Firmware

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You should always ensure that your players are running the most recent firmware version!

Introduction

The player embedded firmware governs how the SpinetiX device is functioning and provides low-level control, monitoring and data manipulation. The SpinetiX player operating system is built into the firmware. All firmware releases are signed by SpinetiX - any firmware that is not supplied by SpinetiX will not install on the SpinetiX player as the signatures are not identical. This ensures complete security from malicious code and extremely high reliability. The HTTP-based interface to access the player is also included within the firmware.

With every new firmware release, the performance and reliability of the SpinetiX devices is improved; the firmware releases are available for free, therefore it is strongly recommended updating your player firmware as often as possible.

The simplest way to have the latest firmware version on your player is to update the firmware from Control Center - by default, the SpinetiX update server is used. If for any reasons (such as bandwidth saving, network security), updating from SpinetiX server is not an option, you can always update the firmware from a USB drive plugged into the player or from your own web server (better when having many players).

Note Notes:

Firmware releases

Note  
See the firmware release notes for more details.

SpinetiX releases several versions of the firmware every year; one is usually a major release packed with new features and the rest are minor releases containing mainly bug fixes. You should always ensure that your player is running the most recent firmware version!

  • The firmware releases are correlated with the software releases; also some software versions require a minimum firmware version on the HMP devices - see Software / firmware compatibility table for more details.
  • Major releases (e.g., 4.8.0, 4.7.0, 4.5.0, 4.4.0, 4.3.0, 4.2.0, etc.) may introduce backward compatibility issues, therefore, if you plan to update the firmware of players from an existing installation throughout a major release, make sure to update one unit at first, test your content on it and, if your content runs fine, then update the firmware on the rest of the devices. For more details, see the "Backward compatibility issues" or "Changes" section within the release notes. See also: Major changes between 4.x and 3.x firmware and Updating from 2.x to 3.x pages.

Download

All the firmware versions are available for download from SpinetiX server.

Update the firmware in Control Center

Note  
Applies to HMP400/W, HMP350. HMP300, and DiVA players. See also how to update the firmware on legacy players.

The simplest way to have the latest firmware version on your player is to update the firmware from Control Center - by default, the SpinetiX update server is used. If for any reasons (such as bandwidth saving, network security), updating from SpinetiX server is not an option, you can always update the firmware from a USB drive plugged into the player or from your own web server (better when having many players).

The advantage of the incremental firmware update, comparing to a installation from scratch, is that the content and configuration settings are preserved on the player; the disadvantages are that:

  • it is possible only to update to a newer firmware version, if one is present at the specified source path, but not to downgrade (this is not recommended anyway);
  • it takes usually longer than a full reinstall from Recovery Console - which is faster, but the player settings are reset and any user content removed;
  • the update from a really old firmware may be done in two steps.

Updating via Control Center can take awhile depending on many factors:

  • The difference between the current and the new firmware versions - the greater the gap, the longer the process;
  • Network connection speed in case of updating from an external source, like the SpinetiX server;
  • The content playing on the device while updating - restore the default content to speed up the process.
Note Note:
Optionally, you can enable automatic updates and set at what time the player should check each day the server for updates.

Update from SpinetiX server

When updating the firmware from the SpinetiX server, the player must have access to the Internet and be able to reach the SpinetiX update server - we are using Amazon CloudFront as content delivery network (CDN). Otherwise, one of the alternative firmware update methods, detailed further down on this page, can be used instead.

Control Center - Updates available

To check if a new firmware version is available and to update to it, follow these steps:

  1. Access and log into the player web interface.
  2. Click on the gear icon from the top bar menu to access Control Center home page.
  3. An exclamation mark is shown within the firmware information box when updates are available - click on the box to see more details about the available updates, and press the "Update Now" button to proceed with the firmware update.


