Intel NUC6i7KYK Thunderbolt Firmware Update from 27-38. Help needed.

[SkullTrail]

Updating the Thunderbolt firmware for the NUC 6i7KYK has been challenging to say the least. Here are the issues and here are some tips for people getting errors trying to update the firmware.

First issue:

Currently on Firmware 27. Trying to install firmware 38. Firmware 38 requires > H9075x-111 or higher. The SA revision is > H9075x-111, yet this error message pops up:

Error: 0x214 SDK_HW_GENERATION_MISMATCH Firmware image file is not compatible with controller hardware generation.

Does anyone know how to rectify this?

Second Issue:

Not an issue, just some help for those trying to update the firmware with the following errors.

1. No Thunderbolt controller found (0x0208)
2. Thunderbolt service not running
3. No devices attached

Solution:

1. If your driver is version 64, 66 or higher - uninstall the driver
2. Uninstall the Windows App from the Microsoft Store
3. Download TBT_Legacy-Win10-64-17.4.77.400 on the Intel site
4. Install the legacy driver. Check to see if the Windows 10 Thunderbolt driver is 17.4.77.13. If so, you're good to go.
5. Power down the machine
6. Plug in your Thunderbolt 3 device
7. Start up the machine
8. You'll be greeted with an message that says This thunderbolt application is not in use anymore and can be uninstalled. Ignore this message and press OK.
9. Go to the Thunderbolt firmware update tool you downloaded and update.
10. Once update. Uninstall the old drivers and install the new ones including the Windows 10 app.
11. Reboot

Note: You will have to revert to these legacy drivers every time you want to update the firmware because the new drivers will not find the controller and will not start.

Hope this helps someone.

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello SkullTrail,

Thank you for posting on the Intel* Community.

We are glad to know you found a solution, thank you for taking the time to share this fix, and hopefully, it may help other community members experiencing similar behavior.

On the other hand, if you still need assistance with the first issue, please provide us more information:

• Provide the step to step you followed to update the firmware that gives you the error "Error: 0x214 SDK_HW_GENERATION_MISMATCH Firmware image file is not compatible with controller hardware generation."

Please run the following tool in Windows* and attach the report generated. 

Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) 

• Intel® SSU Download
• Open the application and click on "Scan" to see the system and device information. By default, Intel® SSU will take you to the "Summary View". 
• Click on the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View". 
• To save your scan, click on "Next", then "Save". 

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[SkullTrail]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Essentially, the steps listed above were followed exactly.

The image file used was: Intel_NUC6i7KYK_AR_HR_4C_C0_rev38_W_TI_1_7_0_SEC1_sign.bin

Board version is higher than H9075x-111 (both the H number and suffix).

Bios is currently at 71.

Attached are the error messages and the step it gets the stop error.

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello SkullTrail,

Were you able to check the previous post? 

Let me know if you need more assistance. 

Best regards, 

Maria R.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello SkullTrail,

Thank you for the information.

We will proceed to check this internally and post back as soon as we have more details to share.

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello SkullTrail,

Thank you for patiently waiting.

We are currently checking on this, but we need the below confirmation:

Are you connecting a thunderbolt device when running this update? (please provide details)

A Thunderbolt device must be plugged into the Intel NUC Kit NUC6i7KYK when running the firmware update. 

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[SkullTrail]

Yes, you can only perform the update with a Thunderbolt device attached. If you do not have a Thunderbolt device attached, you'll get the "No Thunderbolt Service Found" error and the firmware dialogue box will not even open.

The reason this firmware update is so critical is because Revision 27 is so unstable. The devices either disappear or freeze the computer every single time they are used. Also, the devices used are certified Thunderbolt 3 devices along with Thunderbolt 3 cables with the "3" printed on the cables. They are certified Thunderbolt 3 cables.

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi SkullTrail,

I have no previous reports and I couldn't find any reference to this error message in our internal so I am going to run this issue by our Product Team, first question they will ask is What is the SA number. I know you said: Board version is higher than H9075x-111 (both the H number and suffix) but can you please provide me with the exact SA number or SSU log file?

Regards,
Ronny G

[SkullTrail]

H90766-402

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Thank you. I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Regards,

Ronny G

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi SkullTrail,

I believe the number you gave me - H90766-402 - is the AA number of the motherboard. From what I can tell, this Board AA revision was only used in the kits with SA number -101. In which case, you can't upgrade the TBT firmware to v38.

