# Switching from generic driver to Semtech driver caused firmware failure

**URL:** <https://forum.sierrawireless.com/t/switching-from-generic-driver-to-semtech-driver-caused-firmware-failure/34136>\
**Category:** IoT Modules\
**Tags:** driver\
**Created:** [December 11, 2024, 7:36am UTC](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/t/switching-from-generic-driver-to-semtech-driver-caused-firmware-failure/34136 "2024-12-11T07:36:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jp11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@jp11](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/u/jp11)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 7:36am UTC](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/t/switching-from-generic-driver-to-semtech-driver-caused-firmware-failure/34136/1 "2024-12-11T07:36:10Z")

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We are using the EM9291 with fedora core 40 which uses the default mhi driver. We were switching to the Semtech driver, which was unsigned. We loaded the driver but ran into problems. We checked the BIOS and secure boot was enabled, so we disabled that.

Now, the driver loads, but we ran into the following message in dmesg

```auto
[3.533436] mhi-pci-sentech 0000:04:00.0: MHI PCI device found: sierra-em929x
[3.533442] mhi-pci-sentech 0000:04:00.0: BAR 0 [mem 0x51501000-0x51501fff 64bit]: assigned
[3.533464] mhi-pci-semtech 0000:04:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002)
[3.539341] mhi mhi0: Requested to power ON
[3.539353] mhi mhi0: Power on setup success
[3.539429] mhi mhi0: No firmware image defined or !sbl_size || !seg_len
[3.5402851 mhi-pci-semtech 0000:04:00.0: failed to power up MHI controller
[3.541604] mhi-pci-semtech 0000:04:00.0: probe with driver mhi-pci-semtech failed with error -110

```

Is there a way to reload the device firmware?

The device shows in `lspci`, but does not show up in `/dev`. It also does not show up if we load Windows with the Semtech drivers.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jyijyi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.sierrawireless.com/jyijyi/32/4766_2.png) [@jyijyi](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/u/jyijyi)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 9:34am UTC](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/t/switching-from-generic-driver-to-semtech-driver-caused-firmware-failure/34136/2 "2024-12-11T09:34:13Z")

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see if this discussion thread helps:

> [@Sierra Wireless AirPrime EM919x PCIe support](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/t/sierra-wireless-airprime-em919x-pcie-support/24927/8):
>
> What firmware version is the module using? I’m running 02.08.01.00, upgraded using qmi-firmware-update with the module in USB mode on a Linux host. With your mhi\_pci\_dev\_info entry, I’m getting several firmware crashes reported during the system boot: [7.060730] mhi-pci-generic 0000:01:00.0: MHI PCI device found: sierra-em919x [7.067906] mhi-pci-generic 0000:01:00.0: BAR 0: assigned [mem 0x600000000-0x600000fff 64bit] [7.076455] mhi-pci-generic 0000:01:00.0: enabling device (0000 -\>…

I can see it has the same error message “failed to power up MHI controller”

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jp11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@jp11](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/u/jp11)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 7:39am UTC](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/t/switching-from-generic-driver-to-semtech-driver-caused-firmware-failure/34136/3 "2024-12-13T07:39:17Z")

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This resolved itself after a few hours of being off. The modem is working again.

Is the boot load process documented? Is there a period we should avoid removing power?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jyijyi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.sierrawireless.com/jyijyi/32/4766_2.png) [@jyijyi](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/u/jyijyi)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 7:53am UTC](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/t/switching-from-generic-driver-to-semtech-driver-caused-firmware-failure/34136/4 "2024-12-13T07:53:26Z")

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do you mean the module back to workable with MBPL PCIe driver after cutting power for a few hours?  
Then it seems to be a hardware issue…

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jp11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@jp11](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/u/jp11)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 1:23am UTC](https://forum.sierrawireless.com/t/switching-from-generic-driver-to-semtech-driver-caused-firmware-failure/34136/5 "2025-01-07T01:23:22Z")

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Posted to the wrong message. To close this issue, we haven’t seen this behavior again. We also switched to USB which seems to have fewer issues.