¶ Secure Boot
Secure Boot is a new protection feature implemented by Unitree to combat jailbreaking and unauthorized software modifications by users. The main idea behind it is to ensure that partitions are signed only with a private key, which is exclusively held by Unitree headquarters. Early Go2 units with the Secure Boot feature began appearing in January 2025.
To detect what type of boot you have follow the steps below:
¶ rkdeveloptool Installation (Skip if Already Installed)
Install the necessary build dependencies. Open a terminal and run:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y git libudev-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev dh-autoreconf
This command installs git for cloning the repository, libudev-dev and libusb-1.0-0-dev for USB communication, and dh-autoreconf for building the tool. Clone the official rkdeveloptool GitHub repository (for 20.04):
git clone https://github.com/rockchip-linux/rkdeveloptool.git
If you have an Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 use this fork instead:
git clone https://github.com/wing-kit/rkdeveloptool
Navigate into the cloned directory:
cd rkdeveloptool
Compile rkdeveloptool from source:
autoreconf -i
./configure
make
Once the build process is complete, install rkdeveloptool:
sudo make install
To ensure rkdeveloptool was installed correctly, you can run:
rkdeveloptool -h
This command should display the help information for rkdeveloptool, indicating successful installation.
¶ Getting the preloader
First, let's remove the top cover from the robot. Please refer to video of disassembly of Go2
To enter Loader mode, first connect a USB Type-C cable from the device to the PC. Then, press and hold the upper button on the mainboard while turning on the Go2. The robot should not stand up after this action.
Check it by running:
sudo rkdeveloptool ld
You should see the device in Loader mode .
Then, let's save a preloader.img from the Go2.
sudo rkdeveloptool rl 0x00 0x4000 preloader.img
¶ Inspect the preloader
Download the script from here.
Change the permissions to executable:
sudo chmod +x inspect_boot_type.sh
Inspect the preloader
./inspect_boot_type.sh preloader.img
For non-Secure boot Go2 you`ll see
For Secure boot Go2 you`ll see
In the case of a Secure Boot Go2, do not forget that any write operation to the preloader, uboot, or boot partition will lead to bricking the device. Keep this in mind and proceed with caution.