Burning the Bootloader into the Device

Outdated: this section documents The Things Network V2, which is no longer maintained. See the documentation for The Things Stack V3, or browse the V2 docs index.

An easy and quick way to have a fully functional gateway is by using a Precompiled Firmware Image provided in this directory. In this document are the step by step instructions of the bootloader’s burning process into the RAK811 WisNode.

1 . To start with, download and install the “STM32CubeProgrammer” tool in your PC through this link or through this RAK directory.

2 . Consequently, download the bootloader archive here.

3 . Bridge the “BOOT” pin and “3V3” pin to set the board in boot mode as shown in the image below:

Figure 1: Shorted Boot and 3V3 pins

4 . Connect RAK811 WisNode LoRa Module with a computer or laptop through the USB interface.

5 . Press the “RST” button on the RAK811 WisNode LoRa Module.

6 . Open the “STM32CubeProgrammer” tool, and select UART type, then configure the Port, Baudrate, and Parity as the following picture shows:

Note: Make sure to choose the correct port in the COM Port field. You can check this in the Device Manager for example in Windows.

Figure 2: UART Settings in STM32CubeProgrammer

7 . Then, press the “Connect” button at the top right corner.

Warning: If there are some errors in the Log box or it can’t connect, please close the STM32CubeProgrammer and reset RAK811 WisNode LoRa Module, then open the STM32CubeProgrammer and connect again.

Figure 3: Errors Occurred During Connecting

The correct Log you should see is the information like the following picture shows:

Figure 4: Successful Connection Log to your Device

Now, let’s start burning a bootloader into the RAK811 WisNode LoRa Module.

8 . First, erase all data on the RAK811 WisNode LoRa Module referred from the following picture below:

Figure 5: Erasing the Data in the Chip

9 . Then, press “Open file” and select the unzipped bootloader bin file you downloaded in step 2:

Figure 6: Opening the Bootloader file

10 . Click the “Download” button to start the burning process

Figure 7: Downloading of Bootloader to the device

11 . OK, you have successfully burned the firmware into RAK811 WisNode LoRa!

Figure 8: Successfully Burned the Bootloader to the device

12 . “Disconnect” and close the “STM32CubeProgrammer” tool. Then, power down and remove the connection between BOOT pin and VCC pin to let RAK811 WisNode LoRa work in normal mode.

13 . Then, connect RAK811 WisNode LoRa with your PC’s USB interface again.

Alright! You can now start burning the firmware into RAK811 WisNode LoRa.