Can you please confirm the SA number on the back of the unit case?

Regards,

Ronny G

[SkullTrail]

Confirmed. Thanks for the reply. The SA number is only the bottom of the case and is the number you provided. The SSU only reports the motherboard version.

That being said, Thunderbolt 3 is entirely unusable right now. Before it would be incredibly stable and had access to the full PCI bus on the drives allowing native access to SATA for instance on a Thunderbolt 3 dock. Now, PCI or SATA access is no longer available through Thunderbolt 3. It says "Removable Drive" only. Drive performance is < 40 percent of the USB 3 ports - it used to be the other way around. Any Thunderbolt 3 device attached ends up locking up the machine after a few minutes. Any drive attached is dropped after a few minutes and data written or read is fully corrupted. *** Warning: do NOT rely on the Thunderbolt 3 port Firmware 27 if your data is important to you *** It doesn't matter what Thunderbolt 3 device you attach to the port, it either fails or locks up the machine within a few minutes. Also, this behavior includes clean Windows 10 installs - no programs, full updates and current drivers.

Is there a way to revert back (i.e. Thunderbolt firmware from 27 to say 19?). Revision 25 and 27 do not work at all. Thanks.

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi SkullTrail

Before I do anything else, please help clear out the following:

1- Your system is rev -101 which cannot upgrade to TB FW Version 38 and has to stay in version 27 for now

2- When previously running TB FW version 19 the TB feature on the NUC was stable and had access to the full PCI bus on the drives allowing native access to SATA for instance on a Thunderbolt 3 dock.

3- After updating to TB FW 27 PCI or SATA access is no longer available through Thunderbolt 3. It now reports  "Removable Drive" only. Drive performance is < 40 percent of the USB 3 ports

4- With TB FW 27 any Thunderbolt 3 device attached ends up locking up the machine after a few minutes. Any drive attached is dropped after a few minutes and data written or read is fully corrupted.

Questions:

1- Can you please provide the TB Docking brand and model and the same for the storage devices that you are connecting to it?

2- Was there any particular reason why you upgraded the FW to version 27? Was the system presenting any issue?

Regards,

Ronny G

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi SkullTrail,

Let me know if you have any update to my previous questions.

Regards,

Ronny G

[SkullTrail]

Quote:

"Questions:

1- Can you please provide the TB Docking brand and model and the same for the storage devices that you are connecting to it?

2- Was there any particular reason why you upgraded the FW to version 27? Was the system presenting any issue?"

1. Dell WD19TB, HighPoint 6661A, 5212, Orico SCM2T3-G40

2. The usual reasons, security, bug fixes, o/s compatibility etc.

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hi SkullTrail,

We were able to get TBT FW version 18 (not 19) from the Engineering team for testing only. When we tested this on Skull Canyon that currently has v27 installed, it won't let the TBT FW to downgrade to version 18 so it's likely that downgrades are not allowed.

Unfortunately, I dont really have any other troubleshooting or technical recommendation for this particular issue. 

On the other side, I would have recommended that you call us for warranty replacement (if the unit is still under the warranty period) but I am guessing that you would be receiving a unit running the latest TBT FW as well.

Regards,

Ronny G

[SkullTrail]

Thanks. Figured as much. Losing TB3 has pretty much rendered this unit entirely useless. Tried a Caldigit TS3+. Same thing. Connects, doesn't show up in the TB3 App, remains connected for a couple of minutes, then disconnects. The connection/disconnection keeps repeating until you shut off the computer. Unplugging the TB3 cable then turns the computer back on from a complete shutdown. Not sure what was baked into the firmware that turned a fully stable TB3 port into this wildly unstable, low performance, constantly crashing situation. Unless there is an antidote for poor firmware rollouts; will not be performing any firmware updates for anything.

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello SkullTrail,

Thank you for the details, we will keep looking into this! Expect a response soon.

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hi SkullTrail,

Thank you for the information. We will check this internally and reply back soon.

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Maria_R_Intel]

Thank you for the information. We will continue checking on this. Please expect a response soon.

Best regards, 

Maria R.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello SkullTrail,

We completely understand and please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.

We sent a private message, please check it, we will be waiting for your response.

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician