Upgrading or Downgrading Firmware on an NI Linux Real-Time Device

Updated Oct 4, 2023

Environment

Hardware

  • CompactRIO Controller
  • roboRIO
  • NI ELVIS RIO Control Module
  • CompactDAQ Controller
  • myRIO Student Embedded Device
  • NI ELVIS III
  • Controller for FlexRIO

Operating System

  • LabVIEW Real-Time (NI Linux Real-Time)

A NI Linux real-time device's firmware can be upgraded or downgraded.

If you happen to encounter one of the following behaviors, then the firmware may need to be changed. See below:
  • A message like this one is displayed: The software you have selected is not compatible with the version of your embedded OS. Consult the documentation on the device for information on upgrading or downgrading the version of the embedded OS. 

  • An error like these ones is seen:

 

Edit#1.png

FlexRIO Firmwarepng.png
 

There are three different methods to upgrade or downgrade a device's software:
  1. Through NI MAX.
  2. Using the Web Configuration.
  3. Using LabVIEW.
To downgrade firmware, you will need to download older versions of the driver to be able to do so. Then you can perform the change following the methods below. 

 

Update with NI MAX:

  1. Open NI MAX. 
  2. Under Remote Systems, select the device you want to update. On its System Settings tab, click the Update Firmware button.
Edit#2.png
  1. By default, the window should load to the correct location as shown below. Select the firmware version you want to update and click Open. The location for all firmware files is <Program Files>\National Instruments\Shared\Firmware\From there, navigate to the Device Family such as the Ethernet cRIO folder, of your device and the folder corresponding to the target if the location is not already loaded correctly. Find a supplementary table in the section Additional Information below showing which folder belongs to which device.

 
  1. The above window will close and the below window will pop up. Click Begin Update.

 

Update with Web Configuration:

  1. Open Internet Explorer (Microsoft Silverlight is required).
  2. Navigate to the IP address of the LinuxRT Target.
Edit#3.png
  1. Log in with an administrator account. By default the username is admin and the password is left blank.
  2. Click on Update Firmware.
  3. A window will pop up where you need to browse the firmware file. The location for all firmware files is <Program Files>\National Instruments\Shared\Firmware\From there, navigate to the Device Family of your device and the folder corresponding to the target. Select the firmware version you want to update and click Open. Find a supplementary table in the section Additional Information below showing which folder belongs to which device.
  1. The above window will close and another will appear. Click Begin Update.

 

Update Programmatically:

    Firmware can be updated using the Upgrade Firmware VI. You can find more information in this example program.

     

    Additional Information:

    In general, NI recommends updating to the latest firmware version available. However, in most cases, firmware versions other than the latest one will work just fine. ​​​​​​Currently, firmware updates are distributed to your PC with the specific device driver. For example, firmware updates for a cRIO will be provided to your computer when installing the NI CompactRIO Driver. It is recommended that you upgrade the firmware of your target after you upgraded your driver version.

    See the below table for a list of devices and their associated firmware folder names.
     
    TargetFolder Name
    cRIO-90587A2A
    cRIO-90557A2B
    cRIO-96287A3A
    cRIO-96387A3B
    cRIO-96037A38
    cRIO-96087A39
    cRIO-96097A41
    cRIO-96297A43
    myRIO-195076D3
    cRIO-906876D6
    roboRIO76F2
    cRIO-903877B9
    sbRIO-963777D4
    sbRIO-962777D5
    sbRIO-960777D6
    cRIO-903577DB
    cRIO-903677DC
    cRIO-903977DD
    cRIO-904878B7
    cRIO-904078E3
    cRIO-904578E4
    cRIO-904378E5
    cRIO-904878E7
    cRIO-904278E8
    cRIO-904778E9
    cRIO-904978EA
    cRIO-904679CE
    cRIO-904179D0
    cRIO-905379DD
    cRIO-905479DE
    cRIO-905679DF
    cRIO-905779E0
    myRIO-1900762F
    cRIO-9031774B
    cRIO-9034774D
    sbRIO-9651775E
    ELVISIII793C
    cRIO-90337735
    cRIO-90637740
    cRIO-90647741
    cRIO-90657742
    cRIO-90667743
    cRIO-90677744
    cRIO-90307755
    cRIO-90377840
    cRIO-90327841
    cRIO-90357875
    cRIO-90397878
    ELVISRIOCM7885
    cDAQ-913577BC
    cDAQ-913377BD
    cDAQ-9132773B
    cDAQ-91347773
    cDAQ-91367833
    cDAQ-91377835
    NI-793177B1
    NI-793277B2
    NI-793577AC


    Updating myRIOs

    NI myRIOs feature a third way of upgrading the firmware. Find a description of this process here: Upgrading Firmware on My myRIO NI Linux Real-Time Device.