greatscottgadgets / greatscottgadgets/hackrf

DFU boot USB failures

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#449 4 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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bug needs validation
Dominant language
C
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Description

Steps to reproduce
  1. Use the DFU bootloader to load hackrf_usb.dfu
  2. Repeat until there is an enumeration failure of the firmware running from RAM (It usually fails once within about 50 attempts.)
Expected behaviour

The firmware should execute from RAM and should enumerate over USB as a HackRF in Hi-Speed USB mode.

Actual behaviour

Enumeration fails, some messages appear in dmesg indicating failures to enumerate full-speed and/or low-speed devices. No Hi-Speed device is detected. Use of an oscilloscope on the USB data lines reveals a never-ending stream of 12 Mbps data produced by the microcontroller.

Workaround

Reset the device and retry. Since this bug only happens about 3% of the time, retrying usually works.

Version information

Operating system: observed with various Linux distros

hackrf_info output: tested only on 2017.02.1 and more recent firmware

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the failure with the DFU bootloader and hackrf_usb.dfu, then trace the firmware's USB enumeration path while comparing successful and failed attempts. Use dmesg and the reported USB data-line behavior to confirm the failure mode. Done means RAM-loaded firmware reliably enumerates as a Hi-Speed HackRF without requiring a reset and retry.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
c
Domain
embedded-iot
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

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