Unable to get into maskrom mode

ROCK 2 Series E20C
1

I was trying to access maskrom mod in my Radxa E20C

Initially I was able to access the maskrom mode by pressing the maskrom button and powering on. I did flash the bootloader rk3528_spl_loader_v1.07.104.bin using the command

sudo rkdeveloptool db rkxxxx_spl_loader_v1.xxx.bin

The flashed the image istoreos-22.03.6-2024062810-e20c-squashfs.img.gz after extracting it with gunzip into E20C using the command:

sudo rkdeveloptool wl 0 istoreos-22.03.6-2024062810-e20c-squashfs.img

Then rebooted the device with the command:

sudo rkdeveloptool rd

It booted well but, now when I am trying to get into maskrom mode. I am unable to do it.

Any Idea whats going on here.

My host machine is running ArchLinux

2

Please try entering maskrom mode again. Make sure to double-check your steps and connect the debug serial port according to the documentation. It’s possible that the system has already booted—if it has, you won’t be able to enter maskrom mode.

3

But if it’s booted up, all 3 leds (SYS, WAN, LAN) should lighted right?
The only LED turned on is SYS.

4

Is there any way to collect boot up logs form E20C.

5

If the system LED is blinking, it indicates that the system has booted up. In this case, it will not be in Maskrom mode. As for the debugging interface, it is the DEBUG port shown in the product overview in the documentation. Connect the board to a computer using a USB Type-A to Type-C data cable, and set the serial baud rate to 1,500,000 to view the logs.

6

System led is not blinking, it turned on and constantly lighted without any blink.

7

Could you please take a photo of the wiring connections?

8

Here are the setup photos.

photo_2026-01-20_12-55-21
photo_2026-01-20_12-55-211280×792 139 KB

photo_2026-01-20_12-55-21 (2)
photo_2026-01-20_12-55-21 (2)960×1280 203 KB

photo_2026-01-20_12-55-21 (3)
photo_2026-01-20_12-55-21 (3)1280×982 166 KB

photo_2026-01-20_12-55-21 (4)
photo_2026-01-20_12-55-21 (4)1280×817 157 KB

9

Could you please confirm the sequence: first press and hold the Maskrom button, then power on, and only release the button after the power is fully on?

10

After confirming the steps, could you try changing the cable or testing with another computer?

11

How to confirm power is fully on.

12

I can confirm that the cables are working fine. Since the debug console is showing up.

image
image612×169 19.3 KB

13

If only the SYS LED is lit, it should have entered Maskrom mode. Could you try using a different computer? Also, would it be possible to connect the serial port to check the boot logs from a normal startup?

14

even without pressing the maskrom button only the SYS LED is one.
And there is no logs through debug console.

15

Your board appears to be already damaged and cannot boot normally. Please contact after-sales service for support.