Orin Nano won’t boot. “LT4Launcher attempting recovery boot”

Issue Overview

The Nvidia Orin Nano Developer Kit is failing to boot normally and instead shows warning messages before attempting a recovery boot. Specifically, users are seeing "warning test key in use" followed by "LT4Launcher attempting recovery boot" messages. The device sits still for a couple minutes and then repeats this cycle.

The issue occurs consistently, even when burning a new OS image to a new SD card. It prevents the Orin Nano from booting into the normal operating system.

Possible Causes

There are a few potential causes for the Orin Nano boot failure and recovery boot loop:

1. Corrupted or incompatible OS image on the SD card
2. Improper flashing or seating of the SD card
3. Hardware issues such as defective storage, RAM, or processor
4. Firmware bugs or misconfigurations
5. Security key mismatch between firmware and flashed OS image
6. Inconsistent power supply during the boot process

The warning about a test key suggests there may be a secure boot key validation error occurring when trying to load the OS image. Corrupted data on the SD card or a bad download of the OS image could trigger this.

Troubleshooting Steps, Solutions & Fixes

To diagnose and potentially resolve the Orin Nano boot issue, follow these steps:

1. Re-download the OS image from the official source, verifying the checksum if available to ensure the download is not corrupted.

2. Write the image to a known-good SD card using the recommended software tools. Ensure the write completes successfully with no errors.

3. Inspect the SD card slot on the Orin Nano for any debris or damage. Carefully insert the flashed SD card, ensuring it seats properly.

4. Connect a serial debug console cable to the Orin Nano and open a terminal to capture the full boot log. Look for any additional error messages that may hint at the root cause.

5. Verify the power supply is providing steady, sufficient power. If applicable, try a different power supply or cable.

6. Attempt to interrupt the boot process and enter the bootloader menu by pressing Escape. From here, re-flash the OS image or try booting an alternate image if available.

7. If possible, test booting from a different storage device or SD card to rule out hardware issues with storage.

8. As a last resort, re-flash the firmware using the recovery methods provided by Nvidia, then re-try flashing and booting the OS image.

If the issue persists after attempting the above steps, it would be advisable to contact Nvidia support and provide them with the full boot log from the serial console for further assistance.