# Flash images
Follow these steps to flash the software images:
1. Update the `udev` rules (one-time prerequisite).
2. Move the device to Emergency Download (EDL) mode.
3. Flash the software:
- Using QDL
- Using PCAT
## Update `udev` rules
Configure the `udev` USB rules for the Qualcomm manufacturing vendor ID **05c6** on the Linux host:
1. Navigate to the `udev` USB rules directory:
cd /etc/udev/rules.d
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2. List the contents of the directory:
ls
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- If the `51-qcom-usb.rules` file is not present, use the `sudo vi 51-qcom-usb.rules` file to create it and add the following content to the file:
SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="05c6", ATTRS{idProduct}=="9008", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"
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- If the file exists, then check for the previous content:
cat 51-qcom-usb.rules
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3. Restart `udev`:
sudo systemctl restart udev
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If the USB cable is already connected to the host, unplug and reconnect the cable for the updated rules to take effect.
## Move to EDL mode
The device must be in the EDL mode before you flash the software. The Qualcomm supported device by default enters the EDL mode if there is no image on the device after power up or if it is corrupted. To force the device into the EDL mode, use any one of the following methods.
**Using UART**
Note
Use UART only if the device has a preloaded build.
1. Connect the device to a UART shell.
2. Move the device to the EDL mode by running the following command on the UART shell:
reboot edl
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3. Verify if the device has entered the Qualcomm Download (QDL) mode by running the following command on the host machine:
lsusb
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**Sample output**
Bus 002 Device 014: ID 05c6:9008 Qualcomm, Inc. Gobi Wireless Modem (QDL mode)
Note
This procedure applies to the Ubuntu host environment.
**Using ADB**
Note
Use ADB only if the device has a preloaded build.
1. [Install
QUD](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/topics/80-70015-253/additional_setup.html#install-qud-on-linux-host)
on the host device.
2. [Install
ADB](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/topics/80-70015-253/additional_setup.html#install-adb)
on the host device.
3. [Connect
ADB](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/topics/80-70015-253/additional_setup.html#connect-to-adb)
to the device.
4. Move the device to EDL mode by running the following command on the host machine:
adb shell reboot edl
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5. Verify whether the device has entered the QDL mode by running the following command on the host machine:
lsusb
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**Sample output**
Bus 002 Device 014: ID 05c6:9008 Qualcomm, Inc. Gobi Wireless Modem (QDL mode)
Note
This procedure applies to the Ubuntu host environment.
**Manual**
1. Press and hold the **F\_DL** button.
2. Connect the device to a +12 V wall power supply.
3. Connect the device to the host system using a Type-C cable through the USB Type-C connector.
4. Release the **F\_DL** button. The device should now be in the Qualcomm download (QDL) mode. For this task, QDL is used interchangeably with EDL.
5. Verify whether the device has entered the QDL mode:
lsusb
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**Sample output**
Bus 002 Device 014: ID 05c6:9008 Qualcomm, Inc. Gobi Wireless Modem (QDL mode)
1. Switch on the dip switch S5-4 to put the device in the EDL mode.
2. Verify whether the device has entered the QDL mode:
lsusb
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**Sample output**
Bus 002 Device 014: ID 05c6:9008 Qualcomm, Inc. Gobi Wireless Modem (QDL mode)
Note
Dip switch S5-4 must be turned off after the flashing is complete.
## Flash software using QDL
Note
- This process is available for both registered and unregistered users.
- **Prerequisites**
- The modules `make` and `gcc` must be available.
- Install the following dependent packages:
sudo apt-get install git libxml2-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev pkg-config
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1. Ensure that the ModemManager tool is not running.
Some Linux distributions include the ModemManager tool, which allows you to configure the mobile broadband. When the device is connected in the USB mode, it is identified as a Qualcomm modem, and the ModemManager tries to configure the device. As this interferes with the QDL flashing, you must disable the ModemManager before connecting your device.
If you are using a Linux distribution with `systemd`, stop the ModemManager tool using the following command:
sudo systemctl stop ModemManager
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If you need the ModemManager, you can restart it after the flashing is complete.
