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Version: AT3 v1.3

Device Firmware Update (DFU)

Firmware types and firmware update methods​

Applicative (MCU) firmware​

This is the "Asset Tracker" code (e.g. AT3) defining the top level application behavior of the device. It runs on the main MCU.

The application firmware can always be updated via USB, except ATEx/IECEx zone 1 devices (the USB data tracks are disabled to prevent injection of high voltage) and specific versions requiring military grade security.

As of AT3 v1.3, the application firmware can also be updated:

  • via BLE.
  • via the cellular network (Combo cellular LPWAN CompactTracker only)

BLE firmware​

The BLE subsystem firmware can be upgraded via BLE or via the cellular network.

GNSS firmware​

Both the MT3333 GNSS and the LR1110 chip have upgradable firmware. These chipsets get flashed in factory and cannot be upgraded by users.

Firmware update via USB​

For the badge trackers (except ATEX Zone1 models), the USB port is accessible through the magnetic connector. For the Compact and Combo cellular LPWAN compact, accessing the USB port requires opening the casing.

warning

You should be aware that Abeeway trackers DO NOT derive their power from the USB port when connected to a charger. All power is still provided by the battery.

  • Opening the casing causes the tamper switch to close, trigering the tamper alarm but also causing a permanent current to flow through this circuit and the MCU to go always-on mode, impacting the battery lifetime.
  • Connecting the USB port causes the MCU to enter always-on mode to process the serial communication.

Check your charge level before attempting an upgrade Disconnect the USB cable and close the casing and as soon as you are done with the FW update!

Entering Bootloader mode​

Connect using a USB cable, select the appropriate USB port from your terminal and open the connection (If you use Tera Term, this is File --> New connection).

tip

You must type your user password (by default '123') to get a User> prompt and type further commands. You can change the user password via parameter 0x010e core_cli_password. Do not use value 0 as it will disable user access. If this happens you will need a superuser password, contact Abeeway support.

If you see the User> prompt, you are in interactive mode and can type further commands. Before upgrading, you probably want to backup your current configuration:

  • Disable logs to prevent parasitic output. Type sys log off.
  • Type conf show all to display all configuration parameters and their current value, and copy the configuration. You can also use the browser based 'Beehive' tool to save the configuration.

Check that your battery level is above 20%:

user> power info
power info
Information
 Battery type: primary
 Battery capacity: 8000 mAh
 Battery voltage: 3556 mV
 Consumption: 12.080 mAh
 Remaining charge: 100 %
OK

You are ready to enter bootloader mode. From the USB command line interface, type:

User> system boot
tip

The command can be abbreviated to e.g. sys bo as AT3 supports autocompletion. This causes the device to restart in bootloader mode. The USB port disconnects and reconnects.

The CLI prompt changes to ? in bootloader mode.

Bootloader commands and XMODEM firmware upload​

Check that you are in bootloader mode, the prompt should be ?.

  • Type ABWeto erase all parameters in flash (a good practice unless you are certain that the parameter set is compatible with the new firmware).
  • Type ABWuto enter XMODEM upload mode. The device enters upload mode for a limited time and just outputs a periodic * hertbeat to signal that it is alive and waiting for the new firmware binary file.

From your terminal (e.g. Tera Term), select the new AT3 firmware and send over USB using XMODEM (For Tera Term: File--> Transfer --> XMODEM --> Send). You should see a progress bar and the update will take about 30 seconds.

tip

USB firmware update is unsigned: select the .bin extension for the binary file, not the .bin.sign extension which is used for firmware update over the air (FUOTA).

If the firmware upload is successful, the bootloader CLI prompt will return. Type r to reset. After boot, you are back to the AT3 command line interface. Enter the user password again, then at the User> prompt, type sys info to check that you are running the new firmware.

If the update fails or if the bootloader times out, the device will self reset to the previous firmware.

The new firmware will start from the defaut parameter configuration. You can use commands conf set <parameter_ID> <parameter value> to restore your saved parameters. Note that the Abeeway firmware file format supports concatenated parameters. For mass upgrading, Abeeway support can provide pre-configured firmware as well as mass-provisioning tools which allow multiple parallel upgrades over a USB hub.

tip

You can also use the browser-based 'Beehive' tool to restore a previously saved configuration. If some parameters are no longer compatible with the new firmware, they could get rejected: watch the log and inspect rejected parameters.

