Installation

Determine the IP Address and Stock Firmware Build Date

First, find the miner's IP address on the local network using an IP scanner (e.g., Advanced IP Scanner). Enter the found IP into your browser to open the stock Bitmain firmware.

At the bottom of the Home page, find the Firmware Version line. The build date is indicated next to the firmware version, for example:

Firmware Version: Mon Jan 24 16:01:20 CST 2022

Firmware Version on Bitmain Stock Firmware

Use this date to determine the appropriate installation scenario in the next step.

Select an Installation Scenario

Firmware Installation Scenarios based on Build Date

The choice of installation scenario depends on the stock firmware build date:

• Green intervals: Firmware can be installed directly via HashCore Toolkit. Proceed directly to step 3.
• Red interval: Direct installation is not available. Use the stock firmware downgrade scenario below.

Downgrading Stock Firmware (March – November 2024)

Stock firmwares from this period have protection against third-party firmware installation. You must first downgrade the stock firmware using a Recovery SD image, after which installation via HashCore Toolkit will be possible. The control board type determines the downgrade method:

• AMLogic: via USB drive and OTG adapter (Micro-USB port);
• Xilinx / CVitek / BeagleBone: via SD cards Downgrade Process:

1. Prepare a USB drive (USB 2.0) or SD card up to 16 GB, formatted to FAT32. For AMLogic boards, use an OTG adapter.
2. Download the stock firmware for your model and control board type and unpack the files into the root folder of the drive or SD card.
3. Connect the drive to the powered-off miner.
4. Power on and wait until the green LED on the front panel lights up and stays on. The process takes no more than one minute.
5. Power off and remove the flash drive.

If the firmware version has not changed after flashing, clean the SD slot or flash drive and try using a different medium or OTG adapter. After a successful downgrade, proceed to step 3.

CVitek Board Specifics

CVitek-based control boards may automatically load Bitmain stock firmware instead of VNISH upon reboot. To resolve this, the Phoenix-scanner utility is used. Phoenix-scanner runs on a separate computer on the same network as the miners. The utility periodically scans specified IP ranges and, upon detecting a CVitek miner that has booted into stock firmware, automatically restores Vnish by Hashcore. Download Phoenix-scanner: VNISH.ru/en/utilitiesPhoenix-scanner Setup:

1. Download and unpack the utility archive.
2. Open the phoenix.toml file in a text editor.
3. Specify the IP ranges of your miners, for example:

   ip_ranges=["192.168.1.1-192.168.1.255"]
   

4. Save the file and run the utility. Phoenix-scanner will run in the background and automatically restore VNISH on CVitek miners upon reboot.

AMLogic Board Specifics (FR 1.20 Firmware and Newer)

SSH and the ability to downgrade via SD are blocked by Bitmain. To install VNISH, you must first hardware unlock the control board using the UART method. What You'll Need:

• AML control board and 12V PSU;
• Windows computer;
• USB-UART adapter with installed drivers (e.g., Silicon Labs CP2102);
• Terminal program (e.g., PuTTY) for connecting to the control board and sending commands. Unlock Process:

1. Connect the adapter to the computer and determine the COM port number. Determining COM Port Number
2. Identify the UART connector on the control board and connect the adapter according to the scheme: GND → GND, RXD → TX, TXD → RX. UART Connector on AMLogic Control BoardUART Connection Diagram
3. Open PuTTY, specify the COM port number and baud rate 115200. Click the «Open» button. PuTTY Configuration
4. Power on the control board. The device boot log should appear in the terminal. Device Boot Log in Terminal
5. Power off the board and short the JP2 jumper with tweezers or a screwdriver. Shorting JP2 Jumper
6. Ensure the terminal window is active. Power on the board. As soon as the first boot line appears in the terminal, release the JP2 jumper and quickly press the spacebar several times in the terminal window. The ENV loading process should begin.

If ENV loading does not start, power off and on the board again. Briefly short the JP1 or JP2 jumpers several times. This should force the board into U-Boot boot mode. As a result, the following message should appear in the terminal window: ENV Loading Message

7. Enter the commands sequentially in the terminal:

   setenv bitmain_usb_switch 1
   

Enables the USB port on the control board, which is blocked by Bitmain in newer firmwares. After entering, press «Enter».

saveenv

Saves the changed setting to the board's memory. Without this command, the setting will reset after reboot. After entering, press «Enter». 8. Reboot the board. After this, firmware downgrade via SD image will be available. If the ports are not unlocked, enter the commands in the following order:

saveenv
setenv bitmain_usb_switch 1
saveenv

After unlocking, perform the downgrade via OTG adapter, then proceed to step 3. A detailed instruction with photos can be downloaded here.

Download Firmware and HashCore Toolkit

Current versions of firmware and HashCore Toolkit are available on the official website.

If the model or controller type is unknown, download HASHCORE TOOLKIT + Firmware Pack (includes firmware for all models). The Toolkit will automatically determine the correct firmware during installation.

When downloading firmware, select:

• firmware version;
• device model;
• controller type;
• installation method (NAND).

Installation via HashCore Toolkit

Launch HashCore Toolkit. The Toolkit will automatically detect the device model and controller type, connect to the miner over the network, and write the firmware to the board's NAND memory.

A detailed description of firmware installation and working with HashCore Toolkit: here.

After Installation

After successful installation, the miner reboots with VNISH firmware. Open the web interface using the device's IP address and configure pools and operating parameters (see Quick Start section)