Flash Bootloader

This script will flash factory bootloader to the connected OAK camera. It will also clear the user bootloader (if it exists). Bootloader can only be flashed to devices that have on-board flash memory.

Note

We suggest using Device Manager, a GUI tool for interfacing with the bootloader and its configurations.

Demo

Example script output

~/depthai-python/examples$ python3 flash_bootloader.py
[0] 1844301041C83D0E00 [X_LINK_USB_VSC]
Which DepthAI device to flash bootloader for [0..0]: 0
Booting latest bootloader first, will take a tad longer...
Bootloader version to flash: 0.0.26
No config found, skipping erasing user bootloader
Flashing USB bootloader...
Flashing progress: 0.0%
Flashing progress: 18.8%
Flashing progress: 31.2%
Flashing progress: 48.2%
Flashing progress: 94.2%
Flashing progress: 100.0%
Flashing successful. Took 7.55600329185836 seconds

Setup

Please run the install script to download all required dependencies. Please note that this script must be ran from git context, so you have to download the depthai-python repository first and then run the script

git clone https://github.com/luxonis/depthai-python.git
cd depthai-python/examples
python3 install_requirements.py

For additional information, please follow installation guide

Source code

Also available on GitHub

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#!/usr/bin/env python3

import depthai as dai
import sys
import time

blType = dai.DeviceBootloader.Type.AUTO
if len(sys.argv) > 1:
    if sys.argv[1] == 'usb':
        blType = dai.DeviceBootloader.Type.USB
    elif sys.argv[1] == 'network':
        blType = dai.DeviceBootloader.Type.NETWORK
    else:
        print("Specify either 'usb' or 'network' bootloader type")
        exit()

deviceInfos = dai.DeviceBootloader.getAllAvailableDevices()
if len(deviceInfos) == 0:
    print("No device found to flash. Exiting.")
    exit(-1)
else:
    for i, di in enumerate(deviceInfos):
        print(f'[{i}] {di.getMxId()} [{di.protocol.name}]', end='')
        if di.state == dai.XLinkDeviceState.X_LINK_BOOTLOADER:
            with dai.DeviceBootloader(di) as bl:
                print(f' current bootloader: {bl.getVersion()}', end='')
        print()
    selected = input(f'Which OAK device to flash factory bootloader for [0..{len(deviceInfos)-1}]: ')
    info = deviceInfos[int(selected)]

hasBootloader = (info.state == dai.XLinkDeviceState.X_LINK_BOOTLOADER)
if hasBootloader:
    print("Warning! Flashing factory bootloader can potentially soft brick your device and should be done with caution.")
    print("Do not unplug your device while the bootloader is flashing.")
    print("Type 'y' and press enter to proceed, otherwise exits: ")
    if input() != 'y':
        print("Prompt declined, exiting...")
        exit(-1)

# Open DeviceBootloader and allow flashing bootloader
print(f"Booting latest bootloader first, will take a tad longer...")
with dai.DeviceBootloader(info, allowFlashingBootloader=True) as bl:
    print("Bootloader version to flash:", bl.getVersion())
    currentBlType = bl.getType()

    if blType == dai.DeviceBootloader.Type.AUTO:
        blType = currentBlType

    # Check if bootloader type is the same, if already booted by bootloader (not in USB recovery mode)
    if currentBlType != blType and hasBootloader:
        print(f"Are you sure you want to flash '{blType.name}' bootloader over current '{currentBlType.name}' bootloader?")
        print(f"Type 'y' and press enter to proceed, otherwise exits: ")
        if input() != 'y':
            print("Prompt declined, exiting...")
            exit(-1)

    try:
        # Clears out user bootloader
        configJson = bl.readConfigData()
        configJson["userBlSize"] = 0
        bl.flashConfigData(configJson)
    except:
        print('No config found, skipping erasing user bootloader')

    # Create a progress callback lambda
    progress = lambda p : print(f'Flashing progress: {p*100:.1f}%')

    print(f"Flashing {blType.name} bootloader...")
    startTime = time.monotonic()
    (res, message) = bl.flashBootloader(dai.DeviceBootloader.Memory.FLASH, blType, progress)
    if res:
        print("Flashing successful. Took", time.monotonic() - startTime, "seconds")
    else:
        print("Flashing failed:", message)

Also available on GitHub

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#include <chrono>
#include <string>

