nRF91 Modem Firmware (MFW)

Conexio Stratus Pro comes with the latest version of the nRF9161 SiP hardware, preloaded with latest modem firmware and with a sample application that blinks the device LED, and prints the output to the terminal.

Updating the Modem Firmware

Downgrading the modem firmware is not recommended for the Stratus device.

If needed, one can update MFW using an external programmer and a 10-pin SWD cable using, for e.g., either nRF5340 or nRF9160 development kit, following the steps outlined below.

To supply continuous power via the debugger port to the Stratus device, make sure to solder the SB47 jumper on the nRF5340 DK. This is located near the Debug out port on the DK.

  • First, download the latest nRF9160 SiP modem firmware from the Nordic Semiconductor website under the download firmware section.

  • Connect the Conexio Stratus dev kit to the nRFxx development kit via the SWD cable. Then connect the nRF Dev kit to the laptop with a micro-USB cable.

  • Start the nRF Connect Desktop application and open the Programmer.

  • In the Programmer navigation bar, select the device from the drop-down list. You can identify the nRFxx DK by the fact that it has three COM ports.

  • Then click Update modem under Cellular Modem on the bottom right-hand side.

  • Navigate to the folder where you have downloaded the modem firmware zip file. The file naming starts with mfw_nrf9160_*.zip followed by the number of the latest version. Select the zip file and click Open.

Do not extract the modem firmware zip file and choose the correct modem firmware depending on your nRF91 devices.

  • In the Programmer application, the Modem DFU window appears. Click Write to start updating the firmware on the device.

  • When the programming starts, you should see the progress bar as follows:

  • When the update is complete, a Completed successfully message appears.

If you have issues updating modem firmware, click Erase all before trying to update the modem again. In this case, the contents of the flash memory are deleted and the applications must be reprogrammed.

After flashing, press the reset button on the board for the changes to take effect.

Last updated