Linux Upgrade Tool

Rockchip's Linux Upgrade tool is a proprietary solution developed by the company for flashing images onto various storage devices such as SPI, eMMC, SD Card, and more. Unlike open-source rkdeveloptool software, this tool does not provide access to its source code.

Instead, it is distributed solely in binary executable form, allowing users to utilize the provided executable files for the purpose of flashing images onto their desired storage devices.

How to use Linux Upgrade Tool

Installing required system dependencies

Linux Upgrade Tool requires the following dependencies to be installed on your Debian or Ubuntu system.

sudo apt-get install libudev-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev

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For other Linux distributions, please refer to the following table for the equivalent package names.

Debian/Ubuntu	Fedora	Arch Linux
libudev-dev
libusb-1.0-0-dev	libusb-devel	libusb

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Linux Upgrade Tool Usage

---------------------Tool Usage ---------------------
Help:             H
Version:          V
Log:              LG
------------------Upgrade Command ------------------
ChooseDevice:		CD
ListDevice:		LD
SwitchDevice:		SD
UpgradeFirmware:	UF <Firmware> [-noreset]
UpgradeLoader:		UL <Loader> [-noreset] [FLASH|EMMC|SPINOR|SPINAND]
DownloadImage:		DI <-p|-b|-k|-s|-r|-m|-u|-t|-re image>
DownloadBoot:		DB <Loader>
EraseFlash:		EF <Loader|firmware>
PartitionList:		PL
WriteSN:		SN <serial number>
ReadSN:			RSN
ReadComLog:		RCL <File>
CreateGPT:		GPT <Input Parameter> <Output Gpt>
SwitchStorage:		SSD
----------------Professional Command -----------------
TestDevice:		TD
ResetDevice:		RD [subcode]
ResetPipe:		RP [pipe]
ReadCapability:		RCB
ReadFlashID:		RID
ReadFlashInfo:		RFI
ReadChipInfo:		RCI
ReadSecureMode:		RSM
WriteSector:		WS  <BeginSec> <PageSizeK> <PageSpareB> <File>
ReadLBA:		RL  <BeginSec> <SectorLen> [File]
WriteLBA:		WL  <BeginSec> [SizeSec] <File>
EraseLBA:		EL  <BeginSec> <EraseCount>
EraseBlock:		EB <CS> <BeginBlock> <BlokcLen> [--Force]
RunSystem:		RUN <uboot_addr> <trust_addr> <boot_addr> <uboot> <trust> <boot>
-------------------------------------------------------

You can use the above command by using sudo ./upgrade_tool prefix before any of the command.

For example to erase flash:

sudo ./upgrade_tool db <loader path>
sudo ./upgrade_tool ef

Flashing RAW image using Linux_Upgrade_Tool

RAW images can be flashed to any storage device using the dd command or the Linux_Upgrade_Tool.

Check for connected devices

sudo ./upgrade_tool ld

List of rockusb connected(1)

DevNo=1 Vid=0x2207,Pid=0x330c,LocationID=7143 Mode=Maskrom SerialNo=

Flash the loader binary

sudo ./upgrade_tool db rk3399_loader_xxx.bin

Download boot ok.

Flash the RAW GPT image to storage device

⚠️ Make sure to flash the loader first to the storage device.

sudo ./upgrade_tool wl 0 <some_gpt_image>.img

Example:

sudo ./upgrade_tool wl 0 Vicharak_Vaaman_RAW_debian_bullseye_XFCE_beta_v0.1.0_08072023.img

Write LBA OK.

Reboot the device

sudo ./upgrade_tool rd

[sudo] password for vicharak:

Reset Device Success!

❕ If you encounter Reset Device Fail! then try to manually reboot
using the power button on the board.

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Alternatively you can directly flash update image to eMMC using upgrade firmware method.

Flash eMMC image using (upgrade firmware) method

sudo ./upgrade_tool uf <some_update_image>.img

Example:

sudo ./upgrade_tool uf Vicharak_Vaaman_EMMC_debian_bullseye_XFCE_beta_v0.1.0_03072023.img

[sudo] password for vicharak:
Loading firmware...
Support Type:330C FW Ver:8.1.00 FW Time:2023-07-07 14:11:41
Loader ver:1.1e Loader Time:2023-07-07 14:11:08
Start to upgrade firmware...
Download Boot Start
Download Boot Success
Wait For Maskrom Start
Wait For Maskrom Success
Test Device Start
Test Device Success
Check Chip Start
Check Chip Success
Get FlashInfo Start
Get FlashInfo Success
Prepare IDB Start
Prepare IDB Success
Download IDB Start
Download IDB Success
Download Firmware Start
Download Image... (12%)