Librem 5 flashing process fail (LED turn green

Hardware Librem 5
1

Hi!

I have Librem5 Evergreen and there is no chance to turn it on (black screen -Green LED). Battery has 4,15V -full.
We tried to flash it but during the process when we put in the battery the LED turns GREEN when it shouldn’t according to the protocoll.

Any ideas?

2

So, to make it clear: the LED goes green even despite of you holding the Vol+ button for the whole duration of plugging USB cable in and putting the battery in?

3

Correct! It goes green as soon as the batterie was insert. Several times…All steps until puting in the batterie works.

4

Is it constant red LED light still available after folowing this procedure (and executing sudo dmesg):

Please check as well: “A flashing green light is a symptom of the bootloader starting followed by a reset as a result of insufficient power.” Commenting about insufficient power here just while using another USB port on your laptop/computer might/should help. Also, are you sure that used USB cable provides enough current to your Librem 5 from there used USB port, as some USB cables use higher AWG value (increasing gauge numbers denote decreasing wire diameters)?

P.S. As add-on, not even sure if Thunderbolt USB-C cables usable with Librem 5, if such cable/port connected?

5

Hi! Thanks for advise. We will try that. Cable we are using the original USB C cable coming with the phone.

1 Like
6

@Flo127 Hello,did you solve it?
I have the same situation!Currently i think that the battery is okay,because when I measured, its reading is 4.2V
Then,I reflashing the phone.When I insert the USB-c cable, LED goes blinking red

Script execute:
1:2 1/ 1 [=================100%=================] SDP: boot -f u-boot-librem5.imx

But the LED alternates between green and yellow(current without battery)

7

Hi! Not yet…Traveling due to business. End of the week i will have hopefully more time.

If you solve it let me know. I am also waiting two spare batteries i ordered.

8

Hi! Any news from your side? I reeceived now my 2 new spare batteries… Still not working. So at least i know it’s not a battery problem.

I am really dissapointed from this product right now.

9

Hi! I tried your procedure…Still no result. I have now 2 more batteries (new spare). The problem happens when you insert the battery. Doesn’t that mean it fails when the power is supplied from battery? Until we put it in everything is good…

1 Like
10

This procedure belongs to Librem 5, as other recommended ones, yet quite different as it belongs to flashing mode (up to my understanding of very important post, as linked in this thread), which means mode that discharges inserted battery although connected to laptop/PC USB port. @dos will correct me here if I’m wrong again, please. Anyway and furthermore, I hope you are indeed in contact with support@ from Purism as quite needed that you accept their recommendations on how to try to fix your issue and vice versa that you provide honest feedback to them so that they can coordinate next/proper/relevant step.

I might only speculate that your Librem 5 eMMC is not getting enough power, that your previous installation (flash) was not completed well (didn’t reach its end, which means that Linux Kernel doesn’t work well, because of the unfinished way it was “installed” there), that used USB cable or its USB-C contacts were connected to Thunderbolt port, that flashing data from your laptop was not transferred well to Librem 5 eMMC. Just writing some ideas of mine here but you are the only one that need to be proactive there and ensure that things are “running” smooth there.

Based on above ideas, could you please (as based on above linked post recommending: “run sudo dmesg on the laptop and it should show that an NXP device has been connected”) provide to us here feedback about (as below), this is important for any further thoughts, while I would like to presume (this time) that with your Librem 5 batteries is everything fine (no defect there, to include presuming from my side that there is no hardware defect on your Librem 5). Please let me know if you see following (by choosing adequate USB-A to USB-C cable, preferably USB2.0 but those are rare nowadays), in order to get your Librem 5 eMMC alive again (before executing any PureOS flashing procedure).

First step/procedure:

  1. unplug phone and remove battery,
  2. hold vol+ and re-insert battery,
  3. move your finger away from vol+,
  4. press (once only) and hold (gently) power-on for around 18 seconds.

Is it Librem 5 booting now (green LED light disappeared)?

If first step doesn’t help there:

  1. unplug phone and remove battery,
  2. connect USB-C cable to your Librem 5 port,
  3. hold vol+ and connect USB-A male of currently used cable to your laptop/PC and get blinking red LED light,
  4. re-insert battery and get steady red LED light,
  5. execute uuu -lsusb and lsusb | grep 8M.

Is second step works please (after using Jumpdrive) post here output of: sudo fdisk -l (at least the one related to Librem 5 eMMC).

Reuse for your own benefit related info within this threads:

11

Disk model: Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 1TB
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x5476ec42

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/nvme0n1p1 2048 2361344 2359297 1.1G 83 Linux
/dev/nvme0n1p2 * 2361345 1953520064 1951158720 930.4G 83 Linux

Disk /dev/zram0: 8 GiB, 8589934592 bytes, 2097152 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 4096 = 4096 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
root@Laptop2022:~#

Later i tried the flash procedure again. But if i connect the phone wit Vol= button pressed it starts vibrating and the LED changes between grenn, yellow and red.

12

I guess that you are not ready to try anything, not yet! And what you already tried is unknown to me (you are not sharing/asking much). Regarding reaching some conclusions: When you hold Vol+ (without any external cable being connected to the Librem 5 related port) and insert battery back into Librem 5, what is happening? Is it any LED light on? All we need is quite simple answer, either positive or negative.

