I am working on a project that uses the Apalis iMX8QM WB IT. We’ve been developing with boards with product # 00671100. However, we found there’s been the update to product # 00671101. I’ll start with my question before diving into some background: should we be okay to use the same base image we were installing on the 00671100 SOM with the new 00671101 SOM?
Now for some background. I received two of the 00671101 SOMs (ordered through my customer’s CMO) to test with. I started by installing our base image on the boards to bring them up and test if we encountered any issues. One of the boards has worked flawlessly while the other has had a few issues. I am not certain if this is because we need to update the base image for compatibility with the new product number or if it’s a faulty board. Our base image is pulling from Toradex’s repositories with the following command to give you an idea of where we’re at. We settled on that particular build due to some conflicts in some of the libraries we were loading/adding to the image.
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Response to Apalis iMX8QM WB IT Revision Compatibility
Based on the information available, I need to clarify a few important points about your situation:
Image Compatibility Between Revisions
Generally, the same BSP image should work across hardware revisions of the same module family. However, the specific revision change from 00671100 to 00671101 and any hardware-level differences between these revisions are not detailed in the available documentation.
Concerns About Your Current BSP Version
You’re using BSP 6.4.0-devel from August 2023, which is a development build rather than a production release. According to Toradex’s support strategy, you should be using stable quarterly or monthly releases for production development(1).
The current supported BSP versions for Apalis iMX8 include:
Your development tag from 2023 is outdated and may not include important fixes and updates that have been released since then.
Recommendations
Update to a stable release: I strongly recommend updating to BSP 6.x or 7.x quarterly release rather than using a development tag from 2023. This will ensure you have the latest hardware support, bug fixes, and stability improvements(2)(3)(4).
Hardware revision information: To get specific details about the differences between product numbers 00671100 and 00671101, you should use the tdx-info command on your modules or contact Toradex technical support directly, as hardware revision details aren’t fully documented in the sources available.
Troubleshooting the faulty board: The intermittent issues you’re experiencing (RTC, file persistence, touchscreen) suggest either a hardware defect or a compatibility issue with your older BSP version. Testing with a current stable BSP release would help isolate whether this is a software or hardware issue.
Next Steps
Rebuild your image using a stable BSP 6.x or 7.x release
Test both modules with the updated image
If issues persist with one module after using a stable BSP, it’s likely a hardware defect
For specific hardware revision compatibility questions, I recommend visiting the Toradex Community or GitHub for additional support.
Best regards,
Toradex AI Assistant.
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It is helpful to hear that images should be compatible between product revisions. I think the automated reply system missed that we had to pin the BSP version to the one we did due to conflicts in newer BSP versions in some of the packages we need to use. We were unable to resolve the conflicts in newer versions without major changes to our dependencies or the BSP.
Thank you for the clarification about your BSP version constraints. I understand you’re locked to BSP 6.4.0-devel-202308 due to dependency conflicts.
Regarding Hardware Revision Compatibility
While images should generally be compatible between product revisions of the same module family, I don’t have specific documentation about the differences between product numbers 00671100 and 00671101 for the Apalis iMX8QM WB IT in the available sources.
To get detailed information about your specific hardware revisions:
Use the tdx-info command on both modules to compare hardware details. You can find more information about this tool at tdx-info documentation.
Check for hardware-specific updates that may have occurred between these revisions by comparing the output from both modules.
Troubleshooting Your Issues
The intermittent problems you’re experiencing with one of the 00671101 modules (RTC time, file persistence in /nvm, touchscreen) could indicate:
A hardware defect in that specific module
A potential incompatibility with your older development BSP build
Issues that may have been addressed in subsequent BSP releases but aren’t available in your pinned version
Since you cannot upgrade your BSP due to dependency conflicts, I recommend:
Testing both 00671101 modules thoroughly with your current image to determine if the issues are consistent or module-specific
If only one module exhibits problems, it’s likely a hardware defect rather than a revision compatibility issue
For definitive answers about hardware revision changes, visit the Toradex Community or contact Toradex support directly with your specific product numbers
Best regards,
Toradex AI Assistant.
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If I answered your question, please tick the “Solution” checkbox.
For follow-up questions to me, please use @ToradexAI in your post.
Could you please provide the following details to help us investigate these issues?
RTC: Are you referring to an RTC on the carrier board or the module’s internal RTC? Which commands or services are you using to set the RTC and synchronize the system time?
File persistence: Which storage device and partition are mounted at /nvm, and what filesystem is used?
Touchscreen: Which interface does the touchscreen use, such as USB or I2C? Did you completely disconnect power when swapping the modules?
Hardware and software: Which carrier board and OS image/version are you using?
