I'm new to Arduino, so don't scold me.
I have a device with an Arduino mega2560 board
The manufacturer provided me with a new firmware, but the device does not work. If I install an old firmware, then the device works well. The manufacturer says that the new firmware uses new memory areas and that the Arduino board is defective and needs to be replaced by the manufacturer (the user cannot replace the board for security reasons)
My question is:
How can I check the Arduino memory without damaging the existing data (the license for the device is recorded there)
Is the manufacturer going to replace the board free of charge and will they pay for shipping? If so, it is best not to mess with it and just send it back.
The Arduino board controls the keyboard, creates an Ethernet and USB connection, and prints messages about its status.
If I install a new firmware, the Arduino board freezes and nothing happens
The device is out of warranty, so I have to send it to the manufacturer at my own expense (back and forth) and the device is large enough, weight about 7 kg
Almost everyone here is new. If anyone gets scolded, it's because they skipped over the introductory threads that they were asked to read when they created an account. Then post without knowing the requirements.
You’re in a sticky position…
As the product isn’t open source, and possibly protected by some copyright, you may not be pp able to post too much detail.
The supplier’s possibly just trying to protect gus revenue source, the reason may be BS, but there’s not much you can do.
Maybe a CLEAR photo of the affected module would give us a hint, but behind that, the solution is guesswork.
The avrdude utility can read and write flash memory without disturbing the contents, unless the security fuse bits have been set. You may be able to read the firmware and program it into another Mega.
Unless the vendor is asking exhorbitant amounts of money for it, it may not be worthwhile to crack. Not to be too "smarmy" but in that case, would it be ethical if the cost is reasonable?
I have already paid 55 USD for the firmware update and much more for the device.
I don't need to crack the firmware, I want to know what the problem is. The manufacturer says that the problem is in the memory of the Arduino 2560 and that the Arduino board needs to be replaced.
Therefore, I want to check the EEPROM memory
The firmware was sent by email in a zip archive. There is a CRC32 checksum and it is matches.
Thanks for the tip, didn't think about that and just checked
Sounds like it's directly connected to the USB port of the Mega and hence the board is not protected with fuse bits. You should be able to use avrdude to read out the memory. To get you started: