IP Phone Firmware Management

Introduction

Version 20 Update 10 centralizes IP phone firmware management in the 3CX Admin Console. From the Phones page, you can review the firmware reported by each phone, assign the firmware it should use and run common device actions.

The Firmware library stores both 3CX firmware and vendor firmware uploaded by an administrator. 3CX firmware is the latest package validated by 3CX for a model, which may not be the newest version published by the manufacturer.

A single firmware file is marked Preferred for each vendor and model. This is the default target for first-provision, scheduled and manually initiated updates. You can also assign a different available firmware file to an individual phone.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure that you have:

• 3CX Version 20 Update 10 or later.
• Supported IP phones provisioned in 3CX. See the list of supported IP phones.
• Administrator access to the Phones and Firmware pages.

Note: Most unsupported IP Phones are incompatible with the firmware management feature.

Understand Firmware Status and Assignment

The following terms are used by 3CX when referencing phone and firmware status:

• Current Firmware - the version reported by a registered phone. This field is empty when the phone is not registered.
• Assigned Firmware - the firmware selected for a phone. 3CX supplies it during initial provisioning, or immediately when a registered phone is reprovisioned.
• Preferred - the firmware selected as the update target for a vendor and model. It is used for first-provision updates, scheduled updates and Upgrade Firmware.
• 3CX Firmware - firmware supplied and validated by 3CX.
• Vendor Firmware - a manufacturer file uploaded by an administrator. The displayed version is parsed from the filename where possible.
• Outdated - a manageable IP phone for which an applicable firmware upgrade is available.
• Up to date - the phone reports the expected current firmware and no upgrade is required.

Notes:

• A phone with no firmware assignment keeps the firmware already installed on the device.
• Firmware actions are not available for unprovisioned phones, or for DECT and FXS devices that 3CX does not manage individually.

Manage Phones

Go to Admin > Phones and filter the list for IP Phones. The page includes registered and not-registered phones; application endpoints such as 3CX Dialer and 3CX Teams Agent are excluded.

Review phone information

The Phones page shows:

• User - name, extension and department. Select the user to open the IP Phone tab; select a department to filter the page.
• MAC - the phone MAC address, with a copy control.
• IP - the current registered IP address. This is empty when the phone is not registered.
• Connection - 3CX, Local, SBC, Router, STUN, Tunnel, Hot Desking or Unprovisioned. DECT connections are prefixed, for example DECT Local.
• Model - the vendor and model defined by the phone template.
• Current Firmware - the version reported by a registered phone. An outdated version is shown in red.
• Assigned Firmware - the selected file, with a 3CX or Vendor source badge.
• Action - Upgrade Firmware, Up to date or blank when firmware actions do not apply.

A green status indicator means the phone is registered. Red means it is not registered. A not-registered phone does not show a stale IP address or Current Firmware value.

An Unprovisioned device does not show anything under Action, because firmware management starts only after the phone is provisioned.

Search and filter phones

Search matches the extension, user name, MAC address, IP address, model, firmware filename, firmware version, description and SBC or router phone.

Available filters include:

• Status - Any, Registered or Not registered.
• Firmware Source - Any, None Assigned, 3CX or Vendor. Selecting a specific source also selects IP Phones under Show Only.
• Department - Any, a named department or System Wide.
• SBC - Any, or a specific SBC or router phone.
• Show Only - Outdated FW, Router Phones, IP Phones or DECT Phones.

You can also reach the Phones page (with some filters pre-applied) from other sections of the Admin Console:

• From Admin > Dashboard, clicking on Outdated on the IP Phone Firmware line shows only phones with outdated firmware.
• Via Admin > Phones > Firmware > (number of) Assigned Phones, shows phones assigned to the selected firmware.
• Via Admin > Voice & Chat > SBC > Statistics > (number of) Phones Online, shows phones behind the selected SBC or router phone.

Warnings and device actions

A remote phone whose SBC or router phone has been deleted shows a warning in the Connection column. Select the warning to restore the association.

If the model reported by a phone differs from its configured model, Mismatched model appears below the model name. Select it to open the user's IP Phone configuration. The warning also appears in IP Phone Details.

Depending on the selected device(s), the toolbar provides:

• Reboot
• Reprovision
• Upgrade Firmware
• Choose Different Firmware
• Clear Firmware

The three-dot menu can also provide (when applicable):

• Edit User
• Move Phone
• Switch Template
• View Configuration
• IP Phone Details

View IP Phone Details

From the phone's three-dot menu, select IP Phone Details to review:

• IP Phone - Status, User, Model, MAC and IP.
• Authentication Information - Web Console Username and Password, with show, hide and copy controls.
• Remote Provisioning Status - the current RPS state, plus Resend RPS and Revoke RPS functions when applicable.

To disable 3CX RPS, go to Admin > Phones > Options. See Configuring IP Phones.

Manage the Firmware Library

Go to Admin > Phones and open Firmware. The library groups firmware by vendor and model and stores 3CX Firmware and Vendor Firmware together.

The library shows Vendor, Model, Preferred, Version, File, Size, Source, Description and Assigned Phones. Click on the Assigned Phones (number) to open the Phones page filtered to devices assigned to that file.

Firmware actions

The firmware selected as the Preferred target is marked with a filled star. Click the firmware's three-dot menu to:

• Upgrade Phones - assign the selected firmware to applicable phones of that model.
• Preferred - make the selected firmware the update target for the model.

