Firmware Approval

[Peter Guthrie]

Does anyone know the approximate timeframe of firmware approval from when a device manufacturer puts a new firmware out till 3cx approves it for use?
Thanks in advance.

 

[eddv123]

This can vary based on when the testing is done as well as bugs, features etc. I think it would be fairly difficult to estimate a time scale.

What is the reason for the question ?

 

[NickD_3CX]

Does anyone know the approximate timeframe of firmware approval from when a device manufacturer puts a new firmware out till 3cx approves it for use?
Thanks in advance.

With supported IP Phone manufacturers, we usually wait for them to notify us when there is a firmware that we should upload, unless there is a critical issue in which case we try to expedite something.
For this to happen, manufacturers have to run some specific tests with this firmware with 3CX, then we also must run some tests, then it goes online.
Not every firmware though that the manufacturers make will reach 3CX. The reason is that some issues that are fixed do not always affect system or may not be relevant due to the configuration of the template.

 

[Peter Guthrie]

I have an issue with Grandstream GXP2140 where the phone doesn't send a 200 ok when answered.
The newest firmware has this bug as being fixed and it has just come out of beta so I am keen to fix my issue with this update.

 

[JonnyM]

On the subject of firmware and while there's a member of the 3CX team in this thread, are there any plans to improve the firmware upgrade process? Currently with my Yealink devices I have to select the phones and click the upgrade button, it would be great to be able to schedule a firmware upgrade window and have 3CX take care of pushing the updates out in small groups.

 

[AWS2P]

Votes for this idea already in IDEAS forum
https://www.3cx.com/community/threads/schedule-phone-firmware-updates.63134/

 

[Peter Guthrie]

Additional question. If I drop the new firmware into the firmware folder: C;\ProgramData\3CX\Instance1\Data\Http\Interface\provisioning\{Random_GUID}\firmware_new
Do I have to reboot for it to recognize the new firmware or is there another step?

 

[NickD_3CX]

Additional question. If I drop the new firmware into the firmware folder: C;\ProgramData\3CX\Instance1\Data\Http\Interface\provisioning\{Random_GUID}\firmware_new
Do I have to reboot for it to recognize the new firmware or is there another step?

The way the firmwares are distributed is a bit more complex, so the answer is "maybe".
I won't go into details because one mistake and you can break firmware upgrades for all your phones, but I will say that if you want to load your own firmware onto a device, do it from the WebUI of the phone manually. Bear in mind though the 3CX Support Procedures if you contact the support team.

On the subject of firmware and while there's a member of the 3CX team in this thread, are there any plans to improve the firmware upgrade process? Currently with my Yealink devices I have to select the phones and click the upgrade button, it would be great to be able to schedule a firmware upgrade window and have 3CX take care of pushing the updates out in small groups.

We had considered this back when we were re-designing the firmware upgrade process. Before the re-design, there were some cases where phones would auto-upgrade when there was a newer firmware, but then we were getting complaints about this, so in the new design we decided to make this a semi-manual process.
Sure, we could put an option to toggle this behavior, but we are trying to avoid to make the Management Console and endless list of checkboxes.
You did good though to link to the "Ideas" thread that exists about this. I am not saying it's going to happen, I'm just saying that a change in this direction is not currently on the roadmap.

 

[NickD_3CX]

I have an issue with Grandstream GXP2140 where the phone doesn't send a 200 ok when answered.
The newest firmware has this bug as being fixed and it has just come out of beta so I am keen to fix my issue with this update.

I tried to replicate this as I happen to have one on my desk for the past couple of weeks but hasn't happened to me yet. Also I am running some pretty heavy bulk tests using this one.
Can you tell me anything else about when this happens or the circumstances under which it does this?
Also @Frederick Marcoux , @Peter Guthrie , you could also inform GS to pass the 3CX test plan and send us the new firmware. As I mentioned above, unless it is an issue that widespread, we rely on the manufacturer to send us the new firmware versions.

 

[Peter Guthrie]

I tried to replicate this as I happen to have one on my desk for the past couple of weeks but hasn't happened to me yet. Also I am running some pretty heavy bulk tests using this one.
Can you tell me anything else about when this happens or the circumstances under which it does this?
Also @Frederick Marcoux , @Peter Guthrie , you could also inform GS to pass the 3CX test plan and send us the new firmware. As I mentioned above, unless it is an issue that widespread, we rely on the manufacturer to send us the new firmware versions.

The issue is pretty intermittent. I can test and test and test and have it work perfectly. Then a couple of hours later it could error twice in a row.

 

[Peter Guthrie]

The way the firmwares are distributed is a bit more complex, so the answer is "maybe".
I won't go into details because one mistake and you can break firmware upgrades for all your phones, but I will say that if you want to load your own firmware onto a device, do it from the WebUI of the phone manually. Bear in mind though the 3CX Support Procedures if you contact the support team.


We had considered this back when we were re-designing the firmware upgrade process. Before the re-design, there were some cases where phones would auto-upgrade when there was a newer firmware, but then we were getting complaints about this, so in the new design we decided to make this a semi-manual process.
Sure, we could put an option to toggle this behavior, but we are trying to avoid to make the Management Console and endless list of checkboxes.
You did good though to link to the "Ideas" thread that exists about this. I am not saying it's going to happen, I'm just saying that a change in this direction is not currently on the roadmap.

The problem with updating it through the web UI is the firmware gets reverted back by 3CX to it's newest version (which is the old version).

 

[NickD_3CX]

The problem with updating it through the web UI is the firmware gets reverted back by 3CX to it's newest version (which is the old version).

Point... What you could do in this case is remove the provisioning link from the phones interface so it does not try to re-download it on reboot.

The issue is pretty intermittent. I can test and test and test and have it work perfectly. Then a couple of hours later it could error twice in a row.

I asked our Support Team and we haven't heard about cases with this problem, so I am thinking either it is a bug caused by a very specific setup you may have, or it is not a bug in fact and there is an actual problem with the SIP communication.
In either case, I'll keep an eye out and see what we can do with GS.

 

[Peter Guthrie]

Point... What you could do in this case is remove the provisioning link from the phones interface so it does not try to re-download it on reboot.


I asked our Support Team and we haven't heard about cases with this problem, so I am thinking either it is a bug caused by a very specific setup you may have, or it is not a bug in fact and there is an actual problem with the SIP communication.
In either case, I'll keep an eye out and see what we can do with GS.

The bug is specific to the grandstream phones in my setup. The newest firmware lists in the release notes under bug fixes my exact problem but the newest firmware isn't 3cx approved yet.