Updating firmware on Owl Modular (w/hardware DFU jumpers)

Hello everyone,

I have an Owl Modular (I think it’s Mk1, the one with hardware DFU jumpers) running firmware OWL Modular v21.2-rc4.

I would like to update it to the more current version: 22.5.0found at Release v22.5.0 · RebelTechnology/OpenWare · GitHub

But I see there is only a .syx file.

I do not know how to update with a .syx file (I have only ever used the webDFU page, which I think is only for .bin firmware?).

Can anyone tell me what to do update this Owl Modular?

Thanks!

Hi,

There was official post about upgrade when support for OWL mk1 was added

The .bin images were made for older releases only, the latest version that you can install using DFU is here:
Release v22.4.0 · RebelTechnology/OpenWare · GitHub , you need the OwlModular.bin file.

Next you have to upgrade bootloader to be able to flash SysEx files. You can install the MIDI bootloader from MidiBoot-OwlModular.syx .

The second approach is to flash MIDI bootloader using DFU first, then use it to flash firmware in sysex format from MidiBoot-OwlModular.bin file.

It’s important to pay attention which address is used when flashing bootloader or firmware with DFU! Bootloader must be flashed to 0x08000000, firmware to 0x08008000. So you need to upgrade either firmware or bootloader to be able to upgrade the second part. I would say that flashing firmware with DFU first looks like a safer approach to me. Also, using desktop software like dfu-util might be more reliable than flashing with webDFU.

For flashing sysex files you can use this

Note that if you make some mistake and end up not being able to boot or flash anything, it would be a matter of getting a cheap programmer to flash the microcontroller directly, so don’t worry about bricking your device permanently.

1 Like

I tried this procedure and ended up with a bricked Owl Modular. A while ago it was booting to firmware download mode. Now there is no dfu and no MIDI. Anyone know how to use jumpers to get to dfu mode. Will that work if the bootloader ir corrupted?

I suppose you’re looking for this: Hardware DFU - The OWL wiki

DFU is stored in flash memory not writable by firmware, so it should always be available. In worst case you could use ST-link programmer to flash bootloader and/or firmware. They’re cheap and there’s plenty of threads on this forum about using it successfully.