Flash SMARC IMX8M Plus on limited carrier board

Technical Support
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Hi all,

I am trying to put a SMARC IMX8M Plus board into operation, and have a hard time figuring out how to do it. Main cause is that the (custom) carrier board I use has limited connectors and is therefore apparently not suitable for Toradex Easy Installer.

More details: the carrier board has the following connectors:

  • Ethernet
  • UART Debug
  • Jumper to enter recovery mode
  • Reset button
  • 1x USB-C port
  • 1x micro-SD slot

So no HDMI and no USB-A ports.

I should note that I have already flashed an IMX8M Plus SMARC module of a different vendor successfully by putting the module into recovery mode and then flashing u-boot and the operating system with the uuu tool and some fastboot commands, namely:

FB: ucmd setenv fastboot_dev mmc
FB: ucmd setenv mmcdev ${emmc_dev}
FB: ucmd mmc dev ${emmc_dev}
FB: flash -raw2sparse all myimage.sdimg
FB: ucmd if env exists emmc_ack; then ; else setenv emmc_ack 0; fi;
FB: ucmd mmc partconf ${emmc_dev} ${emmc_ack} 1 0
FB: done

I tried to do the same with the Toradex module. While entering recovery mode works, apparently the u-boot-toradex never enters fastboot mode, so uuu hangs during these commands.

The next approach was to use the Toradex Easy Installer. As far as I understood, TEZI usually needs HDMI and connected mouse/keyboard, so this is not possible too.
Then I learnt TEZI can also be used headless and unattended for production programming.
For the USB Stick method, I lack the connectors. The only USB-C connector is used to enter Easy Installer, and the documentation says nothing about an SD card to deploy the OS image.
The network method might work, but would be tricky to set up. Before I dive into that:

Does anyone know whether it is possible to modify/compile u-boot-toradex in such a way, that the u-boot SPL boots into fastboot mode, such that above-mentioned commands can be executed? This would be my preferred method.

I have by the way already integrated the toradex Yocto layers into my build and succesfully built u-boot and the operating system.

Any help is appreciated!
Kind regards

2

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Hello! Thank you for providing detailed information about your setup.

Given the available connectors on your custom carrier board (Ethernet, UART Debug, jumper for recovery, reset, USB-C, and micro-SD), you have a couple of options for getting your SMARC iMX8M Plus up and running with Torizon or another Toradex-supported Linux distribution. Let me address your questions and outline recommended approaches:

1. Fastboot Support on Toradex Modules

The workflow you performed with the other vendor’s module (using uuu and fastboot commands directly) unfortunately differs from the officially supported approach for Toradex modules. As discussed in the community, Toradex U-Boot builds do not natively provide a standard “fastboot” environment on boot for modules like the iMX8M Plus (reference).

The Toradex UUU scripts do not flash your OS image directly to eMMC as a block device the way your commands do. Instead, the recovery process with UUU loads the Toradex Easy Installer (TEZI) into RAM. TEZI then provides the logic for deploying OS images onto the module, giving you more flexibility and integrity checks.

It is technically possible to modify U-Boot to add fastboot support, but this is beyond the intended workflow and will require custom development and maintenance. The recommended, easier path is to leverage the Easy Installer and the workflows Toradex supports, as this will align you with upstream improvements and documentation.

2. Using Toradex Easy Installer without HDMI (Headless/Remote)

Despite the lack of HDMI and standard USB ports, you can run the Easy Installer completely headless, leveraging your current connectors:

A. SD Card Boot Method

  • The iMX8M Plus supports booting from micro-SD. Prepare an SD card containing the Easy Installer as described in the official documentation (formatted FAT32, with TEZI image extracted to the root).
  • When you boot from this SD card, the module will run Easy Installer from external media.
  • You can connect via VNC over Ethernet for full remote GUI access, as described here.
    • The device will obtain an IP address via DHCP, and you can connect from your host PC with a VNC client.

B. Network-based Automated Programming

  • If you plan to deploy the same image over and over, you can set up unattended, production flashing via the network.
  • This approach leverages Ethernet for fully headless, automated installation.
  • The configuration details can be found here.

3. USB Stick Method Alternative

Since you only have USB-C and not a standard USB-A port, the usual USB stick method may not work unless your carrier board internally wires the USB-C for host (OTG) support and you can enable host mode. Otherwise, the SD card method above is the more straightforward approach.

Summary (Recommended Approach)

  • Boot Toradex Easy Installer from micro-SD as outlined in the docs. No HDMI is needed; access TEZI via VNC over Ethernet.
  • For fully automated workflows, set up network-based production programming.
  • Direct fastboot commands are not supported in the default Toradex U-Boot; stick to the TEZI-based workflow for best results and compatibility.

If you have any questions about preparing images for Easy Installer, configuring unattended installation, or other steps in the workflow, feel free to ask!

Best regards,
Toradex AI Assistant.

3

Hi @lukuip

I can’t really test it, but I think the Tezi should work with your board.

Can you test if you can flash an image from our default feed?
For this, you can try a VNC client, so you don’t need a a display.

  1. Download Toradex Easy Installer | Toradex Developer Center
  2. Connect the USB-C and Ethernet to the carrier board
  3. Put the device into recovery mode and load Tezi
    1. You should see the “Successful Downloaded Toradex Easy Installer” message
  4. Connect to the VNC server 192.168.11.1
    1. Tezi creates this local server
    2. You should be able to see this screen
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  5. Select and install a Torizon OS image.

For reference, you can check the full article.

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Hi @allan.tx

thank you for the hint, yes indeed I can connect via VNC!
I will try to install my operating system from here.

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Actually, the TEZI documentation explicitly states that an SD card is a supported option for external media.

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