• You can also click on the star badge to switch the "Preferred" firmware file for that model.

• Delete Firmware - delete the firmware file. You can only delete firmware files when there are no phones assigned to it.

Add vendor firmware

Vendor firmware can be uploaded only for models for which a template exists in your 3CX Phone System.

• Open Firmware and select + Add Firmware.

• Select the Phone Model, optionally enter a Description, then choose New File or Existing File.

• Existing File allows you to select a compatible firmware binary already in the library.

• For a new file, upload firmware obtained from the manufacturer, confirm that it is compatible with the selected model and select Save.

For supported models where the firmware's filename structure is known, the displayed version is parsed from the filename. 3CX will only accept the following file extensions: bin, img, ld, rom, swu, z, zip.

You are responsible for verifying vendor firmware compatibility. Direct firmware compatibility questions to the phone manufacturer.

Select the Preferred Firmware

Exactly one firmware file is selected as Preferred for each vendor and model:

• 3CX Firmware is selected by default when it is available.
• The first Firmware uploaded for a model is automatically set to Preferred.
• Selecting Preferred on another file moves the designation to that file.

The selected file is used for new phones when first-provision updates are enabled, when scheduled updates happen, and Upgrade Firmware is forced.

Assign Firmware to Phones

Upgrade to the update target

If a phone is assigned a firmware that is not the Preferred firmware file, the Upgrade Firmware action becomes available.

• In the Phones page, select one or more phones and select Upgrade Firmware, or use Upgrade Firmware on an individual row.
• Confirm the action; 3CX assigns the Preferred firmware for each model and reprovisions the phones.

A registered phone is reprovisioned immediately and may reboot. A not-registered phone keeps the assignment and applies it when it next connects and provisions.

If a phone does not report the expected version after firmware is assigned, Up to date is not shown and Upgrade Firmware remains available to allow a retry.

Choose a different firmware

Use Choose Different Firmware to assign a specific firmware file to a phone, including an older 3CX or Vendor firmware instead of the model's Preferred file.

The dialog shows Extension, Vendor, Model, Current Firmware, User, MAC, IP and Available Firmware. Each available firmware file is identified as 3CX or Vendor.

A registered phone is reprovisioned immediately and may reboot. A not-registered phone stores the assignment and applies it when it next connects and reprovisions.

Choose Different Firmware is disabled when no alternative firmware is available for the model.

Clear a firmware assignment

The Clear Firmware option removes only the phone-to-firmware assignment. It does not delete firmware from the library or remove the version already installed on the phone.

After an assignment is cleared, 3CX does not automatically assign firmware to that phone again. Use this action when a phone should stop receiving a firmware file during provisioning, for example if it is repeatedly attempting to apply firmware and failing.

How assignments are applied

• New phones, including phones created by user import, follow the Preferred firmware file when they are first provisioned.
• After a PBX upgrade to Update 10, an existing registered phone will be linked to a matching firmware file when its reported version already exists in the library; this does not force an upgrade.

Configure Automatic Updates

Go to Admin > Phones > Options > IP Phone Firmware.

Update phones on first provision

Enable Update phones when they're first provisioned to update each new phone with the Preferred firmware for its model. The same setting applies to phones created through user import.

When the setting is disabled, a new phone is left without a firmware assignment. You can assign firmware later from the Phones page.

Keep existing phones up to date

Enable the Keep existing phones up to date on a schedule setting and choose the required frequency, day and time. On each run, 3CX checks existing manageable supported IP phones and applies the Preferred firmware file.

The schedule applies to both 3CX and Vendor firmware marked as Preferred. Failed operations are retried during the next eligible run.

The scheduled time uses the timezone of the extension's primary department (even if belonging to multiple departments). System Wide devices (for example Hot-Desking phones) will follow the system timezone.

Update 10 removes the previous global switch between 3CX and custom firmware and the automatic firmware-cleanup option.

Monitor Firmware Status

The Dashboard reports:

• Up to date when no managed IP phone has an applicable firmware upgrade.
• Outdated when one or more managed IP phones have an applicable upgrade.

Select Outdated to open the Phones page with the Show Only: Outdated FW filter applied.

Move a Phone

Move Phone transfers a provisioned phone to another user while keeping its phone configuration, firmware assignment, selected template and any phones that depend on it as a router phone.

• On Phones, open the phone's three-dot menu and select Move Phone.
• Select the destination user.
• Click the OK button to confirm.

3CX updates ownership and dependent router-phone relationships together. If a required relationship update fails, the move is rolled back.

Move Phone is unavailable for DECT or FXS devices that are owned by more than one extension.

Limitations

• Firmware actions are not shown for unprovisioned phones, or for DECT and FXS devices that 3CX does not manage individually.
• Grandstream and Htek models use a fixed firmware filename. A 3CX file and a vendor file that require the same name cannot be active at the same time. To use vendor firmware on an affected model:

• clear every phone assignment
• delete the conflicting firmware
• upload the vendor file
• select it for updates
• apply it to the phones

• Hotdesking phones will only perform scheduled firmware updates if there is no user logged into the device.

See also

• Configuring IP Phones
• Supported IP Phones
• Hot Desking

Content applies to Version: From V20 U10 - Edition: AI, Pro, Basic - Deployment: Hosted by 3CX, On-premises, Self-hosted

Last Updated
This document was last updated on 18 September 2026
https://www.3cx.com/docs/ip-phone-firmware-management/