Flash the system image

This page describes system flashing for the RDK S600. Complete flashing preparation before you flash.

Download modes

Before you flash the system image to the RDK S600 with XBurn, select a download mode based on the device state, then enter that mode and start flashing.

Download mode	Scenario	Prerequisite
DFU+Fastboot	Blank board or system corruption that bricks the device	Set the DIP switches to put the device into DFU boot mode
Fastboot	Update the system on a non-blank board	Requires a non-blank board whose system can enter U-Boot

Enter DFU+Fastboot mode

The RDK S600 currently on sale is V1P0. Enter DFU mode as follows:

V1P0 (current)

1. Set the SW3 DIP switch to OFF, and power off.
2. Set the SW2 DIP switch to ON to enter DFU mode.
3. Set the SW3 DIP switch to ON, and power on.
4. Check the D61 Flash LED: steady on means the device is in DFU mode.

Historical versions (V0P1, V0P2) DFU entry

V0P1

1. Set the SW3 DIP switch to OFF, and power off.
2. Short the SW2 jumper cap to enter DFU mode.
3. Set the SW3 DIP switch to ON, and power on.
4. Check the D61 Flash LED: steady on means the device is in DFU mode.

V0P2

1. Set the SW3 DIP switch to OFF, and power off.
2. Set the SW2 DIP switch to ON to enter DFU mode.
3. Set the SW3 DIP switch to ON, and power on.
4. Check the D61 Flash LED: steady on means the device is in DFU mode.

V0P2 DFU entry is the same as the V1P0 version above.

Enter Fastboot mode

1. Set the SW3 DIP switch to OFF, and power off.
2. Set the SW2 DIP switch to OFF to enter normal boot mode.
3. Set the SW3 DIP switch to ON, and power on.

• Automatic entry: After the board system finishes booting, the ADB service starts automatically. XBurn detects the ADB device and sends a command to put the board into Fastboot.
• Manual entry: Right after power-on, press and hold the spacebar to enter the U-Boot command line, then enter fastboot 0 to enter Fastboot.

Flash the full image

Use this for a first-time flash or system recovery. It flashes the complete system image package. For Storage medium, select UFS (onboard) or NVMe (expansion) based on your setup.

Boot disk selection

The boot disk is determined by the SW8 BOOT DIP switch. Before flashing, set the SW8 DIP switch correctly for the target storage medium, and keep the switch position unchanged after flashing:

• Boot from UFS: Set SW8 to the UFS boot position (D12=ON, D13=ON or D12=OFF, D13=OFF).
• Boot from NVMe: Set SW8 to the NVMe boot position (D12=OFF, D13=ON).

Flashing NVMe requires the NVMe version of the image. D-Robotics provides UFS images by default; the NVMe image must be compiled on your own (build config RDK_DISK_MEDIUM="nvme"). See Build system development guide · eMMC/UFS/NVMe image build notes.

1. For Product type, select RDK S600.

2. For Connection type, select USB. For Download mode, select DFU+Fastboot or Fastboot.

3. For Storage, select UFS or NVMe. For Firmware type, select secure.

4. To the right of Image directory, click Browse and select the product folder that contains the firmware.

   

5. (Optional) To flash multiple devices at once, see the XBurn Manual Batch flashing (software limit 8 devices, recommended ≤4; the more devices, the higher the failure rate, and stability depends on the cable, USB hub, power supply, and other hardware. The software provides no guarantee). For batch flashing, turn off Reboot after flashing so that one device rebooting does not affect the others.

6. (Optional) Expand Advanced configuration and select Reboot after flashing. After flashing, the device reboots automatically, so you do not need to power off, switch to normal boot mode, or power on again manually. For details, see the XBurn Manual Auto-reboot and boot check after flashing.

7. Click Start flashing. The device powers on and flashing starts. Wait for the progress to complete.

8. After the flashing completes, power off.

9. Verify the boot. Keep the device powered off, connect the device to a monitor with an HDMI cable, then power on the device. On first boot, the system performs default environment configuration that takes about 45 seconds, after which the Ubuntu desktop appears on the monitor.

   LED indicators

   • Green LED: Lit means the hardware is powered on normally.

   If the device produces no display output for a long time (over 2 minutes) after power-on, the boot failed and you need to debug over a serial cable. For boot failure troubleshooting, see the XBurn Manual Boot issues.

   

Advanced usage

• Use this for specific scenarios other than a first-time flash.
• In addition to flashing the full image, XBurn supports Flash specific regions, Back up specific regions, and Flash specific partition images.

Flash specific regions

• Flash only the selected regions, instead of the complete full-image package.
• miniboot_flash is on Norflash and is independent of the selected medium; both UFS and NVMe can select it. Other regions correspond to the selected medium per the "Actual storage medium" column.

Region	Actual storage medium	Firmware content	Image
miniboot_flash	Norflash	Basic boot image on Norflash, including images for HSM/MCU0 and other system components	img_packages/disk/miniboot_flash.img
miniboot_ufs	UFS	Basic boot image on UFS, including images for BL31/U-Boot and other system components	img_packages/disk/miniboot_ufs.img
ufs	UFS	Complete UFS image, already includes miniboot_ufs	img_packages/disk/ufs_disk.simg
miniboot_nvme	NVMe	Basic boot image on NVMe, including images for BL31/U-Boot and other system components	img_packages/disk/miniboot_nvme.img
nvme	NVMe	Complete NVMe image, already includes miniboot_nvme	img_packages/disk/nvme_disk.simg

Starting from the steps in Flash the full image, expand Advanced configuration, select Flash specific regions, and select the target regions (such as miniboot_flash and miniboot_ufs). Complete the flash and verify the boot.

Back up specific regions

Back up the image of specific regions to your PC. miniboot_flash is on Norflash; both UFS and NVMe can back it up. Other regions correspond to the selected medium per the "Actual storage medium" column.

Region	Actual storage medium	Firmware content	Backup image
miniboot_flash	Norflash	Complete Norflash image	img_packages/disk/miniboot_flash_backup.img
ufs	UFS	Complete UFS image	img_packages/disk/ufs_disk_backup.img
nvme	NVMe	Complete NVMe image	img_packages/disk/nvme_disk_backup.img

Starting from the steps in Flash the full image, expand Advanced configuration, select Back up specific regions, and select the target region (such as miniboot_flash). After flashing, open img_packages/disk/ and check the backup image file miniboot_flash_backup.img.

Note

• Data backup takes a long time. Wait patiently.
• To flash a backup image, remove _backup from the filename and change it to the same filename used for flashing a specific region (for example, ufs_disk_backup.img → ufs_disk.simg).

Flash specific partition images

Flash by individual system component partition, at a finer granularity than Flash specific regions. This is partition-level (a single component partition, such as uboot, boot, or system).

Starting from the parameters in Flash the full image, expand Advanced configuration, select Flash specific partition images, and select the target partitions. Complete the flash and verify the boot.

The partition options that appear after selection are: