Elk M1 XEP Connection issues

[Longhorn84]

I first set up my M1 about 10 years ago, since then all my home network stuff has changed and my ElkRP software is gone. I'm trying to reestablish connection (the alarm company still gets the signal). I have ATT modem, ASUS router. I can find my XEP through the RP software, I have forwarded 2601 on my ASUS side but I cannot connect to the XEP.
 
Error I get is Connection error: Could not connect. Possible reasons: The port is not forwarded through the router. The IP Address or URL is incorrect. The remote site is down. 
 
This is frustrating. Ultimate goal is to get my eK Pro software on my iPhone back up and running after a software glitch deleted my settings. 

 

[RAL]

There's a good chance you are having firmware issues with the M1XEP.   The older firmware levels supported SSL for the communication protocol.  Over the years, security issues have been found with SSL, and support for it has been dropped from Windows 7, Windows 10 and the various browsers and has been replaced by TLS protocol.  So unless you are using an old PC running Windows XP and old browser software,  you'll have trouble connecting to the M1XEP, and the result is those Connection error messages.

The solution is to upgrade the M1XEP firmware to the latest level, which is v2.0.42.   Depending what level your XEP is running now, this may be a multi-step process, including upgrading the bootware.

If you post your current M1 and XEP firmware levels, it will help determine what steps you have to take.

 

[Longhorn84]

What steps do I take to find out my current firmware? I assume I'll need to connect directly to the hardware with a serial port to update firmware?

 

[RAL]

The M1XEP diagnostics will tell you the firmware level as well as other useful information such as the MAC address and assigned IP address.
 
https://www.elkproducts.com/Owner_support_tools.html
 
There is a bug in the old firmware levels that can sometimes cause the M1XEP's static IP address to change on a power failure or reboot. It ends up as 192.168.3.64.  It can also corrupt the MAC address.  If you see that, the M1XEP is still usable, but you may have to modify your network a bit to deal with it.
 
Updating the firmware will require a serial port connection and running RP2 .

 

[Longhorn84]

M1XEP settings says bootware version 1.2.0 and app version 1.3.28. It does say MAC address is invalid. 

 

[RAL]

Version 1.2.0 isn't too bad a place to be.  Firmware older than that requires additional upgrades to intermediate levels. 
 
Elk warns that since you have a firmware version older than 2.0.34, you will not be able to update it using Windows 10 due to a requirement in Win10 for a larger SSL key.   So you will probably need to dig up a PC that has Win7 or older for this to work.
 
First step is to download the latest version of RP2 in order to be able to install the new firmware.
 
Also download the v2.0.44 firmware from the Elk website.
 
https://www.elkproducts.com/m1xep-version2-firmware
 
Once you have all that, you should be able to update the bootware and firmware with RP2.

 

[Longhorn84]

Great thanks. I actually have an old laptop with XP (and a serial port) but I can't get it to connect to the internet. Does the XP machine need the latest RP2 or legacy? I'll just transfer the new firmware file via usb to the old machine.
 
Then, I connect to the XEP via serial and update the firmware of the XEP. Then I'll be able to connect via my Windows 10 networked machine?

 

[RAL]

Great thanks. I actually have an old laptop with XP (and a serial port) but I can't get it to connect to the internet. Does the XP machine need the latest RP2 or legacy? I'll just transfer the new firmware file via usb to the old machine.
 
Then, I connect to the XEP via serial and update the firmware of the XEP. Then I'll be able to connect via my Windows 10 networked machine?

 
It's been quite a while since I last updated my M1XEP firmware, so I went back to re-read some of the release notes.
 
If I remember correctly, the XEP is a bit of an oddball in the way it gets updated.  RP2 does the update over the ethernet interface rather than through the M1's serial port.
 
I believe you will need to have the XEP configured on the same subnet as your PC.   If the XEP has been hit by the bug that causes it's static address to change to 192.168.3.64, that means you may need to reconfigure your network to be 192.168.3.X.   Or, you could use a direct ethernet connection from your PC to the XEP, and just change your PC's ethernet address rather than messing with your network.
 
One other thing I'd forgotten about is that Elk created a standalone updater program that will work with Windows 10 (and without RP2).   It will get you to 2.0.34, which isn't the latest level, but upgrading from there will be easier since you can do everything from Win10 and the latest version of RP2.
 
 
 
 
That might be the easiest route

 

[Longhorn84]

Thanks! I had read that link but at the time wasn't sure what firmware I had so I assumed I needed to get out the old XP system. I'll try the standalone updater first and report back.