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BQ27421EVM-G1B: Need to upgrade firmware to v9.1

Charles Nicholson
Prodigy 10 points
Part Number: BQ27421EVM-G1B
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: BQSTUDIO, , EV2400

Hello! I have a BQ27421EVM-G1B board and bqStudio is reporting it as having firmware "0421_1_08_10". The firmware version bytes are "08 01".

The BQ27421 gauges that are getting stuffed onto my form-factor device PBCA are reporting firmware version bytes of "09 01".

This mismatch (EVM "08 01" vs device "09 01") is making it impossible for me to generate a Golden Image that matches my device.

How can I upgrade my BQ27421EVM-G1B to the identical firmware of my device?

As an aside: when I launch bqStudio v1.3.101 without my EV2400 plugged in, it invites me to choose the .bqz file that corresponds to my gauge. If I pick any of the "0421_1_0X_XX-bq27421GIB.bqz" files, I get a _very_ scary modal dialog box telling me that it's not supported, and that I should proceed at my own risk. Is that ok? It's scary.

Thanks,

Charles

  • 0
    TI__Guru 57697 points

    Hello Charles,

    The bq27421 family of gauges are ROM based and therefore a firmware update is not possible. It looks like you have a very old device on the board.

  • 0 in reply to Shirish
    Prodigy 10 points

    Hi Shirish-

    Thanks for the quick response. Just so I understand-

    1. TI made a silent change to the ROM firmware image ("08 01" -> "09 01").

    2. bqStudio Golden Images aren't compatible between ROM firmware versions.

    3. TI didn't release a different SKU for the newly-upgraded BQ27421EVM that incorporates the firmware version.

    Am I understanding this correctly?

    I bought my BQ27421EMV-G1B from Mouser, one of the biggest US retail distributors of embedded systems components. How am I supposed to ensure that the next one I buy has the latest firmware?

    Thanks,

    Charles

  • 0 in reply to Shirish
    Prodigy 10 points

    Heya Shirish-

    I guess all of my other questions could be condensed and re-expressed this way:

    Does TI guarantee that silent ROM firmware versions rolled into the BQ27421 line are 100% backwards compatible with prior ROM firmware versions?

    If so, then I guess this is just a matter of bqStudio being overly-conservative, because a Golden Image I create on a "08 01" firmware BQ27421EVM-G1B will work on a newer "09 01" BQ27421YZFR-G1B stuffed onto our mass-production boards. If this is the case, then I can just ignore the error that arises from the "compare firmware versions" instructions bqStudio emits into the .gm.fs file:

    ;--------------------------------------------------------
    ;Verify Existing Firmware Version
    ;--------------------------------------------------------
    W: AA 00 01 00
    C: AA 00 21 04
    W: AA 00 02 00
    C: AA 00 08 01

    If there are backwards-incompatibilities, then this needs more thought, because TI doesn't change the part SKU when updating ROM firmware. In this case, I don't know how to proceed.

  • +1 in reply to Charles Nicholson
    TI__Guru 57697 points

    Hello Charles,

    The change was made a very long time ago.

    Here is a thread from 2017 that tells how to adjust the golden image file for the version change

    e2e.ti.com/.../bq27421-g1-bq27421yzfr-g1a-firmware-version