diff --git a/examples/common/QRCode/repo b/examples/common/QRCode/repo
index 8cbd1f506ac594..455e0b24272f16 160000
--- a/examples/common/QRCode/repo
+++ b/examples/common/QRCode/repo
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 8cbd1f506ac59406b18d13a199187c2756f2e06f
+Subproject commit 455e0b24272f164cfc1b2a1b47fe3903b821dc39
diff --git a/scripts/activate.sh b/scripts/activate.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 84a9fd73243eac..00000000000000
--- a/scripts/activate.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-#
-# Copyright (c) 2020 Project CHIP Authors
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-#
-
-if [[ -n ${BASH_SOURCE[0]} ]]; then
-    CHIP_ROOT=$(cd "${BASH_SOURCE[0]%/*}/.." && pwd)
-else
-    CHIP_ROOT=$(cd "${0%/*}/.." && pwd)
-fi
-
-export PW_BRANDING_BANNER="$CHIP_ROOT/.chip-banner.txt"
-export PW_BRANDING_BANNER_COLOR="bold_white"
-export PW_VIRTUALENV_REQUIREMENTS="$CHIP_ROOT/scripts/requirements.txt"
-
-export PW_VIRTUALENV_SETUP_PY_ROOTS="$CHIP_ROOT/integrations/mobly"
-
-# shellcheck source=/dev/null
-source "$CHIP_ROOT/third_party/pigweed/repo/activate.sh"
-
-#TODO - remove this once native python building is solved for
-#       psutil (one of mobly's dependencies which CHIP does
-#       not actually need, so --no-deps is OK)
-pip install --no-deps portpicker mobly
diff --git a/scripts/activate.sh b/scripts/activate.sh
new file mode 120000
index 00000000000000..eba538975a899f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/activate.sh
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+bootstrap.sh
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/bootstrap.sh b/scripts/bootstrap.sh
index 497e2fb614396d..c899dbba6ae20e 100644
--- a/scripts/bootstrap.sh
+++ b/scripts/bootstrap.sh
@@ -14,10 +14,18 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 #
 
+if [[ ! -d ${CHIP_ROOT} ]]; then
+    if [[ -n ${BASH_SOURCE[0]} ]]; then
+        CHIP_ROOT=$(cd "${BASH_SOURCE[0]%/*}/.." && pwd)
+    else
+        CHIP_ROOT=$(cd "${0%/*}/.." && pwd)
+    fi
+fi
+
 if [[ -n ${BASH_SOURCE[0]} ]]; then
-    CHIP_ROOT=$(cd "${BASH_SOURCE[0]%/*}/.." && pwd)
+    me=${BASH_SOURCE[0]##*/}
 else
-    CHIP_ROOT=$(cd "${0%/*}/.." && pwd)
+    me=${0##*/}
 fi
 
 export PW_BRANDING_BANNER="$CHIP_ROOT/.chip-banner.txt"
@@ -32,10 +40,12 @@ git submodule update --init
 
 export PW_VIRTUALENV_SETUP_PY_ROOTS="$CHIP_ROOT/integrations/mobly"
 
+export PATH # https://bugs.chromium.org/p/pigweed/issues/detail?id=281
+
 # shellcheck source=/dev/null
-source "$CHIP_ROOT/third_party/pigweed/repo/bootstrap.sh"
+source "$CHIP_ROOT/third_party/pigweed/repo/$me"
 
 #TODO - remove this once native python building is solved for
 #       psutil (one of mobly's dependencies which CHIP does
 #       not actually need, so --no-deps is OK)
-pip install --no-deps portpicker mobly
+pip install --quiet --upgrade --no-deps portpicker mobly
diff --git a/src/darwin/Framework/chip_xcode_build_connector.sh b/src/darwin/Framework/chip_xcode_build_connector.sh
index c3b0c1adb331b7..2cadbf04fdcaa7 100755
--- a/src/darwin/Framework/chip_xcode_build_connector.sh
+++ b/src/darwin/Framework/chip_xcode_build_connector.sh
@@ -118,15 +118,17 @@ updirs() {
 (
     cd "$CHIP_ROOT" # pushd and popd because we need the env vars from activate
 
-    ENV=$(updirs chip_xcode_build_connector_env.sh)
-    [[ -n $ENV ]] && . "$ENV"
+    if ENV=$(updirs chip_xcode_build_connector_env.sh 2>/dev/null); then
+        . "$ENV"
+    fi
 
     [[ -n $CHIP_NO_SUBMODULES ]] || git submodule update --init
     if [[ -z $CHIP_NO_ACTIVATE ]]; then
+        # first run bootstrap in an external env to build everything
+        env -i PW_ENVSETUP_NO_BANNER=1 PW_ENVSETUP_QUIET=1 bash -c '. scripts/activate.sh'
         set +ex
-        echo PW_ENVSETUP_QUIET=1 . scripts/activate.sh >&2
-        PW_ENVSETUP_QUIET=1 . scripts/activate.sh
-        (($? != 0)) && echo "Please source $CHIP_ROOT/scripts/bootstrap.sh before building" && exit 1
+        # now source activate for env vars
+        PW_ENVSETUP_NO_BANNER=1 PW_ENVSETUP_QUIET=1 . scripts/activate.sh
         set -ex
     fi