Firmware Update v1.4+

Starting with v1.4 due to elementary changes inside Heads and the firmware layout, the update requires some additional considerations. This applies for both NitroPads X230 and T430.

Should I update my NitroPad?

When updating your firmware to 1.4 (without using an external flasher device) the graphical HEADS dialogues will be replaced with a less convenient text-only version.

If you use Ubuntu, Debian, LinuxMint, or Qubes 4.0 updating the firmware beyond v1.3.1 is (as of today) not needed. If you use Qubes 4.1 without the integrated Ethernet port, you don’t need to update the firmware either.

If you want to use Qubes 4.1 or newer and the integrated Ethernet port you need to update the firmware to 1.4.

Hint

If the .npf file is not accepted by HEADS, likely you do not run the latest HEADS version. So either 1st update to version 1.3.1 or unzip the .npf file and use the resulting .rom file instead.

How can I update my NitroPad?

Updating from v1.3.1 onwards has two different ways:

  • Legacy update using either nitropad-t430-v1.4.npf or nitropad-x230-v1.4.npf from the Heads menu, see: Firmware Update

  • When using an external flasher device you can use the -maximized images. This keeps graphical HEADS dialogues working. Read about the external flashing below.

Warning

Never try updating your NitroPad using the -maximized image, if you do not know exactly what you are doing! You will brick your NitroPad and it can only be repaired using an external flasher!

How can I update to -maximized?

Hint

We highly recommend to NOT DO THIS ON YOUR OWN, as long as you are not exactly know what you are doing!

We have a service to do this upgrade on your NitroPad, please write an e-mail to “shop at nitrokey.com” together with your sales order number (SOxxxxxx).

The following procedure describes roughly how to flash your NitroPad using an external flasher - it is intentionally on a high level as we do not recommend doing this process on your own. But for the sake of completeness we document this here for the curios.

  1. Make sure you have a (flashrom) compatible flasher like ch341a_spi with a SOIC-8 clamp.

  2. Open the device (see coreboot docs) and make sure you can access both flash chips.

  3. Using flashrom read out the bottom flash (the 8MB image)

  4. Using ifdtool (coreboot ifdtool docs) extract the GbE flashregion from the image and replace the GbE-region inside your -maximized image.

  5. Split the modified firmware image using dd (as described in the coreboot documentation) into -top and -bottom

  6. Flash the images to the matching flash chips using your flasher and clamp

  7. Reboot into your system (you should see -maximized inside the Heads menu)

Background information

The new firmware class of -maximized images change the firmware layout in a way that it is incompatible with Heads’ internal firmware upgrade feature on the NitroPads.

This change mainly originates from a reduces Management Engine size inside the firmware image. Furthermore the -maximized images do contain all flash regions inside the firmware, this also includes GbE, which contains the Ethernet MAC address.

The non -maximized images have no functional differences compared to the -maximized images except of the reduced Heads GUI.