jetpack-ota-update

name	jetpack-ota-update
description	Perform an image-based OTA update on Seeed Jetson devices to upgrade from JetPack 5.1.3 to JetPack 6.0. Requires Ubuntu 20.04 host PC and USB-C cable. Demonstrated on reComputer J3010.

JetPack Image-Based OTA Update (5.1.3 → 6.0)

Upgrade Jetson Linux from JetPack 5.1.3 to JetPack 6.0 using NVIDIA's image-based over-the-air update mechanism. Demonstrated on reComputer J3010.

Hardware: reComputer J4012/J4011/J3010/J3011, USB-C cable Software: Ubuntu 20.04 host PC, internet connection

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Execution model

Run one phase at a time. After each phase:

• If output contains [STOP] → stop immediately, consult the failure decision tree
• If output ends with [OK] → tell the user "Phase N complete" and proceed

Board-specific variables must be set based on the Jetson module:

Module	BOARDID	BOARDSKU	FAB	BOARDREV	CHIP_SKU
Orin Nano 4G	3767	0004	300	N.2	00:00:00:D6
Orin Nano 8G	3767	0003	300	N.2	00:00:00:D6
Orin NX 8G	3767	0001	300	M.3	00:00:00:D4
Orin NX 16G	3767	0000	300	G.3	00:00:00:D3

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Phase 1 — download JP5.1.3 BSP (~10 min)

mkdir -p jp5 && cd jp5
wget https://developer.nvidia.com/downloads/embedded/l4t/r35_release_v5.0/release/jetson_linux_r35.5.0_aarch64.tbz2
wget https://developer.nvidia.com/downloads/embedded/l4t/r35_release_v5.0/release/tegra_linux_sample-root-filesystem_r35.5.0_aarch64.tbz2

[OK] when both files download successfully.

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Phase 2 — build JP5.1.3 system image (~15 min)

tar xf jetson_linux_r35.5.0_aarch64.tbz2
sudo tar xpf tegra_linux_sample-root-filesystem_r35.5.0_aarch64.tbz2 -C Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs/
cd Linux_for_Tegra
sudo ./apply_binaries.sh

Generate the system image (replace variables per the table above):

sudo BOARDID=<BOARDID> BOARDSKU=<BOARDSKU> FAB=<FAB> BOARDREV=<BOARDREV> CHIP_SKU=<CHIP_SKU> \
  ./tools/kernel_flash/l4t_initrd_flash.sh \
  --external-device nvme0n1p1 \
  -c tools/kernel_flash/flash_l4t_nvme.xml \
  -p "-c bootloader/t186ref/cfg/flash_t234_qspi.xml --no-systemimg" \
  --no-flash --massflash 5 --network usb0 \
  jetson-orin-nano-devkit external

[OK] when mfi_jetson-orin-nano-devkit.tar.gz is generated in Linux_for_Tegra/.

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Phase 3 — (optional) flash JP5.1.3 to device

If the device doesn't already have JP5.1.3:

sudo tar xpf mfi_jetson-orin-nano-devkit.tar.gz
cd mfi_jetson-orin-nano-devkit
sudo ./tools/kernel_flash/l4t_initrd_flash.sh --flash-only --massflash 1 --network usb0 --showlogs

[OK] when device boots JP5.1.3.

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Phase 4 — download JP6.0 BSP + OTA tools (~10 min)

cd <root_dir>
mkdir -p jp6 && cd jp6
wget https://developer.nvidia.com/downloads/embedded/l4t/r36_release_v3.0/release/jetson_linux_r36.3.0_aarch64.tbz2
wget https://developer.nvidia.com/downloads/embedded/l4t/r36_release_v3.0/release/tegra_linux_sample-root-filesystem_r36.3.0_aarch64.tbz2
wget https://developer.nvidia.com/downloads/embedded/l4t/r36_release_v3.0/release/ota_tools_R36.3.0_aarch64.tbz2

[OK] when all three files download successfully.

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Phase 5 — build JP6.0 system image (~15 min)

tar xf jetson_linux_r36.3.0_aarch64.tbz2
sudo tar xpf tegra_linux_sample-root-filesystem_r36.3.0_aarch64.tbz2 -C Linux_for_Tegra/rootfs
cd Linux_for_Tegra
sudo ./apply_binaries.sh
sudo BOARDID=<BOARDID> BOARDSKU=<BOARDSKU> FAB=<FAB> BOARDREV=<BOARDREV> CHIP_SKU=<CHIP_SKU> \
  ./tools/kernel_flash/l4t_initrd_flash.sh \
  --external-device nvme0n1p1 \
  -c tools/kernel_flash/flash_l4t_nvme.xml \
  -p "-c bootloader/generic/cfg/flash_t234_qspi.xml --no-systemimg" \
  --no-flash --massflash 5 --network usb0 \
  jetson-orin-nano-devkit external

[OK] when image generation completes.

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Phase 6 — generate OTA payload package (~10 min)

cd <root_dir>/jp6
tar xf ota_tools_R36.3.0_aarch64.tbz2
cd Linux_for_Tegra
sudo BASE_BSP=<root_dir>/jp5/Linux_for_Tegra \
  ./tools/ota_tools/version_upgrade/l4t_generate_ota_package.sh \
  --external-device nvme0n1 -S 80GiB jetson-orin-nano-devkit R35-5

[OK] when ota_payload_package.tar.gz appears in Linux_for_Tegra/bootloader/jetson-orin-nano-devkit/.

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Phase 7 — apply OTA on device (~15 min)

Copy the OTA package to the Jetson device and run on the device:

scp <host_path>/jp6/Linux_for_Tegra/bootloader/jetson-orin-nano-devkit/ota_payload_package.tar.gz <user>@<jetson_ip>:~

On the Jetson device:

wget https://developer.nvidia.com/downloads/embedded/l4t/r36_release_v3.0/release/ota_tools_R36.3.0_aarch64.tbz2
sudo mkdir -p /ota
sudo mv ~/ota_payload_package.tar.gz /ota
tar xf ota_tools_R36.3.0_aarch64.tbz2
cd ~/Linux_for_Tegra/tools/ota_tools/version_upgrade
sudo ./nv_ota_start.sh /ota/ota_payload_package.tar.gz

After completion, reboot the device:

sudo reboot

[OK] when device boots into JetPack 6.0.

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Failure decision tree

Symptom	Action
BSP download fails	Check internet. Verify URLs are still valid at NVIDIA's download page.
apply_binaries.sh fails	Ensure rootfs was extracted with sudo tar xpf. Re-extract and retry.
Image generation fails	Verify BOARDID/BOARDSKU/FAB/BOARDREV/CHIP_SKU match your module.
OTA package generation fails	Ensure BASE_BSP path points to the JP5.1.3 Linux_for_Tegra directory.
nv_ota_start.sh fails on device	Check disk space (df -h). Ensure OTA package is in /ota/.
Device won't boot after OTA	Re-flash JP6.0 directly using standard flash method as fallback.

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Reference files

• references/source.body.md — Original Seeed wiki with board-specific variable tables and screenshots