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UFI003 Pinouts: EDL 9008 Hardware Button, 1.8V UART & GPIO Map

A key quality-of-life feature of the UFI003 is the inclusion of an integrated physical push button directly mounted on the PCB for entering EDL mode without requiring tweezers or wire jumpers.

PCB Layout & Component Map

Section titled “PCB Layout & Component Map”

Top / Component Side

Section titled “Top / Component Side”
   ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
   │ [USB-A]                                                 │
   │                                                         │
   │   [TX] [RX] [GND] (1.8V UART pads)                      │
   │                                                         │
   │        ┌─────────────────────────┐                      │
   │        │     MSM8916 SoC         │    [o] Hardware EDL  │
   │        │     1GB RAM / 8GB eMMC  │        Push Button   │
   │        └─────────────────────────┘                      │
   │                                                         │
   │        ┌─────────────────────────┐                      │
   │        │     Micro-SIM Tray      │    (o) (o) Backup    │
   │        │                         │            EDL Pads  │
   │        └─────────────────────────┘                      │
   │                                                         │
   │   [IPEX Antenna Socket]                                 │
   └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

1. Entering Qualcomm EDL Mode (The Button Method)

Section titled “1. Entering Qualcomm EDL Mode (The Button Method)”

Entering EDL mode on the UFI003 is effortless:

  1. Unplug the dongle from your computer.
  2. Press and hold the onboard SMD push button with your finger or a plastic stylus.
  3. While holding the button, plug the dongle into your computer’s USB port.
  4. Keep the button depressed for 2 seconds, then release.
  5. Check your host terminal:
    Terminal window
    lsusb | grep 05c6:9008
    # Qualcomm, Inc. Gobi Wireless Modem (QDL mode)

(Note: On revisions without the button populated, dual gold backup pads are present adjacent to the SIM slot, which can be shorted with tweezers).

2. Hardware UART Serial Console (1.8V)

Section titled “2. Hardware UART Serial Console (1.8V)”

The UFI003 routes hardware UART console lines (UART_TX and UART_RX) to 3 gold circular pads located near the USB plug.

Pinout:

Section titled “Pinout:”
  • TX Pad: Connect to USB serial adapter RX
  • RX Pad: Connect to USB serial adapter TX
  • GND Pad: Connect to common GND
  • Baud Rate: 115200, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8N1)

3. GPIO Pin Assignments

Section titled “3. GPIO Pin Assignments”
Function Hardware GPIO State Description
Status / Power LED GPIO 0 Active High Green system indicator
Wi-Fi LED GPIO 1 Active High Wireless traffic indicator
Cellular (LTE) LED GPIO 2 Active High Blue modem status
EDL / Function Key GPIO 107 Active Low Linked to physical tactile button
SIM Detect Switch GPIO 50 Pull-up High when SIM is inserted

4. Factory IPEX / u.FL Socket

Section titled “4. Factory IPEX / u.FL Socket”

Many UFI003 boards come from the factory with a miniature IPEX MHF1 / u.FL antenna connector already soldered on the PCB!

  • You do not need to solder dangerous jumper wires; simply plug in a standard IPEX to SMA female pigtail cable.
  • Cut a small notch in the plastic dongle cap to route the cable out to an external high-gain antenna.

Frequently Asked Questions — UFI003 (1GB RAM)

Why is the UFI003 the best board for OpenStick and Docker?

Genuine UFI003 boards feature 1GB LPDDR3 RAM, 8GB eMMC storage, and an onboard hardware EDL recovery push button, giving you ~860MB of free RAM to run Docker containers, Pi-hole, and Debian services.

👉 Ready to flash? Download the 1-Click OpenStick Debian Installer or browse Verified Store Links.