2. Download the QDL tool, compile it, and flash the images:
# Download and compile QDL
cd
git clone --branch master https://github.com/linux-msm/qdl qdl_tool
cd qdl_tool
git checkout cbd46184d33af597664e08aff2b9181ae2f87aa6
make
# Flash images
# Built images are under /build-/tmp-glibc/deploy/images//
# build_path: For DISTRO=qcom-wayland, it is build-qcom-wayland.
# For DISTRO=qcom-robotics-ros2-humble, it is build-qcom-robotics-ros2-humble
# qdl [ ...]
# Example: build_path is build-qcom-wayland
cd /build-qcom-wayland/tmp-glibc/deploy/images/qcs6490-rb3gen2-vision-kit/qcom-multimedia-image
/qdl_tool/qdl prog_firehose_ddr.elf rawprogram*.xml patch*.xml
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Flashing is successful if you see *partition 1 is now bootable* on the terminal window as shown in the following message:
LOG: INFO: Calling handler for setbootablestoragedrive
LOG: INFO: Using scheme of value = 1
partition 1 is now bootable
LOG: INFO: Calling handler for power
LOG: INFO: Will issue reset/power off 100 useconds, if this hangs check if watchdog is enabled
LOG: INFO: bsp_target_reset() 1
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After a successful flashing operation, run the `lsusb` command to see the device information on the terminal window as shown in line 4 of the following message:
# Sample output for QCS6490
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 05c6:9135 Qualcomm, Inc. qcs6490-rb3gen2-vision-kit
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
To verify the updated software version, see [Check software version](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/topics/80-70015-253/set_up_the_device.html#check-software-version).
Note
If flashing fails, perform the following steps and retry the flashing procedure:
1. Power off the device.
2. Disconnect from the host.
3. Reboot the host.
## Flash software using PCAT
Note
This procedure is available for registered users only.
1. To detect the connected devices and flash the software builds, ensure that the Qualcomm PCAT and QUD tools are installed on the host machine. Run the following commands to use `qpm-cli` to install PCAT and QUD:
qpm-cli --login
qpm-cli --install pcat --activate-default-license
qpm-cli --install qud --activate-default-license
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Note
For Ubuntu 22.04, you may encounter an issue while installing QUD, where you might be asked to enroll the public key on your Linux host for a successful QUD installation. For additional details, follow the steps provided in the README file available in the `/opt/QTI/sign/signReadme.txt` directory.
2. Check if the `QTI_HS-USB_QDLoader` driver is available in the installed directory:
ls –la /dev/Q*
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**Sample output**
crw-rw-rw- 1 root 242 0 Dec 10 10:51 /dev/QTI\_HS-USB\_QDLoader\_9008\_3-8:1.0
3. Verify if the device entered the QDL mode:
lsusb
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**Sample output**
Bus 002 Device 014: ID 05c6:9008 Qualcomm, Inc. Gobi Wireless Modem (QDL mode)
4. Check if the device is recognized by the PCAT:
pcat -devices
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**Sample output**
Searching devices in Device Manager, please wait for a moment…
ID | DEVICE TYPE | DEVICE STATE | SERIAL NUMBER | ADB SERIAL NUMBER | DESCRIPTION
NA | NA | EDL | BE116704 | be116704 | Qualcomm USB Composite Device:QUSB_BULK_CID:042F_SN:BE116704
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5. Flash the build:
PCAT –PLUGIN SD -DEVICE -BUILD “” -MEMORYTYPE UFS -FLAVOR asic
# Example
PCAT -PLUGIN SD -DEVICE be116704 -BUILD "/build-qcom-wayland/tmp-glibc/deploy/images/qcs6490-rb3gen2-vision-kit/qcom-multimedia-image" -MEMORYTYPE UFS -FLAVOR asic
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If the software has been flashed successfully, you will see the following message:
xxxx INFO] [ FIRMWARE DOWNLOAD LOG ] Process Finished
xxxx INFO] Status - TRUE
xxxx INFO] Response - Downloading software images completed on the device Qualcomm USB Composite Device:QUSB\_BULK\_CID:042F\_SN:BE116704
After a successful flashing operation, run the `lsusb` command to see the device information on the terminal window as shown in line 4 of the following message:
# Sample output for QCS6490
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 05c6:9135 Qualcomm, Inc. qcs6490-rb3gen2-vision-kit
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
The device reboots after the flashing procedure is completed successfully. To verify the updated software version, see [Check software version](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/topics/80-70015-253/set_up_the_device.html#check-software-version).
## Connect to UART shell and Network
After flashing and booting the device, follow these steps to connect to UART shell, Network and Login via SSH.
- Connect to UART shell
- Connect to Network
- Login via SSH
Last Published: Feb 03, 2026
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