your QA40x hardware, and verify a device with VID:PID 0x1FC9: 0x0022 is connected to your machine via HW manager or lsusb, etc.
  7. From the DEBUG menu, select Load Default Secure Image (must in be HID mode)
  8. Get ready to watch the status at the bottom. It will go really fast and you might not see it. But it should reflash
  9. Unplug the QA40x, wait 2-3 second, and re-plug. It should be connected. The cycling front-panel LEDs indicate the flash was successful.

That should get you updated to the latest version. Please report back what you see.

PS: Also, when you had the failure, had you added the second ruleset? Maybe there needs to be a better indication from the app that if you are on linux, you need to do an extra step before it tries to flash. We will fix that, but your feedback here will be very helpful. Sorry you ran into this.

PPS. Your message shows you saw the expected VID:PID, but if not, then you will need to take the lid off the QA40x. To do this, remove the two front screws and 6 side screws (3 on left, and 3 on right).The lid should lift off. Near the USB connector you will see BOOT written in the silkscreen. The two holes above the letters need to shorted with tweezers AND THEN plug in while remaining shorted. That is a fool-proof way to get into ISP mode. And from there, the DEBUG menu option above should work.

And when you put the screws back, be careful as the threads will be stripped if you go too tight.