Please answer my above question, as for now just leave below as still unknown territory:

This instructions are still valid: “Extract the downloaded JumpDrive release archive for the Librem 5, put the device into flash mode, then run the boot-purism-librem5.sh script from the release” (that I already linked here somewhere). Just while sudo fdisk --list step comes afterwards, and Librem 5 eMMC needs to be visible before starting with flash procedure.

EDIT: @Flo127, this post should help you: New Post: Reflashing the Librem 5. Please go over few following ones as well.

13

With or without battery inserted (referring here to Vol+ or upper Volumen button side or Volumen button edge => LED)?

14

If i hold Vol+ button (nothing connected) and insert battery nothing happens.

1 Like
15

This is good sign (correct answer).

apt list uuu −− check if there already installed, if not installed:
sudo apt install uuu

Please hold Volume-up button, connect USB-A to USB-C cable to your Librem 5 and your laptop (still holding Vol+ button, battery is still out). When red LED light starts to blink carefully insert belonging battery (doesn’t matter if steady red LED light not there, just let us know which color you are having there, if any). Now you can move your finger away from Vol+ button :wink:.

This is important, please let us know if you are getting this output:

$ uuu -lsusb
uuu (Universal Update Utility) for nxp imx chips -- lib1.4.193

Connected Known USB Devices
	Path	 Chip	 Pro	 Vid	 Pid	 BcdVersion
	==================================================
	2:1	 MX8MQ	 SDP:	 0x1FC9	0x012B	 0x0001

EDIT: When, as needed and predicted, uuu -lsusb output indeed present (same as above), I would preferably avoid using Jumpdrive there (for those LED light reasons) and if you agree just follow this guide: External battery charger for Librem5. Of course that --skip-flash part of proposed guide needs to be removed. Actually you can leave it there for the test (first run) purpose, but for the real flash isn’t meant to be there. In short don’t use --skip-flash, when and if you decide to use this guide, now that your Librem 5 is ready to proceed … after turning-on every HKS (actually disabling power/function toward related chips/cards).

If some clarification needed please let me/us know.

EDIT II: Do not disconnect USB-A to USB-C cable right after flashing procedure DONE (whatever written there, on your laptop command line), please wait for more than several minutes until all install data transferred (relatively slowly) to your Librem 5 eMMC.

EDIT III: After flashing procedure finished (cable disconnected) please power-on your phone with the original power supply, by preferably using original USB-C to USB-C cable (especially if you are unsure that battery still holds enough capacity to finish related PureOS install).

1 Like
16

Hi! No light after inserting the battery in this procedure.

root@Laptop2022:~# apt list uuu
Auflistung… Fertig
uuu/byzantium,now 1.4.77-1 amd64 [installiert]
root@Laptop2022:~# uuu -lsusb
uuu (Universal Update Utility) for nxp imx chips – libpureos/1.2.91+0git6b465-0pureos+librem5.2-1-g5e5fee8

Unknown option: -lsusb

1 Like
17

I guess this should be the defect of the motherboard.
I want to know what defects, and how to diagnose it.

18

I do not think that there was about motherboard replacement. I think that was small production issue with that Librem 5 from @librem5, and that this issue belongs to the past.

Expert people from Purism you will reach by sending message to support@, where providing your purchase reference number (within one year of receiving your Librem 5, I’m quite sure). Rest of this post is just my unofficial/wild guessing, therefore please do not spend to much of your time (although you made myself awake, aren’t you, all fine with me) diagnosing if something broken, actually rely on them helping you to fix what “broken”, when something broken.

You might try to help yourself by flipping USB-C male side of currently used USB-A to USB-C cable and mark upper side if got to the point that USB communication works that way. Take another USB cable … another one until you get to the point that uuu -lsusb actually works there (provides expected output). @Flo127, what I wrote here about uuu -lsusb is not related to your post above, will come back to you soon.

Similarly, while it was about USB communication (and not about exclusive motherboard issue) you should try first to copy files (back and fourth over Nautilus) to some old-fashioned, up to 32GB, preferably USB 2.0 Flash Drive over quality USB-C to USB-A OTG adapter (if not already having some USB-C flash drive, as I don’t). Is it some USB Flash Drive or USB-C SD card reader mounting there at all?

If above doesn’t work on your Librem 5 you should (probably) follow advice in this post: External battery charger for Librem5.

EDIT: Although perhaps USB-C motherboard (bottom one) indeed replaced:

19

Please start with rereading over again here linked instructions: Flashing to Byzantium.

Now check (apt list ...) if bellow packages already installed, if not:
sudo apt install build-dep python debos bmap-tools f2fs-tools
sudo apt-get build-dep build-essential
sudo apt install python-is-python2
sudo apt install git
sudo apt install python3-jenkins python3-tqdm python3-yaml

And this one is the one that you are looking for, the one that should help you, I think:
sudo ./scripts/librem5-flash-image --udev

Usually I do forget something, but is it uuu -lsusb providing needed output? I hope so.

EDIT: Another simple, yet very important, post: New Post: Reflashing the Librem 5.

20

I’m not sure if the uuu built from source interfere there? It looks alike to me. “Throwing away” this one from 29-Nov-2019 might/should help there.