Starnote Firmware Releases

Blues regularly provides updated firmware releases for Starnote for Skylo that include feature additions and other improvements.

warning

Make sure you read and understand the Blues Firmware Release Policies and Procedures before updating Starnote firmware.

Firmware Releases

This section lists all available Starnote firmware releases. Instructions for updating Starnote firmware are available in Updating Starnote Firmware below.

715872a64c68989e238e24dc2f96e6de  starnote-11.2.1.17592$20260308183114.bin

3762dbb7b2dcdd0a989fc5d8b62ca2f98c0b87c1bf72ae87ec56d05555f9f5fa  starnote-11.2.1.17592$20260308183114.bin

Updating Starnote Firmware

In this section you'll learn how to update the firmware on your Starnote for Skylo device.

note

Notecard for Skylo firmware is updated via the Notecard firmware update process.

1. Starnote DFU Hardware and Software Requirements
2. Placing Starnote in DFU Mode
3. Flashing a New Starnote Firmware Binary
4. Verifying Success of a Starnote Firmware Update

Starnote DFU Hardware and Software Requirements

The Starnote firmware update process has unique hardware requirements, some of which may not be included as part of a Starnote starter kit.

Hardware Requirements

• Starnote for Skylo
• Notecarrier that can seat a Starnote (floating, not screwed down) in the
  Notecard M.2 socket
• Micro USB or USB-C cable (depending on the model of your Notecarrier)
• Jumper wire

Software Requirements

• STM32CubeProgrammer (version >= 2.20.0)
• Access to a terminal (e.g. macOS Terminal, Linux shell, or Windows Powershell)
• Serial Terminal Application (e.g. CoolTerm or Tera Term)

note

If you are installing STM32CubeProgrammer for the first time, see these installation notes for some additional (required) platform-specific instructions.

Placing Starnote in DFU Mode

The first step is to configure your Starnote to accept firmware updates.

1. Place your Starnote into the Notecard M.2 connector of your Notecarrier. Ensure your Starnote is snug in the M.2 connector, but don't expect it to lay flat and do NOT attempt to use the screw terminal. Starnote will end up "floating" in the socket. This is ok as long as it's firmly snug in the M.2 connector!

   

2. Attach a jumper wire between the BOOT and VIO pins. On a Notecarrier F you can do this by running the wire from N_BOOT to N_VIO.

   warning

   Do NOT use the BOOT pin under the ALT DFU label available on some Notecarriers.

   

3. Connect your Notecarrier to your computer using a USB cable. NOTE: You must have the jumper wire connected from BOOT to VIO BEFORE you connect your Notecarrier!

   

4. Remove the jumper wire between VIO and BOOT.

   

5. At this point, your Starnote should be in DFU mode. To verify, open a terminal and run the following command.

   COPY

   $

   STM32_Programmer_CLI --list usb

   If all went well, STM32CubeProgrammer should detect and list a single device in DFU mode.

   COPY

   -------------------------------------------------------------------
                       STM32CubeProgrammer v2.20.0                  
     -------------------------------------------------------------------
   =====  DFU Interface   =====
   Total number of available STM32 device in DFU mode: 1
    Device Index           : USB1
    USB Bus Number         : 001
    USB Address Number     : 004
    Product ID             : STM32  BOOTLOADER
    Serial number          : 208F35A85830
    Firmware version       : 0x011a
    Device ID              : 0x0435

Flashing a New Starnote Firmware Binary

With your Starnote in DFU mode, you can now flash a new binary to update its firmware.

1. Download the appropriate Starnote for Skylo firmware binary from the list of firmware releases above.

2. From your terminal, use the command shown below to flash the binary to your device. Make sure to:

   1. Replace the listed port with the "Device Index" returned from your STM32_Programmer_CLI --list usb command, if necessary.

   2. Update the path to the binary to the correct location on your computer.

   COPY

   $

   STM32_Programmer_CLI --connect port=USB1 --write '/path/to/starnote.bin' 0x08000000 --verify --go

3. The update process may take a minute or so to complete. If all goes well, you will see a "Start operation achieved successfully" message.

   COPY

   ...
   RUNNING Program ... 
     Address:      : 0x8000000
   Start operation achieved successfully

Verifying Success of a Starnote Firmware Update

As a final step, you can verify that the update completed successfully by checking the Starnote's firmware version from a serial terminal.

1. With your Starnote still connected to your computer via USB, open a serial terminal application (e.g. CoolTerm or Tera Term).

   note

   If you're new to serial terminal applications, see one of the following guides: CoolTerm (all platforms), Tera Term (Windows only).

2. Configure your serial terminal application to perform a UART connection with a baud rate of 115200, 8 bit data, no parity, and a 1-bit stop bit: 115200 8N1.

3. Connect to your Starnote and issue a {"req":"card.version"} request. If the update completed successfully you'll see the updated firmware version somewhere in the JSON response.

   COPY

   ...
   "version":"starnote-11.2.1.17584"
   ...

If you have any trouble with the Starnote firmware update process, please reach out to us via the Blues Developer Forum.

Firmware Release Policies

The Starnote firmware is managed on two parallel product lifecycles:

• Developer Firmware Releases
• Long-Term Support (LTS) Releases

This section summarizes how these releases are versioned, as well as our policies around customer deployments and support timelines.

Developer Firmware Releases

Developer Firmware Releases are meant for testing new Starnote features and functionality during the early prototype and pilot phases of a project. It's not uncommon for these releases to expand the feature-set of the Starnote based on feedback and requests from customers building real applications.

These releases happen, on average, once a quarter and are supported by Blues for 90 days from the date of release, or the date of the following developer firmware release whichever is soonest. Once that 90-day period elapses, customers will be required to upgrade to a newer version in order to receive support.

Long-Term Support (LTS) Releases

Long-Term Support, or LTS, releases are meant for scaling, enterprise customers deploying an application to production. These applications are often feature complete and ready for the field, and do not need new features, or the risk associated with incorporating updated firmware into an existing application. LTS releases address this problem by supplying stable and consistent behavior that customers can bet on for field deployments.

LTS releases happen at least once per year, with occasional bug-fixes back-ported into the current major LTS line each quarter, if needed. LTS releases are feature-frozen, meaning that they do not generally receive new features, API changes, or any functionality that modifies the documented behavior of the device. Customers actively covered under an Enterprise Agreement benefit from an extended support window in which Blues will address critical issues, such as security vulnerabilities, for a period of 10 years from the date of initial release. Customers deploying an application to the field must select an LTS version in order to receive support.

note

All Starnote orders fulfilled through Blues volume purchasing and the Blues online store are shipped with an LTS release.

Release Versioning

We've chosen to adopt a firmware version numbering scheme inspired by the LTS practices employed for NodeJS. Namely, we're adopting an even and odd major version numbering scheme to delineate between our LTS and Developer releases.

LTS releases will always start with an even number, and we will increase the minor or patch version numbers in the event fixes from a newer release need to be back-ported to an earlier LTS. For example, 10.1.1 was our first Starnote LTS version. If, in the support period, we identify a need to back-port a critical vulnerability, we would release a new Starnote LTS version on this line with a new minor or patch number, for example 10.2.1.

Likewise, Developer releases will always start with an odd number, and we will increase the minor or patch version numbers as we cut updated Developer firmware releases throughout the year.