Spark Core Troubleshooting Guide (Spark Team)

#Troubleshooting Guide
Hello Sparksters! We’re really happy that many of you have received your Cores, and happy to help with any issues you might encounter. Please don’t hesitate to contact us on Facebook, Twitter, IRC, or through our Community Site. In the meantime, here’s a brief guide that should help resolve any of the most common issues that you’re having getting your Core online.

First, please make sure you’re familiar with the [normal behavior of the LED] (https://community.spark.io/t/what-do-the-colors-on-the-spark-core-led-mean/533/2), so that we can help you debug any issues that you’re having.

##Table of Contents:

HELP! My LED is:

  1. Flashing Slow Blue
  2. Flashing Green
  3. Flashing Yellow
  4. Flashing Orange (Yellow/Red)
  5. Flashing Green then Red
  6. Blank or Unresponsive!

####1. FLASHING SLOW BLUE

  • What’s the Core doing? --> My Core is flashing slow blue.
  • What’s the problem? --> Your Core doesn’t have Wi-Fi credentials to join your local network
  • How do I fix it? -->

Right now, your Core does not have the information it needs to connect to your local Wi-Fi network. If you haven’t already, try using the Spark Core app for [iPhone] (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spark-core/id760157884) or [Android] (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.spark.core.android) to send your network credentials to your Core. Detailed instructions can be found here.

If that doesn’t work, try the steps below:

  1. If your network router supports 802.11n, make sure that it also supports Legacy network protocols, and that it is configured into that mode (the Core supports 802.11 a/c networks)
  2. If you have a Core with a u.FL connector, make sure the antenna is attached
  3. Try rebooting the Core and clearing its memory.
  4. If you have an Android phone, and your network has no password, you cannot currently use the Spark Core app to communicate the credentials to your Core. Instead, try using TI’s SmartConfig app to configure your Core.
  5. Try configuring your Core up over USB. Instructions can be found here.
  6. If all else fails, please contact the Spark team and provide us with the brand and model of your smartphone.

####2. FLASHING GREEN

  • What’s the Core doing? --> My Core is flashing green, but doesn’t progress to flashing Cyan.
  • What’s the problem? --> Your Core has an SSID and password, but can’t connect to the network.
  • How do I fix it? -->

Please complete the following steps:

  1. [Check the basics] (http://docs.spark.io/#/connect/troubleshooting-step-0-check-the-basics). You should be powering your Core with a power supply that is capable of providing 500mA of current. We recommend the 5V/1A wall wart power supplies that are commonly used for charging cell phones.
  2. If your network has a landing page or splash page, the Core will not be able to connect–try configuring it onto a different network.
  3. Try [rebooting the Core and clearing its memory] (http://docs.spark.io/#/connect/troubleshooting-step-3-reboot-and-clear-memory).
  4. Try a factory reset. Hold down both buttons, then release the RST button, while holding down the MODE button. The LED should begin flashing yellow. Continue holding down the MODE button until you see the Core change from flashing yellow to flashing white. Then release the button. The Core should begin flashing blue after the factory reset is complete.
  5. Try manually re-running the patch programmer to update the CC3000’s firmware over USB. You can find detailed instructions here.
  6. NOTE: If your network is WEP encrypted, you may need to flash your Core with a modern firmware binary in order to connect to Wi-Fi. Contact the Spark team for more details. If you can simply change your network router security type to WPA or WPA2, that would be much easier and make your network more secure than WEP.
  7. If none of the above are successful, please contact the Spark team and provide us with the brand and model number of your access point.

####3. FLASHING YELLOW

  • What’s the Core doing? --> My Core is starts flashing yellow when I plug it or when I hit the RST button.
  • What’s the problem? --> Your Core is missing important firmware.
  • How do I fix it? -->

Please complete the following steps:

  1. Try hitting the RST button to make sure you did not accidentally configure your Core into DFU mode.
  2. Try a factory reset (see this video for illustration). Hold down both buttons, then release the RST button, while holding down the MODE button. The LED should begin flashing yellow. Continue holding down the MODE button until you see the Core change from flashing yellow to flashing white. Then release the button. The Core should begin flashing blue after the factory reset is complete.
  3. If a factory reset is unsuccessful, then we have to write the firmware over DFU. You can accomplish this by following the steps below:

Install dfu-util for your system either using homebrew on a mac, http://dfu-util.gnumonks.org/ on windows, or you can build from source on linux:

opkg install libusb-1.0-dev
wget http://dfu-util.gnumonks.org/releases/dfu-util-0.7.tar.gz
tar xvf dfu-util-0.7.tar.gz
cd dfu-util-0.7
./configure
make
sudo make install

If you install those you should be able to run, with your core connected over USB:

    sudo dfu-util -l

This should give you a list with something like [1d50:607f] in the list, if that’s the case, then we can install the missing firmware (can be found here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/spark-website/factory_firmware.bin )

    dfu-util -d 1d50:607f -a 1 -s 0x00020000 -D factory_firmware.bin
dfu-util -d 1d50:607f -a 0 -s 0x08005000:leave -D factory_firmware.bin

You can reboot your Core and it should start slow flashing blue, or start flashing green if everything worked.

If none of these steps are successful, please contact the Spark team.


####4. FLASHING ORANGE (YELLOW/RED)

  • What’s the Core doing? --> My Core is flashing yellow/red/orange lights after it connects to Wi-Fi.
  • What’s the problem? --> A decryption error occurred during the handshake with the Spark Cloud
  • How do I fix it? -->

Please complete the following steps:

  1. A full set of instructions for resolving this issue can be found at the following location on the Spark Community forums. If the steps included in the link below are unsuccessful, please contact the Spark team.

https://community.spark.io/t/troubleshooting-my-core-is-flashing-yellow-red-lights-after-it-connects-to-wifi/627


####5. FLASHING GREEN THEN RED

  • What’s the Core doing? --> My Core starts flashing green to connect to my network, then the LED turns red.
  • What’s the problem? --> Your Core is facing a networking issue and cannot connect to the internet
  • How do I fix it? -->

There are two potential failure modes here–either your home network does not have a working internet connection, or we are having issues with our servers.

  1. Try power cycling your router to resolve any transient networking hiccups in your home Wi-Fi network
  2. Try going to a website like www.spark.io on your computer or laptop to verify that your Wi-Fi network is connected to the internet and is capable of serving up web pages
  3. Check www.spark.io/status to see if there is a known issue with the Spark Cloud
  4. If you’re still seeing this issue, please contact the Spark team.

####6. BLANK OR UNRESPONSIVE

  • What’s the Core doing? --> My Core isn’t showing any LED activity when I power it over USB.
  • What’s the problem? --> Your Core may not have the necessary firmware installed
  • How do I fix it? -->

Please complete the following steps:

  1. Try powering the Core with a different USB cable and power supply (different USB port on your computer, for example)
  2. Try a factory reset. Hold down both buttons, then release the RST button, while holding down the MODE button. The LED should begin flashing yellow. Continue holding down the MODE button until you see the Core change from flashing yellow to flashing white. Then release the button. The Core should begin flashing blue after the factory reset is complete.
  3. If you see no flashing lights during factory reset, then your Core may be temporarily nonfunctional. If you have a JTAG shield, contact the Spark team so we can help walk you through re-installing the Core firmware. If you do not have a JTAG shield, please contact the Spark team to let us know, and we’ll help you take next steps.

Thanks! We hope that resolves some of the issues you guys are having. Feel free to reach out on Facebook, Twitter, email, or IRC!

Best,
The Spark Team

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