question

mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image
mvader (Victron Energy) asked

Remote VE.Bus firmware updates

Introduction:
Hello all! On April 6th we've released Venus OS version v2.65. It adds a feature which many distributors and installers have been looking forward to for a long time: being able to remotely update the firmware of our Inverter/chargers as well as Inverters: Multis, Quattros, MultiPlusses, and so forth.

The purpose of this topic is to have one - easy to update - place to confirm the latest status, issues and improvements.

Currently, the feature is still in beta, and clearly marked as such on the VRM Portal.

Current status:

UPDATED 2021-04-19: this feature has been used a lot, and without issues. Its no longer in beta; its now a normally available feature.


General advise:
Fully study the manual (link below) from the beginning to the end before you start. The inverter/charger is the heart of a Victron Energy system, during the update AC will be switched off for a while, as such comms. might be lost as well, and so forth and forth: its a super powerful feature but does require more care than -for example- firmware updating a Solar Charger.


Where to report issues:
Preferably by posting a question here below. We're monitoring this thread.


Manual:
https://www.victronenergy.com/live/venus-os:remote_ve.bus_firmware_updates


Updates 2021-04-19:

  • Feature is no longer in beta.


Updates 2021-04-13:

  • Venus OS v2.66 released officially. Has some minor stability improvements.


Updates 2021-04-09:

  • Small bug in the VRM portal was fixed, that (sometimes) caused the final error message to not become visible. That could for example happen when uploading a settings template file without first merging the file in VE.Bus System Configurator


Updates 2021-04-07:

  • Released Venus OS v2.66~1 for testing; with some minor stability updates for Remote VE.Bus firmware updates. There is no need to use that test version to update your inverter/charger firmware.


Updates 2021-04-06:

  • Venus OS v2.65 released officially


Updates 2021-04-01:

  • A new VE.Bus System Configurator tool version was released, adding the Merge function. See FAQ Q3 in above linked manual for what that is and what its for. And also this new version has a bugfix, to fix a crash when processing the settings template from a system with Quattros.
  • Documentation and in-app texts are being updated wrt setting the charge current to zero after the update, since it works slightly different than was documented. Not the charge current is set to zero, but the charge voltages are set to the nominal battery voltage. Ie. both float and absorption are set to 12V for a 12V system, to 24V for a 24V system and 48V for a 48V system. We’re doing this instead of setting the current since this works better. Also, in a DVCC system, its good to know that these settings will be overruled by the managed battery; and thus the system will be charging, even though the settings havent been restored yet. Which is fine: there is no risk of battery being overcharged when the battery BMS is in charge via DVCC.
  • The mechanism works stable. No known issue.
  • The release of Venus OS v2.65, the version adding this new firmware update feature, has been delayed to after the Easter weekend.
firmware update
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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

updated above text, now that v2.65 has been officially released.

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antiguasky avatar image antiguasky commented ·

Thank you! Has the latest version of the Large OS also been updated to add this feature set?

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ antiguasky commented ·

Yes; see Venus OS Large latest release notes to see what version exactly. All basics are in; some error handling such as for example precisely telling a user what else he needs to do in case he uploads a file without merging it first is missing. There will be a new Venus OS Large version soon. Probably a week or two from now.


ie after the v2.66 that I expect to come with some more VE.bus fw update error handling is finished.

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antiguasky avatar image antiguasky mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Sounds great. Thank you!

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antiguasky avatar image antiguasky mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Could you please point me to the location for the Venus OS Large latest release notes? All I can seem to locate is the DropBox folder with the images.

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ antiguasky commented ·

Hi, yes see in the manual: https://www.victronenergy.com/live/venus-os:large#status_and_where_this_development_is_going.


It links to everything, including the release notes. I made it a bit more clear just now.

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antiguasky avatar image antiguasky mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Thank you!

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7 Answers
seb71 avatar image
seb71 answered ·

The release version shows up af 2.65~9 in my Cerbo GX, when I check for updates (I am on "Latest release" channel).

Should be named 2.65 (without ~9).


265.png


265.png (22.1 KiB)
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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi @Seb71, thanks! something went wrong with the sync, fixed now.

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porcini avatar image
porcini answered ·

Brilliant! Can someone get this feature on a too old CCGX by using an MK3-USB?

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi Porcini, probably, yes.

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Al avatar image Al mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

That's interesting..

