Flashing Guide

Flashing Guide#

This guide covers advanced flashing methods for NXP i.MX development boards, including uuu flashing to SD card and eMMC and dd method.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with this guide, ensure that you have:

Completed the basic getting started guide for your board.

Downloaded the pre-built images or built custom images

Installed uuu tool (see Install uuu Flash Tool)

Board-specific information#

Boot switch configuration#

Each board has different boot switch configurations. Refer to the table below for your specific board.

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS#

Boot Switch: SW5[1-4]

Boot Mode	SW5-3	SW5-4
USB Serial Download (SDP)	0	1
eMMC Boot	1	0
SD Card Boot	1	1

i.MX 8M Plus EVK#

Boot Switch: SW4[1-4]

Boot Mode	SW4-3	SW4-4
USB Serial Download (SDP)	0	1
eMMC Boot	1	0
SD card Boot	1	1

i. MX 95 EVK (19x19, 15x15)#

Boot Switch: SW7[1-4]

Boot Mode	SW7-3	SW7-4
USB Serial Download (SDP)	0	1
eMMC Boot	1	0
SD Card Boot	1	1

Note: 0 = OFF, 1 = ON

Image files#

You can obtain the required image files in two ways:

Download pre-built images (Recommended for quick start) Downloand Pre-built Images
Build custom images from source (For advanced customization) Building Guide

Method 1: Flash using uuu (Recommended)#

uuu (Universal Update Utility) is the recommended method for flashing images. It works over USB and supports both SD card and eMMC.

💡 Install uuu First

If you haven’t installed uuu yet, please see Install uuu

Prerequisites#

Connect Debug UART to your host computer.
Connect USB OTG to your host computer.
Power off the board.
Set boot switches to SDP mode (see board-specific table above).
Insert SD card (for SD card flashing) or ensure eMMC is available.
Power on the board.

Flash to SD Card#

This method flashes the image to an SD card using uuu.

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS#

Linux:

sudo uuu -b sd_all imx-boot-imx8mp-lpddr4-frdm-sd.bin-flash_evk robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx8mpevk.rootfs.wic.zst

Windows:

uuu.exe -b sd_all imx-boot-imx8mp-lpddr4-frdm-sd.bin-flash_evk robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx8mpevk.rootfs.wic.zst

i.MX 8M Plus EVK#

Linux:

sudo uuu -b sd_all imx-boot-imx8mp-lpddr4-evk-sd.bin-flash_evk robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx8mpevk.rootfs.wic.zst

Windows:

uuu.exe -b sd_all imx-boot-imx8mp-lpddr4-evk-sd.bin-flash_evk robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx8mpevk.rootfs.wic.zst

i.MX 95 19x19 EVK#

Linux:

sudo uuu -b sd_all imx-boot-imx95-19x19-lpddr5-evk-sd.bin-flash_a55 robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx95evk.rootfs.wic.zst

Windows:

uuu.exe -b sd_all imx-boot-imx95-19x19-lpddr5-evk-sd.bin-flash_a55 robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx95evk.rootfs.wic.zst

i.MX 95 15x15 EVK#

Linux:

sudo uuu -b sd_all imx-boot-imx95-15x15-lpddr4x-evk-sd.bin-flash_a55 robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx95evk.rootfs.wic.zst

Windows:

uuu.exe -b sd_all imx-boot-imx95-15x15-lpddr4x-evk-sd.bin-flash_a55 robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx95evk.rootfs.wic.zst

After flashing:

Power off the board.
Set to SD card boot.
Power on the board.

What happens during flashing:

uuu waits for USB device connection.
Power on the board (in SDP mode).
uuu automatically detects the board.
The bootloader is flashed to the SD card.
The root filesystem is written to the SD card.
The progress is displayed.
A “Success” message appears when the process is complete.

Flash to eMMC#

Flashing to eMMC provides better performance and is recommended for production deployments.

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS#

Linux:

sudo uuu -b emmc_all imx-boot-imx8mp-lpddr4-frdm-sd.bin-flash_evk robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx8mp-lpddr4-frdm.rootfs.wic.zst

Windows:

uuu.exe -b emmc_all imx-boot-imx8mp-lpddr4-frdm-sd.bin-flash_evk robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx8mp-lpddr4-frdm.rootfs.wic.zst

i.MX 8M Plus EVK#

Linux:

sudo uuu -b emmc_all imx-boot-imx8mp-lpddr4-evk-sd.bin-flash_evk robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx8mpevk.rootfs.wic.zst

Windows:

uuu.exe -b emmc_all imx-boot-imx8mp-lpddr4-evk-sd.bin-flash_evk robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx8mpevk.rootfs.wic.zst

I.MX 95 19x19 EVK#

Linux:

sudo uuu -b emmc_all imx-boot-imx95-19x19-lpddr5-evk-sd.bin-flash_a55 robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx95evk.rootfs.wic.zst

