Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

[SysGhost]

There's this laptop that needs a new EC chip (IT8227E-256). I can buy these on Ali Express. But those would come unflashed/empty. Before I venture into this replacement, I need to dump the firmware of the original EC, and flash that onto a new EC.
But I can't find any information at all on those.

Do anyone out there have any pinout/schematics on these chips, and what one needs to dump and flash those?

Maybe there's a JTAG or something similar I might have missed.

The computer in question is a Lenovo E14 Gen2 (Quite new on the market)
Pictures on the motherboard are attached. (See motherboard_back.jpg, middle left, for the chip in question. It's the QFP128 package with the big "Lenovo" print.)

[m.maher]

Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

can this help?

[mon2]

Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

Not to be Debbie Downer but if this EC is not working, what are the chances the firmware can be extracted over JTAG ? I suppose it is still worth a try.

No experience with this area yet but thought @SMDFlea or another tech noted that the EC firmware is often inside the host BIOS. If true, would the bios not reflash this firmware onto the virgin IC ? Or can the EC firmware be extracted out of the BIOS dump ?

Update - see attached portion of the pinout - thanks @m.maher!!

From what I can gather, this EC is a SPI BUS MASTER. Respectively, the firmware is stored on an EXTERNAL SPI FLASH device. The CS pin is driven by this EC.

Based on the direction of the arrows on the SPI pins, this EC device is the MASTER and there must be an external SPI flash that offers the firmware.

Can you confirm this detail ? If this assumption is correct then you can solder in a 'blank' IC which then should fetch the firmware from the external SPI flash device which is still onboard.

[tahc81]

Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

Hi all, any update here? Many laptop BIOSes include EC image, but question is how the EC should know, where it is located? Always same base address? Decoding UEFI layout?

[Antonynl]

Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

From what I now understand the kbc fetches the bios image of the kbc from the Winbond chip via spi. I do have a NM-B911 with the same IT8227 kbc that shows no clock.

[jamesp]

Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

@Antonynl
we have same scenario but for me, in a different mainboard and EC. my EC is a microchip MEC1310-NU and no spi clock measured upon insertion of VDC from power adapter....its was confirmed by checking with my cheap DSO rigol ds1054z, and no MOSI and MISO decoding happens

[vgecas]

Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

Hi,
Many of these new IO chips have integrated flash memory, that can be accessed via keyboard connector.

[lpraderi]

Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

@SysGhost

View this trying to fix a NM-D151 with no POST/Display.

ITE IT8227E on NM-D151 autoprogram itself if internal flash is empty from ECROM image embed on BIOS.

Checked myself dumping, erasing and program an empty image (all 0xFF) with KBC programmer and dumping again after reboot.

Contents are exact the same as EC image on lenovo bios dump at offset 0x2C8000 lenght 0x20000 (128k).

Checked also on Bios downloaded from Lenovo website (Bios.cap extracted from e8cn39ww.exe) and the EC rom image is present at different offset but same lenght/content.

I know maybe is late for you but may help someone else.

[HOSCARLY007]

Greetings to all.
I need some tip, I cannot extract the bin from the KBC IT8227e-256, make all connections with the RT809H and it seems that it has some trick to enable SPI.
I get a message to check the connections, the voltage and that the limit is 10cm.
Does anyone have any idea how I can extract the bin?

[mcplslg123]

RT8209H often fails to read ITE chips. better programmer is SVOD or Vertyanov.

[SirangKap]

RT8209H often fails to read ITE chips. better programmer is SVOD or Vertyanov.

luckily i read this message before purchasing a PEB-1 expansion board for my RT809F programmer. thanks

[jasko_jacker]

Some of these chips are self-programming, while others need to be programmed. However, the self-programming chips may only do so if they are empty. If they are not empty, they might not self-program. Nevertheless, even an older version like Vertyanov 2.x should be sufficient to manage this type of chip. You can find more information on the dedicated Vertyanov programmer forum.
https://*******/viewtopic.php?f=170&t=15912&start=3510

[narsil]

luckily i read this message before purchasing a PEB-1 expansion board for my RT809F programmer. thanks

It was managed by RT809H
PIN 87 CLK
PIN 88 DATA0
GND
VCC (Connect the charger)

[Jse Enrique]

thanks for this apointing

[SirangKap]

It was managed by RT809H
PIN 87 CLK
PIN 88 DATA0
GND
VCC (Connect the charger)

Woww that's a good news. How about RT809F programmer,will it able to read that EC chip as well?

[DeXXter]

Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

@SysGhost

View this trying to fix a NM-D151 with no POST/Display.

ITE IT8227E on NM-D151 autoprogram itself if internal flash is empty from ECROM image embed on BIOS.

Checked myself dumping, erasing and program an empty image (all 0xFF) with KBC programmer and dumping again after reboot.

Contents are exact the same as EC image on lenovo bios dump at offset 0x2C8000 lenght 0x20000 (128k).

Checked also on Bios downloaded from Lenovo website (Bios.cap extracted from e8cn39ww.exe) and the EC rom image is present at different offset but same lenght/content.

I know maybe is late for you but may help someone else.

Nice, I got a lenovo legion 5 with a blown up EC it8227e-256 and I will get a blank one, I hope it will program itself (I don't have a programmer).

[noipi]

Woww that's a good news. How about RT809F programmer,will it able to read that EC chip as well?

some can read and write, but the new chipset ICs might not. usually we use SVOD programmer

[Viktor-x]

It was managed by RT809H
PIN 87 CLK
PIN 88 DATA0
GND
VCC (Connect the charger)

Hello, tell me how you managed to read the chip, there are instructions?

[narsil]

It was managed by RT809H
PIN 87 CLK
PIN 88 DATA0
GND
VCC (Connect the charger)

SMBUS (rt809h)

[duck.dodgers]

Nice, I got a lenovo legion 5 with a blown up EC it8227e-256 and I will get a blank one, I hope it will program itself (I don't have a programmer).

Hi DeXXter - did you make it, is it working now? I also have mobo with the same KBC that needs to be replaced, and I also don't have a programmer.