Issue updating to firmware 5.3.0 on my M1G

I was attempting to update my Elk M1G to the latest firmware 5.3.0 using ElkRP2 2.0.20 via the M1EXP which is on v1.3.26.
 
About halfway through the update the firmware update fails.  And then I am back showing the M1G has an erased firmware.  Everytime I try to update the firmware it fails.  I do not have a computer with a serial port to attempt to update the firmware via serial port.
 
Any ideas?  Also is it safe to power off the M1G without a flashed firmware?

Did the M1 reboot while the FW was being written? Have you tried rolling it back?

I do not know if the M1 rebooted.  How can I roll it back?
 
I only have the 5.3.0 and 5.2.10 firmwares.  I have tried loading both with no success.

Is it safe to power cycle the M1 without a firmware?

I would upgrade elkrp2 and try updatating the firmware again. The latest version is 2.0.20. It is a free download from Elk.
 
Mike.

I was already using the latest version of elkrp2.
I tried again this morning and it worked.  Very odd, and rather scary how the M1G handles firmware updates.  Surprised they have not taken a book out of the motherboards page and used dual firmwares so that you can always fall back to the old one if the update fails.

hagak said:

I was already using the latest version of elkrp2.
I tried again this morning and it worked.  Very odd, and rather scary how the M1G handles firmware updates.  Surprised they have not taken a book out of the motherboards page and used dual firmwares so that you can always fall back to the old one if the update fails.

Click to expand...

I believe that you can fall back by choosing the version that you want to install in the drop down box of the upgrade window.

hagak said:

I was already using the latest version of elkrp2.
I tried again this morning and it worked.  Very odd, and rather scary how the M1G handles firmware updates.  Surprised they have not taken a book out of the motherboards page and used dual firmwares so that you can always fall back to the old one if the update fails.

Click to expand...

Not sure if the M1 is sophisticated enough to have a base software hard coded on eeproms and then the FW is laid over it for the higher system functionality, so I'm not sure how tolerant it is if you blow out a FW (or it'll even let you). I wouldn't want the panel to have dual FW's installed, too easy for conflicts to come up and not something you want in the case of a life safety device that may or may not be tested on a regular basis.
 
I'm so used to dealing with access control hardware that is (for intents and purposes) are fanless computers that have a base image, boot image and then FW laid on top....multistep and specific process.

Well it does have a boot image seperate from the firmware. So maybe it would boot without a firmware image and allow you to flash the firmware. However since no one stated I could power cycle the m1g I did not want to test it

From past experience, it’s very difficult for Elk firmware upgrade process to get into unstable place. If you are having firmware flash issues, you will have to use the serial cable option and bypass the M1XEP.  The serial option has additional capabilities to force firmware to be loaded.