Firmware update via BLE​

You must use the 'Beehive' tool available at https://abeeway.io or https://nano-things.net/beehive/#

Beehive is optimized for the Chrome browser as it requires BLE connectivity support from the browser.

tip

You must pair the device with your computer before using Beehive. Under Windows, go to "Bluetooth and other device settings", then 'add device' and chose the Bluetooth device category. The computer searches for nearby advertising devices, you may need to click "Show all devices" to see your device. Select the device and click "connect".

If you don't see your device, you may need to activate BLE advertising. On the Compact tracker, this requires a magnet (use a strong magnet), and an activation sequence, by default 3 seconds near the hall sensor (small arrow on the casing), then 3 seconds away form sensor, then 3 seconds close to the sensor again. You can count as follows:

  • Bring the magnet close to arrow at "zero"
  • Say "... and one and two and three"
  • Remove magnet at "three"
  • Say "... and one and two and three"
  • Bring the magnet close to arrow at "three"
  • Say "... and one and two and three"
  • Remove magnet.

It is surprisingly difficult to execute this sequence correctly! Common mistakes include starting the count at "one", or restarting from "zero" after "three", so familiarize yourself with the sequence :)

Select 'Connect a BLE device' button in the Beehive tool and select the target device.

After connecting, you will see several options:

  • "Export config" to back-up your parameter set to a file.
  • "Import config" to restore theparamteter set from a backup file.
  • "Firmware update" to initiate an applicative firmware update or a BLE subsystem firmware update.

The firmware updates take about 30s to complete.

Firmware update via the cellular network (Cellular FUOTA)​

warning

This is a preview feature in AT3 v1.3, available only from command line. The release version will operate automatically from a FUOTA server and add a downlink command to trigger a over-the-air upgrade.

Overview of cellular FUOTA​

The cellular FUOTA process consists of two phases:

  • Phase 1. Binary file download
    The firmware binary is downloaded over the cellular network using HTTPS (TLS 1.2 with Basic Authentication), ensuring encrypted and authenticated communication.

    The device stores the firmware segments to external flash memory. The download is resilient to temporary disconnections and will resume from the last completed offset.

    Once the download is complete:

    • AT3 verifies that the binary type matches the platform type (e.g., Compact Tracker, Combo Cellular Compact Tracker, Abeeway 1WL EVK).

    • If this check passes, the firmware signature is verified.

    During Phase 1, the download code runs from internal flash, so the tracker AT3 firmware continues to operate normally in parallel.

    note
    • The binary download process may require multiple retries. Each retry has a timeout of 300 s (5 min).
    • In a successful scenario, the typical download time for a release file is ~2 min 30 s.
    • In high-latency or weak-signal networks, throughput may drop to ~5 kbps. Even under such conditions, the file can usually be downloaded within 4 retries (given the 300 s retry timeout), which is the maximum number of retries.
    • The download will be aborted if any unrecoverable condition occurs:
      • File not found on the remote server
      • Network unavailable and the modem is powered off
      • Download administratively aborted by the FUOTA Manager

  • Phase 2. Code transfer
    In this phase, the code must run in RAM, so all AT3 processing is stopped while the verified firmware is copied into the main MCU flash memory.
    Once complete, the device resets and boots into the new firmware.

Binary signature​

To comply with the new EU security standard EN 18031 (file authentication), all remote firmware upgrade methods now require signed firmware. Signed files are identified by the .sign extension.

The signature is a SHA-256 digest of the binary code, encrypted with Abeeway's Elliptic curve DSA (ECDSA) private key. To verify the signature, AT3 calculates the SHA-256 digest of the downloaded binary file then checks the signature validity leveraging the embedded PKA (Public Key Accelerator) engine.

Command line interface​

To test FUOTA, the CLI command format is the following:

dfu network <server> <port> <file>

For example:

dfu network raw.githubusercontent.com 443 /AbeewayUser/hosting/main/at3-mctcell-release_v1.3-192-*.bin.sign

You can check the file download status using the following commands: net cell inf mg net info

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