#include "XLink/XLink.h"
#include "depthai/depthai.hpp"
#include "depthai/xlink/XLinkConnection.hpp"

static const char* ProtocolToStr(XLinkProtocol_t val) {
    switch(val) {
        case X_LINK_USB_VSC:
            return "X_LINK_USB_VSC";
        case X_LINK_USB_CDC:
            return "X_LINK_USB_CDC";
        case X_LINK_PCIE:
            return "X_LINK_PCIE";
        case X_LINK_IPC:
            return "X_LINK_IPC";
        case X_LINK_TCP_IP:
            return "X_LINK_TCP_IP";
        case X_LINK_NMB_OF_PROTOCOLS:
            return "X_LINK_NMB_OF_PROTOCOLS";
        case X_LINK_ANY_PROTOCOL:
            return "X_LINK_ANY_PROTOCOL";
        default:
            return "INVALID_ENUM_VALUE";
            break;
    }
}

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
    using namespace std::chrono;

    dai::DeviceBootloader::Type blType = dai::DeviceBootloader::Type::AUTO;
    if(argc > 1) {
        std::string blTypeStr(argv[1]);
        if(blTypeStr == "usb") {
            blType = dai::DeviceBootloader::Type::USB;
        } else if(blTypeStr == "network") {
            blType = dai::DeviceBootloader::Type::NETWORK;
        } else {
            std::cout << "Specify either 'usb' or 'network' bootloader type\n";
            return 0;
        }
    }

    dai::DeviceInfo info;
    auto deviceInfos = dai::DeviceBootloader::getAllAvailableDevices();
    if(deviceInfos.empty()) {
        std::cout << "No device found to flash. Exiting." << std::endl;
        return -1;
    } else {
        for(int i = 0; i < deviceInfos.size(); i++) {
            const auto& devInfo = deviceInfos[i];
            std::cout << "[" << i << "] " << devInfo.getMxId() << "[" << ProtocolToStr(devInfo.protocol) << "]";
            if(devInfo.state == X_LINK_BOOTLOADER) {
                dai::DeviceBootloader bl(devInfo);
                std::cout << " current bootloader: " << bl.getVersion();
            }
            std::cout << std::endl;
        }
        int selected = 0;
        std::cout << "Which DepthAI device to flash bootloader for [0.." << deviceInfos.size() - 1 << "]\n";
        std::cin >> selected;
        info = deviceInfos[selected];
    }

    bool hasBootloader = (info.state == X_LINK_BOOTLOADER);
    if(hasBootloader) {
        std::cout << "Warning! Flashing bootloader can potentially soft brick your device and should be done with caution." << std::endl;
        std::cout << "Do not unplug your device while the bootloader is flashing." << std::endl;
        std::cout << "Type 'y' and press enter to proceed, otherwise exits: ";
        std::cin.ignore();
        if(std::cin.get() != 'y') {
            std::cout << "Prompt declined, exiting..." << std::endl;
            return -1;
        }
    }

    // Open DeviceBootloader and allow flashing bootloader
    std::cout << "Booting latest bootloader first, will take a tad longer..." << std::endl;
    dai::DeviceBootloader bl(info, true);
    auto currentBlType = bl.getType();

    if(blType == dai::DeviceBootloader::Type::AUTO) {
        blType = currentBlType;
    }

    // Check if bootloader type is the same, if already booted by bootloader (not in USB recovery mode)
    if(currentBlType != blType && hasBootloader) {
        std::cout << "Are you sure you want to flash '" << blType << "' bootloader over current '" << currentBlType << "' bootloader?" << std::endl;
        std::cout << "Type 'y' and press enter to proceed, otherwise exits: ";
        std::cin.ignore();
        if(std::cin.get() != 'y') {
            std::cout << "Prompt declined, exiting..." << std::endl;
            return -1;
        }
    }

    // Create a progress callback lambda
    auto progress = [](float p) { std::cout << "Flashing Progress..." << p * 100 << "%" << std::endl; };

    std::cout << "Flashing " << blType << " bootloader..." << std::endl;
    auto t1 = steady_clock::now();
    bool success = false;
    std::string message;
    std::tie(success, message) = bl.flashBootloader(dai::DeviceBootloader::Memory::FLASH, blType, progress);
    if(success) {
        std::cout << "Flashing successful. Took " << duration_cast<milliseconds>(steady_clock::now() - t1).count() << "ms" << std::endl;
    } else {
        std::cout << "Flashing failed: " << message << std::endl;
    }
    return 0;
}

Got questions?

Head over to Discussion Forum for technical support or any other questions you might have.