Update debugger

Overview

All Sipeed Tang series have onboard debugger (except standalone SOM). The debuggers are separate MCUs with their own firmware. Users could update the firmware for these debuggers to get feature updates and bug fixes.

We need to use the BouffaloLabDevCube to program these onboard debugger chips, and documentation about the *chips & tools* can be found here.

Here is a brief step-by-step guide:

• Download and install the corresponding edition of the *tools* according to your OS.
• Get the updated debugger firmware for your board from Sipeed Download Station.
• Refer to the official documentation of BouffaloLabDevCube to update the firmware of the onboard debugger.
• For Windows users, there are detailed step-by-step tutorial below. Also, the steps for other operating systems are similar.

Tutorial

Preparation for Hardware

To put the onboard debugger into DFU mode, press the *Update Button* or short the corresponding *Test Points* before power on the board or connecting the board's debug USB port with a cable.

Please refer to the below for the corresponding *Update Button* and *Test Points*.

Tang nano series

• Tang nano 1k

  The 2 Test Points is in the upper left corner of the board TOP side, behind the KEY-B.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• Tang nano 4k

  The 2 Test Points is in the upper left corner of the board TOP side, behind the USB-C connector.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• Tang nano 9k

  The 2 Test Points is in the middle left of the board TOP side, behind the USB-C connector.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• Tang nano 20k

  The Update Button behind the HDMI connector on the TOP side has the silkscreen UPDATE.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

Tang Primer series

• Tang Primer 25k Dock

  The 2 Test Points is in the upper left corner of the board BOT side, marked as 3V3 & TDO.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• Tang Primer 20k Dock

  The white Update Button is on the lower right side of the TOP side of the Dock board between USB-C debug port and HDMI port, marked as 702-BOOT

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• Tang Primer 15k Dock (Not yet released)

  TBD

Tang Mega series(include Tang Console)

• Tang Mega Neo Dock(inclede Tang Mega 138K Dock)

  The Update Button is blow the USB-C connector marked as DEBUG-USB2 on the TOP side.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• Tang Mega 138K Pro Dock

  The Update Button is on the left of the USB-C connector marked as JATG|UART on the TOP side.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• Tang Console

  The Update Button is on the other side the USB-C connector on the TOP side, the shorter of the 2 buttons marked ad BOOT.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

Preparation for Software

• First, download BouffaloLabDevCube from BouffaloLab Official Website, The latest version is 1.9.0 (February 10, 2025).

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• Unzip the downloaded content and execute the corresponding executable file, for Windows this is BLDevCube.exe

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• In the pop-up window, select Chip model as BL616/618.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• In the new window, check the Enable checkbox in blow the *Single download option. Click the Browse* button to select the firmware file to be updated.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• Let the onboard debugger into DFU mode, it should be a CDC-ACM device for both BL702 or BL616. On Windows, this registers a new COM port, in this example is COM12. For Linux users, CDC-ACM usual register as /dev/ttyACMx. For macOS users, it may register as /dev/tty.usbmodemxxxx or /dev/cu.usbmodemxxxx. (Each x represents a digit)

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• Now, set the BLDevCube up as shown below. Set the firmware file location, the port for DFU mode, then click Open UART, and finally click Create & Download.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• Wait for the download to complete as shown in the image below.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

Confirm the results

After completing the above steps, we need to confirm that the firmware of the onboard debugger is successfully burned. Usually replug the USB cable or re-poweron the board will confirm it.

• In Windows, you can see two new devices in the device manager: USB Converter A and USB Converter B.

  

• To confirm the debugger firmware version, double-click any USB Converter and go to the Details tab. Then select Parent Options from the drop-down menu:

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

• As shown in the figure below, the last 10 digits 2025102315 are the serial number of the debugger firmware version. Linux & macOS users could use command dmesg to check the serial number in kernel log.

  Click for details

  
  
  
  

Additional notes for Tang Core

Latest firmware

The latest firmware serial numbers of all Tang series onboard debuggers are recorded here:

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any problems during use, or have any comments or suggestions on the document, please feel free to give us your feedback. Contact details are below.

In most cases, BouffaloLab's official documentation is sufficient for troubleshooting. Click here to get them.

Communication Methods

• Reddit : reddit.com/r/GowinFPGA/
• Telegram : t.me/sipeed
• Discussion forum: maixhub.com/discussion
• QQ discussion group: 834585530
• Leave a message directly below this page
• Business email : support@sipeed.com

FAQ

After updating the firmware, USB Converter A and USB Converter B do not appear, and only a single COM port is displayed.

1. This may be caused by abnormal efuse content on the BL616. Please contact after-sales support for assistance with replacement-related services.