eeupdate Error C86A2029 (checksum update failing)

[madfrisbee]

We have i210 chips with the SST25VF040B 4 M-bit SPI flash.

Using eeupdate (Linux eeupdate64e) from 2017 (eeupdate v5.30.25.06) works when updating the MAC address (using 'eeupdate64e /mac=001122334455 /nic=3', for example).

But when I use eeupdate from 2025  (v5.43.08.00) to update the MAC, it fails:

=============

Using: Intel (R) PRO Network Connections SDK v2.40.5
EEUPDATE v5.40.05.03
Copyright (C) 1995 - 2023 Intel Corporation
Intel (R) Confidential and not for general distribution.

Driverless Mode

NIC Bus Dev Fun Vendor-Device Branding string
=== === === === ============= =================================================
1 1 00 00 8086-1533 Intel(R) I210 Gigabit Network Connection
2 2 00 00 8086-1533 Intel(R) I210 Gigabit Network Connection
3 3 00 00 8086-1533 Intel(R) I210 Gigabit Network Connection
4 4 00 00 8086-1533 Intel(R) I210 Gigabit Network Connection
5 5 00 00 8086-0D9F Intel(R) Ethernet Controller (3) I225-IT
6 244 00 00 8086-124D Intel(R) Ethernet Connection E823-L for SFP
7 244 00 01 8086-124D Intel(R) Ethernet Connection E823-L for SFP
8 244 00 02 8086-124D Intel(R) Ethernet Connection E823-L for SFP
9 244 00 03 8086-124D Intel(R) Ethernet Connection E823-L for SFP

3: Updating Mac Address to 001122334455...Done.
3: Updating Checksum and CRCs...EEPROM Manageability Checksum update failed. Error C86A2029 - Failed to read EEPROM or EEPROM image.

=============

Note that the newer eeupdate works with an empty flash.  It's when we want to change the content that it fails.

Is this a known problem?  Is there a workaround?

[madfrisbee]

Adding a little more information...

Using /CALCCHKSUM does not help.

Using /TEST confirms the checksum is incorrect.

[madfrisbee]

Also I get the same failure if the iqvlinux.ko driver is installed.  The output in the original post is in "driverless" mode (without the driver installed).  I don't see any difference with or without the iqvlinux driver.

[Sazirah]

Hi madfrisbee,

Thank you for posting in Intel Ethernet Communities.

Regarding this issue, we have dedicated team that able to assist you. Intel Embedded team is expert team regarding this issue. To contact them, we recommend you to post your enquiry in Intel Embedded Forum. Kindly give them some time to get back to you once you posted in the forum.

https://community.intel.com/t5/Embedded-Connectivity/bd-p/embedded-networking-connectivity

Since you will be contacting them and no further assistance needed from our end, I will proceed with closing this case at my end.

Thank you for using Intel products and services.

Regards,

Sazzy_Intel

Intel Customer Support Technician

[madfrisbee]

Thanks, Sazzy.  I posted the topic yesterday in the 'Embedded Connectivity' forum:

https://community.intel.com/t5/Embedded-Connectivity/i210-eeupdate-Error-C86A2029-checksum-update-failing/m-p/1696454#M5788

I also added information to zero in more closely on the version of eeupdates that work and stopped working (hint: it was in 2023).

No response to the topic in 'Embedded Connectivity' yet.