Hey @Porcini if you do get to test it using:

Multi/Quattro --->MK3-USB --->CCGX (Old version)--->Pc (VRM)

..and it works, please report back! I might have to swap out my MK2-USB and use a MK3-USB in the CCGX USB port for VE.Bus communication.

Thanks Al

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ehsab avatar image
ehsab answered ·

Does this apply for parallel and 3-phase systems aswell?

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porcini avatar image porcini commented ·

Did you even read the manual? This is clarified at the beginning ;)

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daniel-feist avatar image daniel-feist porcini commented ·

The manual says "After the firmware update is completed, the inverter is switched on again. The settings will have been reset to their defaults".

Powering up the inverters with default settings while grid-connected will short two phases (as all inverters thing they are on the same phase). Does anyone know if/how the remote update process avoids this?

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nickdb avatar image nickdb ♦♦ daniel-feist commented ·

While the individual config settings are lost, until you follow the process to merge and reapply it, the low-level parallel/3-phase config is not lost so they still know they are a set.

It is also a good idea to drop the AC supply while upgrading if you want to avoid any unwanted charging at default settings.

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daniel-feist avatar image daniel-feist nickdb ♦♦ commented ·

OK, thanks! I was just a little worried given an accident during the initial setup when inverters were accidentally powered up on different phases before being configured correctly! Probably smart to flip the switchover and bypass Victron prior to doing this though I assume, even though the instructions don't specifically require this.

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ceriw avatar image
ceriw answered ·

I've got a Venus GX running V2.63. when I go into Online Updates, the bottom line is "Update available Press to update to v2.65". When I press this, it changes to "Installing V2.65"

After a few minutes, it goes back to saying "Press to update to v2.65".

when I press it again, it says "Error during installation", then goes back to "Installing V2.65"


Any ideas what's going on here? Internet connection is stable as I can see real-time info from the device in my VRM.


Many thanks

Ceri

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi @Ceri.w, was this eventually resolved?

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ceriw avatar image ceriw mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi,

no, I never could get it to online update to either the latest release or the latest release candidate. It looked like it got stuck in some processor hungry loop for days as there was over 10 seconds of delay just navigating the menu from the local LAN. (press down, wait 10 seconds, highlighted field moved down one etc)

To get the system back up and functional, I put V2.70~4-large-17 in (with the large features disabled for now) and this works again. At some point though, I want to get the system back working with the online updates.

Should I try and online update it to V2.66 or wait until v2.7 is officially released?

Many thanks

Ceri


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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ ceriw commented ·

A colleague or myself can have a look remotely; is that ok if we do that?

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petajoule avatar image
petajoule answered ·

Any chance also older CCGX can have this feature or is it "impossible by hardware"?
Our (yes, old) test system fulfills all requirements except

1617957577372.png

If there is no other way, we'll replace the CCGX with a Cerbo.



1617957577372.png (83.5 KiB)
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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi, a CCGX not meeting the stated minimum requirements will never get this feature. Not soon and also not later.

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nigelfxs avatar image
nigelfxs answered ·

I successfully updated my system (Multiplus-II 48/3000/35-32), from version 478 to 481, using the Remote VE.Bus firmware update.

My only concern is that, during the update process, the mains charger was enabled until the "merged settings" were uploaded. The total charge current into my battery was therefore very high (70A) since my MPPT 150/70 was also charging the battery at 30A.

I had expected the mains charger function in the Multiplus to be disabled - as per the online documentation - see section 3.2 Note 4 below.

"After the firmware update is completed, the settings will have been reset to their defaults. Also, to prevent overcharging, the charge current is set to zero amps, and then the inverter is switched on again."


battery-charge.png

battery-charge.png (29.2 KiB)
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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi @NigelFXS, we checked, and its fine. The charging continuous because your system has a BlueNova battery, which is controlling charge & discharge.

We've amended the manual and other texts to explain this. Thank you!

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harold avatar image
harold answered ·

@mvader (Victron Energy) or team,
Great job, but one question, if update-ing a VE divice for a second time (481 --> 482), do we need to merge the file again and be extra caucious?

Thanks Harold

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi @Harold, everytime you do an update, you need to do the "merging".

With regards to being cautious: the feature is no longer in beta, and working very well, so no need to be extra cautious, other than all warnings that are normal. So, you'll always need to be quite cautious updating the inverter or inverter/charger to the latest firmware.


In general, for inverter/chargers, our recommendation is to update them during installation/commissioning. And thereafter leave it alone.

Only when troubleshooting, its needed to do a firmware update after installation.

Best regards, Matthijs

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