Notecard Firmware Updates

Blues Wireless regularly provides updated firmware releases for the Notecard that include feature additions and other improvements.

• Browse Firmware Releases
• Instructions for OTA DFU with Notehub
• Instructions for Manual DFU

Firmware Releases

v1.5.6 (October 8, 2021)

Download .bin firmware file

1. Added the web.delete API.
2. Added seconds as an optional parameter on all web requests as an override to the standard 90 second timeout.
3. Support for bidirectional Notehub.io certificate verification during TLS authentication.
4. A random, unique, Note ID can be created and returned on a note.add if the supplied Note ID is "?".
5. file.stats now takes an optional "file" parameter that returns the stats for the specified Notefile only.
6. note.add, note.update, and note.delete all accept the verify:true parameter to immediately save the Notefile change to flash.
7. dfu.status adds an err string property. If used along with "stop":true, this sets the host DFU to an error state with the specified string.

v1.5.5 (May 27, 2021)

Download .bin firmware file

1. Enhancements to support Notecard-related features in the Airnote product.
2. Added support for end-to-end encryption of Notes through Notehub.
3. Add GNSS Horizontal dilution of precision (HDOP) support, including waiting for location to converge to configured HDOP before recording _track.qo notes, and adding the HDOP to the _track.qo body.
4. If sync:true is specified in card.location.track, an immediate sync occurs every time a track note is added.
5. card.version now accepts a field api: major-version that defines, for compatibility purposes, the major version number of the notecard firmware that the host was developed to use. In the response, the api returns the current firmware’s version number.
6. Added _tri_gps_failure environment variable as a triangulation configuration option for Notecard to first try GPS, then fallback to using cellular triangulation if it is unable to make a GPS fix.
7. Fix to improve the accuracy of card.voltage readings.
8. Corrected behavior of heartbeat reporting in card.location.track.
9. Miscellaneous bug fixes and improvements to MCU/SBC host reliability, continuous mode operation, and external SIM support.

v1.5.3 (February 24, 2021)

Download .bin firmware file

1. Notecard I2C request/response reliability improved when the I2C bus is shared among multiple devices.
2. Added rearm and wireless modes to card.attn.
3. Implemented minutes as a new response to card.location.mode to return the currently-configured ring-fence debounce period.
4. To allow for long-range enclosed transportation use cases, Implemented an enhancement to suppress motion-induced Notecard wake up when repeated network connectivity failures occur.
5. Added a warning to _health.qo if battery voltage is low or dead, at most once per day.
6. Implemented a card.random function to obtain a single or buffer full of random numbers from the Notecard hardware RNG.
7. Miscellaneous bug fixes and reliability improvements for devices communicating over I2C and those running in continuous communications mode.

OTA DFU with Notehub

The simplest way to update the firmware on your Notecard device is to perform an over-the-air DFU with Notehub.io. For instructions on how to update your Notecard firmware with Notehub.io, please visit the Manage Notecard Firmware guide.

note

Please be aware that OTA DFU updates use data in your data plan.

Manual DFU

While we recommend the use of Notehub.io to update device firmware, you can manually update by directly connecting to a Notecard over USB.

Prerequisites

• Serial terminal emulator software (e.g. the web-based terminal available at dev.blues.io, CoolTerm, or TinyTerm).
• STM32CubeProgrammer (download the appropriate version for your OS).
• A fresh Notecard binary file (download from the Firmware Releases list above).

STM32CubeProgrammer Installation Notes

STM32CubeProgrammer is a bit finicky when it comes to installation:

Windows

note

If you’re on a version of Windows older than Windows 10, you’ll first need to install the STM32 Virtual COM Port Driver.

Download and extract the zip package and run the installer (ignoring the security issues from Windows).

macOS

Download and extract the zip package (noting that the version number of 2.8.0 used in these instructions will likely change in the future).

Using your terminal app of choice, navigate to the extracted directory and launch the installer in CLI mode. For example:

> ./SetupSTM32CubeProgrammer-2.8.0.app/Contents/MacOs/SetupSTM32CubeProgrammer-2_8_0_macos

Linux

Prior to installation, make sure you have the following packages installed:

• libusb-1.0-0-dev
• unzip

If you are using a USB port to connect to the STM32 device, install the libusb1.0 package by typing the following command:

> sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0.0-dev

To use ST-LINK probe or USB DFU to connect to a target, copy the rules files located under Driver/rules folder in /etc/udev/rules.d/. Or on Ubuntu sudo cp *.* /etc/udev/rules.d.

note

Please note libusb1.0.12 version or higher is required to run STM32CubeProgrammer.

Download and extract the zip package, and execute:

> SetupSTM32CubeProgrammer-2.8.0.linux

Firmware Update Process

Connect your Notecard device to your computer via USB. Verify that your terminal emulator (e.g. dev.blues.io, CoolTerm, or TinyTerm) is able to connect to the device by sending the card.version request:

> {"req": "card.version"}

The body of the response should look similar to this:

{
 "org": "Blues Wireless",
 "product": "Notecard",
 "version": "notecard-1.5.5",
 "ver_major": 1,
 "ver_minor": 5,
 "ver_patch": 5,
 "ver_build": 13080,
 "built": "May 28 2021 17:11:58"
}

Important: Next, launch the built-in bootloader firmware by sending the bootloader command via your terminal emulator:

> bootloader

note

In Windows Device Manager, this causes Notecard to disappear as a "Ports (COM LPT)/USB Serial Device (VID 0x30A4, PID 0x0001)" and to reappear as a "Universal Serial Bus devices/STM32 BOOTLOADER (VID 0x0438, PID 0xDF11)".

Now, you have two choices as to how to proceed. You may update the Notecard firmware via the STM32CubeProgrammer CLI or GUI (we find the GUI method to be preferable).

CLI Method

Make sure STM32_Programmer_CLI.exe is in your PATH (or provide its absolute path in the command below). The program should have been installed in the same directory as STM32CubeProgrammer.exe.

Run the following command, substituting the path to your desired .bin firmware file:

> STM32_Programmer_CLI --connect port=USB1 --write [path/to/binary.bin] 0x08000000 --verify --go 0x08000000

note

On Windows be sure to reference STM32_Programmer_CLI.exe as the executable in the above command.

GUI Method

Open the STM32CubeProgrammer application.

Select "USB" from the dropdown menu provided in the upper-right corner:

Select the port corresponding to your Notecard in the "Port" dropdown menu (likely "USB1"). You may need to click the button next to the port dropdown to refresh the list.

Click the "Connect" button and the log should update and display Data read successfully.

Next, access the "Erasing & Programming" screen by clicking the menu button with the arrow pointing down:

Follow the other configuration options in the image above:

• Select the appropriate firmware .bin file.
• Check the "Verify programming" box.
• Check the "Run after programming" box.
• Finally, click the "Start Programming" button.

After a few seconds of commands displayed in the log, you should see multiple dialog warnings/notifications to click through and confirm.

Results

With either the CLI or GUI method, once the update process is complete, your Notecard will reset and reconnect. You can verify the firmware process was successful by executing another card.version request and inspecting the version parameter:

> {"req": "card.version"}

Additional Resources

• Manage Notecard Firmware
• Host Firmware Update Requests