Flash Download Tool User Guide

[中文]

Preparation

The software and hardware resources required for downloading firmware to flash are listed below.

  • Hardware:

    • 1 x module to which firmware is downloaded

    • 1 x PC (Windows 7 [64 bits], Windows 10)

  • Software:

Tool Overview

User Interface

Open the Flash Download Tool, double-click the .exe file to enter the main interface of the tool, as shown in the figure below:

../../_images/main_interface.jpg

Flash Download Tool Main Interface

  • ChipType: Selects the chip type for your product.

  • WorkMode: Work mode of the tool. Below are the differences between the two modes supported currently, Develop and Factory modes.

    • Develop mode uses the absolute path of the firmware and only allows flashing firmware to one chip at a time.

    • Factory mode uses a relative path. It is recommended to place the firmware to be flashed in the bin folder at the same level as the .exe file. It will be automatically saved locally when closed after configuration.

    • Selecting Factory mode leads you to a locked interface in order to prevent misoperation by your mouse. Please click the LockSettings button to enable editing.

  • LoadMode: Only supports UART

SPIDownload Tab

Here is the configuration descriptions.

  • Download Path Config You can configure the firmware loading path and downloading address (in hexadecimal format), such as 0x1000.

  • SPI Flash Config

    • SPI SPEED: SPI boot rate

    • SPI MODE: SPI boot mode

    • DETECTED INFO: Flash & crystal oscillator information that are detected automatically.

    • DoNotChgBin: If it is enabled, the tool flashes the original content of the bin file. If not enabled, the tool updates the firmware according to the SPI SPEED, SPI MODE configuration on the interface before flashing.

    • CombineBin button: combines all the selected firmware in Download Path Config into one firmware. If DoNotChgBin is enabled, combine the original firmwares. If DoNotChgBin is not enabled, combine them according to the SPI SPEED and SPI MODE configuration. Any unused areas between firmware files will be filled with 0xff. The combined firmware will be saved as ./combine/target.bin. Each click of this button will overwrite the previous firmware.

    • Default button: restores the SPI configuration to the default values.

  • Download Panel

    • START: Starts downloading

    • STOP: Stops downloading

    • ERASE: Erases the entire flash

    • COM: Serial port used for downloading

    • BAUD: Baud rate

../../_images/spidownload_interface.jpg

SPIDownload Tab

Note

  • When the tool version is >= 3.9.10, SPI SPEED and SPI MODE cannot be changed by default. These parameters are consistent with the firmware build configuration.

HSPIDownload Tab

The SPIDownload tab is needed when ESP8266 connects to external flash via HSPI. It has the same interface as the HSPIDownload tab, please refer to SPIDownload Tab for interface description.

FactoryMultiDownload Tab

  • Factory mode uses the relative path. By default, the tool loads the firmware from the bin folder of the tool directory. Whereas, Develop mode uses the absolute path. The advantage of the Factory mode is that as long as the firmware to flash remains in the bin folder of the tool directory, path problems will not occur when the tool package is copied to other factory computers.

  • In Factory mode, the tool enables LockSettings by default. When LockSettings is enabled, firmware download path config and SPI flash config cannot be configured. This is to prevent production line workers from accidentally clicking and causing errors. (When factory managers need to configure these settings, they can click LockSettings to unlock.)

  • In Factory mode, you can click the CRC32 cal button to generate a checksum based on all files to be flashed and their flash addresses. The production line can use this checksum to verify that the files and configuration to be flashed are correct.

../../_images/factorymultidownload_interface.png

FactoryMultiDownload Tab

The download path config and SPI flash config section on the FactoryMultiDownload Tab are basically the same as those on the SPIDownload tab. Please refer to SPIDownload Tab for descriptions. Do not forget to configure the serial port number and baud rate of each download panel.

chipInfoDump Tab

  • Device: Selects the device’s serial port number and communication baud rate.

  • Read Flash: Specifies the start address and size of the content to be read from the flash. This setting is only required when reading flash.

../../_images/chip_info_dump.png

chipInfoDump Tab

  • Function Description

    • Chip Info: Reads the chip model, flash ID, and flash status register values. The read content is displayed directly in the tab.

    • Read Flash: Reads data stored in the flash. The read content is saved in a generated bin file, which is named in the format “Chip MAC + Start Address of Reading + Data Length of Reading + Reading Time”.

    • Read Efuse: Reads the chip’s eFuse content, with functionality identical to esptool summary. The read content is stored in a generated text file, named in the format “Chip MAC + Reading Time”.

Note

  • To use the above reading functions, the product should enter download mode after startup.

  • Tool version >= 3.9.8

Download Example

This section takes the ESP32 series as an example to demonstrate how to perform both regular and encrypted download operations. At present, ESP8266 only supports regular download.

Regular Download

  1. Pull GPIO0 low to enter the download mode.

  1. Open the download tool, set ChipType to ESP32, WorkMode to Develop, and LoadMode to UART as shown in the figure below. Then, click OK

../../_images/device_selection.jpg

Selecting Device — ESP32 Download Tool

  1. In the appeared download page, enter the path to the bin file and the address where it should be downloaded, check the box before the path, and enter COM and BAUD according to your requirements.

  2. Click START to start downloading. During the download process, the tool will read the flash information and the chip’s MAC address.

  3. After the download is complete, the tool interface is shown in the following figure.

../../_images/download_finish_interface.jpg

Download Completed

Version Release Notes

  • 3.9.11

    • Support ESP32-P4 ECO7 (rev 3.2)

    • Support ESP32-S31

  • 3.9.10

    • Support ESP32-P4 ECO6

    • Support ESP32-C5 ECO3

    • SPI_MODE and SPI_SPEED are not editable

    • Support CRC32 check for files to be flashed and flash addresses in factory mode

    • Support ESP32-C5 secure boot V2 and flash encryption

    • Support ESP32, ESP32-S2, and ESP32-S3 eFuse flash_voltage configuration

  • 3.9.9

    • Support ESP32-P4 USB download

    • Add a help button for tool updates and online documentation

    • Supports flashing ESP32-P4 devices with flash larger than 16 MB

    • Add MD5 verification status display during flashing

  • 3.9.8

    • Add Read Flash and Read Efuse tabs

    • Support ESP32-C5 and ESP32-C61

  • 3.9.7

    • Support ESP32-P4

    • Update UI display icons

    • Fix icon stuttering during flashing after long-term use

  • 3.9.6

    • Support secure boot V2 and flash encryption for ESP32, ESP32-H2, ESP32-C6, ESP32-C2, and ESP32-S2

    • In factory mode, the number of products to be flashed is configurable, up to 20

  • 3.9.5

    • Support ESP32-H2

    • Support disabling the erase button

    • Fix some known vulnerabilities

  • 3.9.4

    • Support ESP32-C6

    • Support ESP32-C3 and ESP32-S3 flash encryption

    • Add XMC flash fix

    • Support flashing count in factory mode

  • 3.9.3

    • Support ESP32-C2

    • Update the icon shown when flashing completes

  • 3.9.2

    • Fix configuration file errors

    • Update the auto-start process