Control Center - Operations - Firmware Update

Alternatively, you can manually check for firmware update like this:

  1. Go to the Control CenterOperations → Firmware Update section, and check that the "Update source" is set to the SpinetiX server, as follows:
    • DiVA ⇾ http://download.spinetix.com/diva/updates/
    • HMP300 ⇾ http://download.spinetix.com/hmp300/updates/
    • HMP350 ⇾ http://download.spinetix.com/hmp350/updates/
    • HMP400 ⇾ http://download.spinetix.com/hmp400/updates/
    • HMP400W ⇾ http://download.spinetix.com/hmp400w/updates/
  2. If it is not, then revert it to the default address from Operations → Reset page.
  3. Click on the "Check Now" button.
  4. At the end of the check, the page reports the status, which can be:
    • X updates available: Firmware version 4.7.x (build 1.x.xxxxx).
    • No updates available: The HMP is using the latest version.
    • Update failed or Fatal Error: See the Troubleshooting section for more details.
  5. If there are updates available, press the "Update Now" button to proceed with the firmware update.
Note Notes:
  • Make sure that the device is not powered off during the update.
  • During the update, each library is downloaded, uncompressed, verified for integrity and then installed. At the end, the HMP is automatically rebooted.
  • You can monitor this process by pressing "Show" button during the firmware update.
  • The firmware update server URI can be configured from Advanced Applications → Firmware. This might be useful in case of major releases, which are not published right away on the mainstream update channel, but are available at http://download.spinetix.com/hmp-next/updates/ instead.

Update from USB drive

To update the firmware from a USB flash drive, follow these steps:

  1. Make sure that the USB drive is formatted as FAT32. (NTFS is not supported)
  2. Download the relevant spinetix-***-updates.zip file(s) for the firmware you want to update to onto your PC. (See also the note below)
  3. Extract this zip archive file into the root of the USB drive and check that a folder named "updates" was created. The directory structure must not be modified!
  4. Connect the USB drive to the HMP and wait a few seconds for the USB device to be recognized.
  5. Open the Control CenterPeripherals ⇾ USB on that player and make sure that the USB drive is detected as "Used as Updates".
  6. Go to the Operations ⇾ Firmware Update page, change the "Update source" to "USB Key" and press the "Check Now".
  7. You will see a message informing you of which updates are available.


Note Note: For the HMP350, HMP300, and DiVA players running firmware 4.6.x (or older), updating to the latest DSOS must be done as follows:

  1. Download and use this special firmware update file.
    • This will first update the player's firmware to 4.6.5 build 3 to prepare the system for the upgrade to DSOS;
    • Then, once that's completed, it will update the firmware to DSOS 4.7.2;
      During this second part, the player will automatically boot in Recovery mode to perform the OS update, and boot afterwards back in normal operating mode using the new firmware, the same configuration as before, and with all user data and previous logs preserved.
  2. Download and use the relevant spinetix-***-updates.zip file for the latest DSOS version.

Update from your server

Note  
This section does not apply to DiVA players.

To update the firmware from your own web server, follow these steps:

  1. Download the relevant spinetix-***-updates.zip file(s) to your PC. (See also the note below)
  2. Extract this zip archive file into a location on your web server, accessible via HTTP (e.g., ~/public_html/hmp/).
  3. Firmware update settings
    Open Control CenterAdvanced Applications ⇾ Firmware page.
  4. Under the "Server URI", enter the path to the "updates" folder within (e.g., http://myupdateserver/hmp/updates/).
    • Optionally, you can enable automatic updates and set at what time the HMP should daily check your local web server for updates.
  5. Click the "Apply" button to save the modifications.
  6. Go to the Operations ⇾ Firmware Update page and click the "Check Now" button.
  7. You will see a message informing you of which updates are available.


Note Note: For the HMP350, HMP300, and DiVA players running firmware 4.6.x (or older), updating to the latest DSOS must be done as follows:

  1. Download and use this special firmware update file.
    • This will first update the player's firmware to 4.6.5 build 3 to prepare the system for the upgrade to DSOS;
    • Then, once that's completed, it will update the firmware to DSOS 4.7.2;
      During this second part, the player will automatically boot in Recovery mode to perform the OS update, and boot afterwards back in normal operating mode using the new firmware, the same configuration as before, and with all user data and previous logs preserved.
  2. Download and use the relevant spinetix-***-updates.zip file for the latest DSOS version.

