U-bbot recocery

Dear Toradex Support Team,
I am experiencing issues with four Colibri iMX6ULL 512MB IT V1.1A modules (serial number: 06997328, plus three others, available upon request). The issue occurred during U-Boot flashing when power was interrupted during a nand erase operation. The modules are now stuck in SDP mode, UART RX is unresponsive, and NAND write operations fail. Below are the details:
Issues:
• U-Boot runs in RAM via sudo uuu u-boot-nand.imx, but UART RX is non-functional (tested with minicom, screen, PuTTY).
• sudo uuu -b nand u-boot-nand.imx hangs at 1/1 [100%] SDP: boot -f u-boot-nand.imx.
• Easy Installer fails:
◦ sudo uuu ~/toradex-recovery/tezi.itb, -b spl, and SDP: boot -f tezi.itb report Cannot find valid IVT header.
◦ recovery-linux.sh hangs at 1/1 [100%] SDP: boot -f …/SPL.
• Modules are stuck in SDP mode (SDP: handle requests…).
• SD card prepared with tezi.itb (SHA256 verified, 33 MB, for Colibri iMX6ULL 512MB IT NAND), but no success.
• Visual inspection: Modules show no physical damage, SODIMM pins are intact.
Verified:
• Iris carrier board works with another Colibri iMX6ULL module (console, USB-to-serial adapter, and terminals are functional).
• USB OTG detection is successful (sudo uuu -lsusb shows VID=0x15A2, PID=0x0080).
• UUU is up-to-date (lib1.5.141).
• Power interruption during nand erase confirmed as the cause of the failure.
Outputs:
• dmesg:
[1623115.773656] usb 1-2.1.2.4: New USB device found, idVendor=15a2, idProduct=0080, bcdDevice=0.01 [1623115.773669] usb 1-2.1.2.4: Product: SE Blank 6ULL [1623115.773670] usb 1-2.1.2.4: Manufacturer: Freescale SemiConductor Inc]
• U-Boot:
U-Boot 2022.07-6.8.0-devel+git.e092e3250270 (Jul 11 2022 - 13:42:58 +0000) CPU: Freescale i.MX6ULL rev1.1 792 MHz (running at 396 MHz) … Serial Downloader recovery mode, using sdp command SDP: initialize… SDP: handle requests…
• UUU:
◦ sudo uuu -lsusb: Detection successful.
◦ sudo uuu ~/toradex-recovery/tezi.itb:
Success 0 Failure 1 1:2124 1/2 [Cannot find valid IVT header] SDP: boot -f “/home/kult/toradex-recovery/tezi.itb”
◦ recovery-linux.sh:
Success 0 Failure 0 1:2124 1/1 [=================100%=================] SDP: boot -f …/SPL
(hangs, does not complete).
• Questions:
Is it possible to recover the modules after a power interruption during nand erase (e.g., using factory tools or JTAG)?
• Are the modules likely damaged (NAND, UART RX)?
• How should I proceed with an RMA for the four modules?
Thank you for your assistance! Please let me know if you need additional details or the serial numbers of the other three modules.
Best regards,

Lubor Kult

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Hello Lubor,

Thank you for your detailed description and diagnostics.

Based on your symptoms—modules stuck in SDP mode, non-functional UART RX, failure to write to NAND, and unsuccessful reflash attempts with Toradex Easy Installer and recovery scripts—the issue appears to stem from the interrupted NAND erase process. This situation is serious but, as indicated by community documentation, may still be recoverable by the manufacturer using specialized factory tools:

  • All four modules exhibiting identical symptoms point to a recoverable hardware state rather than permanent physical damage (1).
  • The UART RX issue and NAND operation failures are consistent with NAND corruption due to power interruption.
  • Standard field recovery methods (Easy Installer, U-Boot via UUU, SD card boot) are unlikely to work further. Attempting repeated recovery operations is not advised and could complicate recovery.

Your next steps should be:

  1. Carefully document the symptoms and include the serial numbers of all affected modules.
  2. Do not attempt further recovery procedures at this time.
  3. Proceed with submitting an RMA request. Since all diagnostic steps have been tried and a power loss during NAND erase is confirmed as the cause, manufacturer-level intervention is needed.

For the RMA process, refer to the guidance here: https://community.toradex.com/t/recovery-mode-colibri-vf61-doesnt-work/25940.

Recovery through JTAG or on-field factory tools for users is not supported or recommended on these modules.

If you need further clarifications about the process or symptoms, please let me know!

Best regards, Toradex AI Assistant.

Hi @kult!

Just checking if I understood it all: you were flashing an image, and the module’s power was interrupted. After that, you cannot flash any image on the module, and the recovery mode + Toradex Easy Installer fails when it tries to load.

Do the four modules behave the same?

Best regards.