Windows:

uuu.exe -b emmc_all imx-boot-imx95-19x19-lpddr5-evk-sd.bin-flash_a55 robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx95evk.rootfs.wic.zst

i.MX 95 15x15 EVK#

Linux:

sudo uuu -b emmc_all imx-boot-imx95-15x15-lpddr4x-evk-sd.bin-flash_a55 robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx95evk.rootfs.wic.zst

Windows:

uuu.exe -b emmc_all imx-boot-imx95-15x15-lpddr4x-evk-sd.bin-flash_a55 robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx95evk.rootfs.wic.zst

After flashing:

Power off the board.
Set boot switches to eMMC boot mode (see board-specific table).
Power on the board.

Method 2: Flash Using dd (Linux Only)#

The dd method provides manual control over the flashing process. This method doesn’t require the board to be in SDP mode.

Note: When to Use dd

Use the dd method when:

You prefer manual control over the process

uuu is not available or not working.

You want to understand the low-level flashing process.

You need to create custom partitions.

Step 1: Extract the compressed image#

i.MX 8M Plus series

zstd -d robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx8mpevk.rootfs.wic.zst

i.MX 95 series

zstd -d robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx95evk.rootfs.wic.zst

Step 2: Identify the SD card device#

lsblk

Look for your SD card. Common device names:

/dev/sdb - USB SD card reader
/dev/mmcblk0 - Built-in SD card reader

Example output:

NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda           8:0    0 238.5G  0 disk
├─sda1        8:1    0   512M  0 part /boot/efi
└─sda2        8:2    0   238G  0 part /
sdb           8:16   1  14.9G  0 disk
└─sdb1        8:17   1  14.9G  0 part /media/user/SD_CARD

⚠️ Warning

Double-check the device name!

Using the wrong device (for example, /dev/sda) will overwrite your system disk and make your computer unbootable.

Tips to identify the correct device:

Run lsblk before inserting the SD card.

Insert the SD card.

Run lsblk again and look for the new device.

Check the size matches your SD card.

Step 3: Unmount SD card#

sudo umount /dev/sdX*

Replace /dev/sdX with your actual SD card device (e.g., /dev/sdb).

Step 4: Write Root Filesystem for the platform#

i.MX 8M Plus series

sudo dd if=robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx8mpevk.rootfs.wic of=/dev/sdX bs=4M conv=fsync status=progress

i.MX 95 series

sudo dd if=robotics-edge-image-full-jazzy-imx95evk.rootfs.wic of=/dev/sdX bs=4M conv=fsync status=progress

Parameters explained:

if= - Input file (source image)
of= - Output file (destination device)
bs=4M - Block size (4MB for faster writing)
conv=fsync - Ensure data is physically written to disk
status=progress - Show progress during writing

Step 5: Writing the bootloader for a specific board#

The bootloader must be written at a specific offset for each board.

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS:

sudo dd if=imx-boot-imx8mp-lpddr4-frdm-sd.bin-flash_evk of=/dev/sdX bs=1k seek=32 conv=fsync status=progress

i.MX 8M Plus EVK:

sudo dd if=imx-boot-imx8mp-lpddr4-evk-sd.bin-flash_evk of=/dev/sdX bs=1k seek=32 conv=fsync status=progress

IMX 95 19x19 EVK:

sudo dd if=imx-boot-imx95-19x19-lpddr5-evk-sd.bin-flash_a55 of=/dev/sdX bs=1k seek=32 conv=fsync status=progress

IMX 95 15x15 EVK:

sudo dd if=imx-boot-imx95-19x19-lpddr5-evk-sd.bin-flash_a55 of=/dev/sdX bs=1k seek=32 conv=fsync status=progress

Step 6: Sync and eject#

sync

sudo eject /dev/sdX

Step 7: Boot the board#

Insert the SD card into the board
Set boot switches to SD card boot mode (see board-specific table)
Power on the board.

Flashing Guide

Contents

Flashing Guide#

Board-specific information#

Boot switch configuration#

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS#

i.MX 8M Plus EVK#

i. MX 95 EVK (19x19, 15x15)#

Image files#

Method 1: Flash using uuu (Recommended)#

Prerequisites#

Flash to SD Card#

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS#

i.MX 8M Plus EVK#

i.MX 95 19x19 EVK#

i.MX 95 15x15 EVK#

Flash to eMMC#

FRDM-IMX8MPLUS#

i.MX 8M Plus EVK#

I.MX 95 19x19 EVK#

i.MX 95 15x15 EVK#

Method 2: Flash Using dd (Linux Only)#

Step 1: Extract the compressed image#

Step 2: Identify the SD card device#

Step 3: Unmount SD card#

Step 4: Write Root Filesystem for the platform#

Step 5: Writing the bootloader for a specific board#

Step 6: Sync and eject#

Step 7: Boot the board#