Recovery Mode Fails on New Verdin iMX95 / Mallow Board

Technical Support
1

Hardware:

  • Verdin iMX95
  • Mallow Carrier Board

Host: Ubuntu 24.02, x86

  1. Quickstart guide for this configuration did not work in any way. No HDMI output, no ethernet link. LEDs show power and ethernet port shows physical link is up but that’s it. No SSH, no VNC, no ping
  2. Recovery mode fails with:
$ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 013:  ID 1fc9:015d NXP Semiconductors 00 Blank 95

$ ./recovery-linux.sh
Downloading Toradex Easy Installer...
uuu (Universal Update Utility) for nxp imx chips -- libuuu_1.5.233-0-g79ce7d2

Success 0 Failure 1

1:4-F740A20F 1/ 1 [HID(W): LIBUSB_ERROR_NO_DEVICE (-4) ] SDPS: boot -f ../imx-boot-recoverytezi

This is right out of the box. Why doesn’t it work?

I have a 1.8V UART adapter cable on order, but that should not be a requirement to boot the board.

2

Hi, I’m the Toradex AI Assistant.

I might make mistakes or occasionally get you wrong. Our support team will step in if needed.

Understanding Your Verdin iMX95 + Mallow Setup Issues

I understand the frustration with your out-of-the-box experience. Let me address both the HDMI and recovery mode issues you’re experiencing.

HDMI Output Issue

The HDMI interface on the Mallow carrier board is only compatible with Verdin iMX8M Plus modules (1). Unfortunately, the Verdin iMX95 does not support HDMI output through the Mallow carrier board’s HDMI connector.

For the Verdin iMX95, you’ll need to use alternative display options or consider a different carrier board that supports your display requirements.

Recovery Mode Troubleshooting

The recovery script failure you’re seeing (LIBUSB_ERROR_NO_DEVICE (-4)) is a known issue that can occur on Ubuntu systems. Here are the troubleshooting steps:

1. USB Connection Verification

  • Ensure you’re using a direct USB connection without any USB hubs (2)
  • Avoid using virtual machines as they can cause USB enumeration issues (2)
  • Try different USB ports on your host machine

2. Driver Issues on Ubuntu

The LIBUSB_ERROR_NO_DEVICE error typically indicates a USB driver or permissions issue. Since you’re seeing the device in lsusb as “NXP Semiconductors 00 Blank 95”, the hardware connection is working, but the recovery process is failing during the USB communication.

3. Recovery Process Steps

The recovery process should follow this sequence (2):

  1. Put the module in recovery mode
  2. Connect via USB OTG
  3. Run the recovery script to load Toradex Easy Installer

Recommended Next Steps

  1. For Display: Consider using the serial console (which you’ve already ordered the 1.8V UART adapter for) or VNC over network connection once the system boots properly

  2. For Recovery: Try the recovery process on a different Linux machine or check Ubuntu-specific USB permissions and driver configurations

  3. Alternative Approach: Once you have the UART adapter, you can access the system through the serial console to troubleshoot the boot process and network connectivity

The UART adapter will indeed be very helpful for debugging, as it provides direct access to the boot process and system console regardless of display or network issues.

Best regards, Toradex AI Assistant.

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If I answered your question, please tick the “Solution” checkbox.

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3

@ToradexAI

That’s news to me that HDMI on iMX95 + Mallow does not work. It is not shown anywhere that I can tell on the store page: Mallow Carrier Board | Verdin Arm Family . There’s a *Not available in all SoMs footnote but nowhere I can find does it name what those SoMs are.

VNC would be fine if it worked.

I am using a direct USB connection from a bare-metal Ubuntu OS. It should not be the user’s responsibility to debug Toradex software at such an early stage of setup.

Is there a way to change the boot flags on this board? In another posts on this forum ( Error while flashing iMX95 Verdin Evaluation kit ), a user says recovery mode failed for them until they switched boot mode to CM33 serial on the Verdin iMX95 EVK, but I don’t know how I could do that on my board.

4

HDMI Compatibility and Recovery Mode Issues

You’re absolutely right about the lack of clear documentation regarding HDMI compatibility on the store page. Based on the available sources, I found that the HDMI interface on the Mallow carrier board has specific compatibility limitations that aren’t well-documented in the main product pages(1).

HDMI Compatibility Issue

The documentation indicates that HDMI support varies by SoM, but you’re correct that the specific limitations aren’t clearly stated on the product pages(1). From the community forum discussions, there are known HDMI compatibility issues with certain SoM and carrier board combinations(2)(3).

Recovery Mode Troubleshooting

For the recovery mode issues you’re experiencing, here are some additional approaches:

Alternative Recovery Method: External Media

Since the USB OTG recovery is failing, you can try loading Toradex Easy Installer from external media (SD card or USB stick)(4). This method involves:

  1. Prepare External Media: Format a USB stick or SD card as FAT32(4)
  2. Extract TEZI: Unzip the Easy Installer package to the root directory of the external media(4)
  3. Boot from External Media: The system follows this boot order: SD Card → internal eMMC → USB Stick(4)

External Media Boot Process

The Mallow carrier board supports booting from external media through Distro Boot, which is configured to boot in the following order(4):

  1. SD Card
  2. internal eMMC
  3. USB Stick

This alternative method doesn’t require the USB OTG recovery process that’s currently failing for you(4).

Boot Mode Configuration

Regarding boot mode changes, the sources don’t provide specific information about changing boot flags on the Mallow carrier board for the Verdin iMX95. The recovery mode process should work through the standard recovery mode procedure outlined in the documentation(4).

Network Connectivity

For VNC access, ensure that:

  • The Ethernet connection is properly established
  • You can determine the IP address using ip addr show from the serial console(4)
  • VNC is accessible at the device’s IP address

The serial console access (with your 1.8V UART adapter) will be essential for troubleshooting both the network connectivity and the overall boot process.

Best regards, Toradex AI Assistant.

Did you like my answer? :+1: :-1:

If I answered your question, please tick the “Solution” checkbox.

For follow-up questions to me, please use @ToradexAI in your post.

5

Hi, Try using the DSI to HDMI Adapter Connector and Connect the HDMI there. In Verdin Development Boad I am using in the same way. The HDMI provided on the carrier board does not work.

6

Also for the LIBUSB issue, check if the board is Silicon Version A1 or B0, the A1 supports only until 7.4.8 and you should use the older Easy Installer. That worked for me.

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