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RAK Hotspot Miner: Firmware Update Issues

· 2 min read
Rahul Garg

The team has noticed issues where a small number of RAK Hotspot Miners are not applying firmware updates containing bug fixes.

After investigation, we found that these Miners were booting from a secondary, fallback image that is used as backup on the device. The Miner is fooled into thinking a reset button was pressed which doesn't exist on the RAK Hotspot Miner. The code is in place to support Helium Hotspots.

Because the RAK Hotspot Miners continue to think the "reset button" is being pushed, they will always boot from their older, fallback image.

This issue only affects a very small number of RAK Hotspot Miners

Identifying the Problem​

  • Is it a Helium Hotspot? -> If yes, you do not have the issue
  • Is it actively mining? -> If yes, you do not have the issue
  • Does it have the latest firmware 2020.10.31.1? -> If yes, you do not have the issue

If you find that you do not have the latest firmware, unplug it from power, wait ~30 minutes, and plug it back in. Then check if it has the latest firmware. If it doesn’t update, you have an affected unit.

Interim Solution​

Since we know OTA updates continue to be applied to the primary image, the fix is to copy the primary image to the fallback image, effectively making the image the same. This allows the RAK Hotspot Miners to boot the fallback image which is the latest version.

Permanent Solution​

The permanent solution requires two steps:

  1. An OTA with a permanent fix that will be applied to the primary image.
  2. Manually copying the primary image to the fallback image and reboot.

Once rebooted, the RAK Hotspot miner will download and apply new firmware updates to both locations, so there is no difference between locations.

Plan​

The short term fix can be applied at any time. If your RAK Hotspot Miner does not have the latest update 2020.10.31.1, please contact support@helium.com. You can find out by running a diagnostic report on the Miner.

The permanent fix needs additional testing. The plan is to beta the next firmware on Tuesday, November 10th, 2020 with a scheduled GA on Wednesday, November 11th, 2020.