Flashing overview
Flashing is the process of writing a system image or firmware to a storage medium. There are two types of operations:
| Operation | What is written | Storage medium | Primary scenarios |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flash system image | Ubuntu system image | microSD card (or eMMC) | First-time use, system upgrade, switching systems |
| Upgrade miniboot | miniboot, U-Boot, and other low-level firmware | Onboard NAND | Routine upgrade, device fails to boot normally |
Tool selection
| Tool | Flash system image | Upgrade miniboot | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rufus | ✅ | ❌ | Windows tool, supports solo microSD card flashing and in-board microSD card flashing |
| RDK Studio | ✅ | ❌ | Supports Windows / Mac, can download images online or import locally |
| XBurn | ✅ | ✅ | Supports Windows / Linux / macOS, can flash system images and miniboot |
| rdk-miniboot-update | ❌ | ✅ | Command-line tool, requires the system to be running normally and connected to the network |
| Tool | Flash system image | Upgrade miniboot | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rufus | ✅ | ❌ | Windows tool, supports solo microSD card flashing, in-board microSD card flashing, and eMMC flashing |
| RDK Studio | ✅ | ❌ | Supports Windows / Mac, can download images online or import locally |
| XBurn | ✅ | ✅ | Supports Windows / Linux / macOS, can flash system images and miniboot |
| rdk-miniboot-update | ❌ | ✅ | Command-line tool, requires the system to be running normally and connected to the network |