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Apex Firmware Update Location Question

MolaMola

MolaMola

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Got home and Fusion says Apex is not connected to Fusion and needs firmware update. Power was off in the tank location this afternoon. Coincidence?
Anyway, to update the firmware I know I need to be hardwired, not wifi. Do I need to be at the same location as the tank? Apex is in an ethernet port at tank location and I can plug in computer at home. Does this work or do I need to be on site?
 
MolaMola said:
Got home and Fusion says Apex is not connected to Fusion and needs firmware update. Power was off in the tank location this afternoon. Coincidence?
Anyway, to update the firmware I know I need to be hardwired, not wifi. Do I need to be at the same location as the tank? Apex is in an ethernet port at tank location and I can plug in computer at home. Does this work or do I need to be on site?
Click to expand...

Maureen,

If your Apex had loss power then you would get the Fusion not connected, but when the power comes back on it should reconnect unless the router possible reassigned the Apex a different IP address and you don't have DHCP enabled this is all depending if you didn't have a static IP address assigned to the Apex.

As @zeroinverse stated you need (Should) have your laptop hardwired to the same network as the Apex, make sure Firewall & Anti-virus are all disabled before doing the update and I would close all internet browsers during the update and one last tip is I would update the webpages before installing the Firmware
 
Not on same router - home and school are miles apart. Realized I do not know how internet gets to my satellite building from the main part of the school. I will just wait until next week - just eager because I set up webcam and wanted to spy on tank during the night. Weird about the update because about 45 min before the power outage I had been showing a class the Fusion dashboard and how to control devices remotely and look at data logs and there were no issues.
Thank you for your response ZI
 
Jon - do you mean save device programs? Not sure what "update the webpages" means.
My error message says: This Apex is running firmware version 4.34_4F15, which is not current. The current firmware version is 4.40_CC15; we strongly recommend updating to this version before proceeding further.
Think this means I can reset it without the update just to have connection thru the weekend?
 
Jon means ... When you use the computer application to update your firmware... You first have to

1) scan for your apex device.
2) once found, select your apex device (in case you have more than one on the network).

3) then there are two steps to update the apex. Update firmware and update webpages.

The webpage is what you see when you try to view your apex directly since it has its own web server. Do you can connect to it directly. Sort of like how you can connect to your router to administer your home router.

You just open up your web browser and type in the IP address of your apex device (if you know it).

4) usually I update the firmware first before updating the webpages. That is because often times the "new" webpages may require certain code that the new firmware sets up. So if you don't have the new firmware, showing the new webpages may be all messed up.

Unless Jon knows a better reason to update the webpages first.
 
You can update either one (Firmware or Webpages) first, but why I am saying to do the Webpages first is because if you do the firmware first, and after the Apex reboots and there is processes still going on in the background like sending info to Fusion ect.....and if you try to update the webpages to fast after the firmware it has a higher chance of not accepting the webpages (Failed update), so by updating the webpages first as so as you finish the update to the webpages you can instantly update the firmware and don't have to wait anytime between the update processes.

I believe the only thing that the webpages offer are the new enhancements that the new FW will install after the firmware update, but wont effect the firmware process in anyway...I have had in the past support send me beta FW and no webpage to update and I had no issues...

This is a just a little tip to reduce the chances of the update process having issues....but both ways work.... just wait about 1-2 minutes between the updates if you do the Firmware before the webpages.

Also after any updates to the webpages don't forget to clear your internet browsers cache...
 
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MolaMola said:
Jon - do you mean save device programs?
Click to expand...

I was not saying that BUT that is a VERY IMPORTANT step that I do before I ever install a new firmware so if there was ever an issue I can reload my old firmware and programming and be right where I left off...

In the Classic Dashboard go to Configuration> Load/Save> click on the save configuration button
 
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It is not mandatory to do a Firmware & Webpage update unless you have too due to product hardware enhancements but I am sure a lot of our members are not a FW junkie like I am and try out every beta Neptune firmware....lol

I would first get the connection to the internet first up and running and then worry about if you want to update the FW on the Apex.
 
OK - one more question. Was going to link Apex to Fusion without firmware update just to get monitoring going. I need to use the token to link. Can I do this over wifi or not?
 
I have not done it in a while, but you should be able to.

Firmware update is a much more invasive, low-level hardware process.

The apex fusion link is more of a easy synch to online services.
 
Yeah, so nothing is happening and I cannot get a token to reconnect. Saw the Fusion guide. Ooh, Neptune's Apex forum scared me with user problems after power outages. I know my EB8 and everything plugged into it was working when I left school after power outage. Went to my new webcam view to check on things and I think it looks normal but can't see if fuge light is on. Felt myself panicking which is not why I got the controller. I will check webcam in the morning to verify tank lights are on. Never had a controller before this tank; perhaps ignorance is bliss, haha I suspect school network reset itself in some way when power was restored.
 
Maureen,

I completely understand your panic...my assumption (Not good to assume...lol) is that in the controller is set to DHCP = disabled and if the schools router rebooted it most likely reassigned new IP addresses to the Apex and computers on the network ...but again not sure how the schools router is setup and or your Apex....

First step would be to check all the status lights on the Apex base, EB8 and all modules and make sure they are solid green...if they are flashing orange then your outlets are running in Fallback mode and there is no communication..If green then check the DHCP settings....

To check the status of the DHCP on the Apex use the display module:
Main Menu> System> Net Setup> DHCP> ?????? (if Disabled) toggle it too enable and then save and in the Net Setup screen on the display module scroll down to Restart to reboot the Apex and then wait a few minutes and see if you can access the Apex through Fusion...
 
Thanks for the clear directions. Thing is it is problematic to access the classroom weekends. I have done it by dealing with security but they became a pain this year and I should save it for emergencies. I will check webcam in the morning to see if I think I need to get in before Tues. Meanwhile I will send message to tech person to get info about network reboot. I think you are right about IP addresses because I know there is no type of backup power for the network.
 
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