Worth upgrading E5 firmware? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ZD
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 21, 2020, 04:49:21 am
content: Hi everyone,I recently acquired an E5 with v2.11.0 firmware and was wondering if there'd be any benefits to upgrading to v3.16.0? I checked the change log for the Ex series and the differences seem to just be 'bug fixes' but so far I haven't encountered any bugs yet.Cheers.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 21, 2020, 01:29:07 pm
content: I have said it before but it is worth repeating.....The E4 was released in 2013 with a stable firmware that, to my knowledge, had few, if any, nasty bugs in it.Version 1.18 did have an issue that was addressed in version 1.19 so I consider 1.19 to be a very good firmware and recommend anyone with it installed to stay at that version.The early firmware versions were relatively easy to upgrade and if you were lucky enough to to have the early versions such as 1.19 you had the advantage of both very easy upgrade, reconfiguration and the SERVICE MENU !Once FLIR were aware of the ease with which people were upgrading their less expensive E4 to “better than E8” they understandable took some action to make the upgrade more difficult. I was in communication with friends who were FLIR techs at the time and they advised me that FLIR were actively looking at ways to prevent the easy upgrade. The new firmware versions that followed version 1.19 were a mixture of upgrade countermeasures and changes to support new hardware versions. The ‘housekeeping’ changes as they were called were in fact efforts to stop the upgrade. Members of this forum circumvented the upgrade countermeasures as the Ex series uses a relatively insecure platform and the FLIR countermeasures were flawed. With each new firmware release, FLIR would consider better anti-upgrade countermeasures and try new approaches. It was a game of chess between the FLIR firmware developers and the supporters of the upgrade. FLIR had not had to face firmware ‘interference’ by users of their Industrial thermal cameras so all this came as a bit of a shock to their management.Efforts continued to make the Ex series firmware upgrade resistant but every time a new, more robustly protected, firmware was released, members of this forum took up the challenge and circumvented the defences. The FLIR hardware engineers that I knew watched on with interest as the ‘game’ progressed over the years. FLIR appear to have accepted that the Ex platform cannot be secured but they have managed to make the days of simple unlocking of the series full potential a thing of the past. It took the knowledge of very clever people to overcome the later countermeasures and ‘Bud’ applied his mind to the most recent and most ‘secure’ firmware versions to unlock the hidden potential of the E4 Wi-Fi model.So what changed over the years where the Ex firmware capabilities is concerned ? To be honest I have not studied the later firmware as I am more than content with the v1.19 firmware with its fully unlocked features and Service Menu. I had no reason to look at any newer firmware versions that were equipped with better defences and were hobbled by removal of the service menu. Other forum members may be able to shed light on additional features added to later firmware used to encourage people to upgrade their easily tweaked firmware versions to more ‘secure’ versions. I think Video Streaming from the USB port was added but someone will know more about this than me.Bear in mind that when we upgraded our early firmware version E4 cameras, most of us also enabled all manner of features that were in the configuration files but were not even available to E8 buyersThere was not much FLIR could offer by way of added features that we had not already found and enabled ourselvesMoving to the recent work of ‘Bud’, he has created an upgrade path for the latest firmware version but he has also created additional functionality that has been grafted into the standard firmware. Other clever forum members have also added custom capabilities to the firmware but I believe they can be added to most, if not all, E4 camera firmwares. The early upgrade added menu options to the camera but Buds work may well have gone much further. Check out the E4 Wi-Fi upgrade thread fir more detail.Is it worth upgrading to a more recent firmware ? Bearing in mind my comments above, I would personally say no. Stick with a firmware that is older, less well protected and more easily modified, if desired. If people want the very latest offerings from Bud then there may be a reason to install the latest, most heavily protected firmware and then use Bud’s approach to circumvent the countermeasures. There is always risk when upgrading firmware on an older platform to the latest version as hardware (chipset) differences can make a difference to firmware manipulation and you could end up with an older hardware platform running the latest firmware but not responding as expected to the ‘Bud’ unlocking process. Remember, Bud had to create some new files to circumvent the upgrade countermeasures and he developed those files on the latest Ex platform. Proceed with caution but other forum members may be able to advise whether you firmware and hardware may be updated to the latest firmware and remain upgradeable. From memory, your firmware has already lost the service menu so you may not have too much to lose and might like what Buds upgrade offers ?I hope this helpsFraser

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 21, 2020, 07:28:48 pm
content: Nice write-up, FraserQuoteGood to know they also had fun!I am curious if they have figured out the way it was done. It may make a fun story on EEVBlog one day but not before the Ex series gets discontinued and disappears from the market. As you know, efforts were made on our side to mitigate risk of modified units flooding eBay , being re-sold to unsuspecting buyers. Such devices would not carry the manufacturer's warranty and may be bricked if an official firmware upgrade was applied.In general I have great appreciation of the work Flir has done creating the Ex products. It is amazing how much they were able to achieve squeezing stuff inside such a modest formfactor handheld device and keep it robust at the same time. You do not see this often these days.

author: ZD
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 22, 2020, 01:12:12 am
content: Appreciate the detailed response, Fraser.Browsing the two big E4 threads, it seems like the Ex can do radiometric streaming to FLIR Tools directly. However, that option does not exist for my E5 1.2L. Not sure if it's because my E5 is the non-wifi model or if it's because it's running an older firmware. Perhaps I will try update it later depending on what info I can find.Thanks again Fraser for all the information you've provided and to Bud for the continued hard work on liberating the Ex series.