Troubleshooting

Update failed

The most probable source of this error is that the player could not contact the update server. Check that the network settings are correct and it has Internet connection. Then check out the error message reported in the update log against the ones detailed below:

  • failed parsing repository URI
    The updates website is temporarily unavailable or a proxy server / ISP warning page is being returned instead of the SpinetiX site page. Check the Server URI in a browser on a PC running the same network configuration.
  • failed retrieving repository path 'repodata/repomd.xml' (could not connect to server)
    There is a problem with the player connection to the Internet. Fix the connection issue and try again.
  • failed fetching 'repodata/repomd.xml' (404 Not Found)
    The update server name is most likely misspelled. Reset to the default SpinetiX server and try again.
  • failed fetching 'repodata/repomd.xml' (server or proxy hostname lookup failed)
    Make sure that a network gateway and DNS servers are correctly configured and that the player is connected to the network.
  • failed fetching 'repodata/repomd.xml' (403 Forbidden)
    Most probably the player is configured to use a proxy for Internet access and the proxy is returning the 403 error; either remove the proxy or change the settings on the proxy server to allow the access to our server.
    Otherwise, it could be a transparent proxy or firewall in between that forbids this file - a possible workaround is to use HTTPS instead of HTTP.
  • failed fetching '***.rpm' (400 Bad Request or 403 Forbidden)
    This can happen when using a proxy to connect to the Internet. The download of the repomd.xml was successful, but the *.rpm files are blocked by the proxy. Contact your network administrator or use an alternative firmware update method.
  • skipping rpm package '***.rpm' of non-compatible arch '***' [...] ERROR: unsatisfied non-file dependencies
    This can happen when updating the HMP350, HMP300, and DiVA players running firmware 4.6.x (or older) to DSOS 4.7.x using either a USB drive plugged into the player or your own web server. The solution is to download and use this update file.
  • authentication failed on server
    In this case, contact SpinetiX Support and provide a report from the player.

Fatal error

This is usually the result of a firmware update being stopped during the process, leaving the player in a non-stable state; in this case see how to install the firmware in Recovery mode.

Install the firmware in Recovery mode

Installing the player firmware is necessary in case of firmware corruption, but can also be used when wanting to downgrade the firmware or when the firmware update would take too long.

The process of installing the player firmware from the Recovery Console works as follows:

  1. The internal storage is formatted, so the existing firmware files (including the configuration settings) and the user content are completely removed.
  2. The selected firmware version is installed from scratch.
Note Note:
Before reinstalling the player firmware, you might want to generate a configuration backup and make sure you have a copy of the content.

Reverting to factory default firmware

The factory default firmware is permanently stored on the player, regardless of the current installed firmware. If needed, the player can be reverted to the factory default firmware, by following these steps:

  1. Boot the HMP into Recovery mode.
  2. On the "Main" page, under "Install new firmware" section, check if the factory installed system firmware is present.
  3. If so, click on the "Install Factory Image" button.
Note Notes:
  • The device is restored to the same state as when it left the factory - this could mean that the firmware is not the latest one, therefore you might need to update to / install the latest one afterwards.
  • In case the factory firmware got corrupted, then use the installation procedure based on PKG files, as detailed below.
  • To restore the factory default settings without reinstalling firmware, see the Reset to factory default settings page.
  • This functionality is not available on the HMP100 with serial number below 001d500000d7.

Installing a specific firmware

You can install a specific firmware version (the latest one recommended) using the corresponding PKG file that can be downloaded from SpinetiX server.

Procedure

To install a specific firmware version, follow these steps:

  1. Download the relevant PKG file (e.g., fw-spinetix-hmp350-***.pkg, prod-fs-spinetix.hmp200-***.pkg etc.) onto your PC.
  2. Boot the HMP into Recovery mode.
  3. On the first page of the Recovery Console ("Main" page), click on the "Browse" button (next to the "Firmware image package:" field).
    • The "Browse" button might be translated into your language by the browser.
  4. Select the PKG file that you have downloaded from SpinetiX site from your PC.
  5. Click on the "Upload and install this image" button.
  6. Wait for the installation process to complete.
  7. (Optional) If you need to set a static IP or to avoid losing the one previously set, follow the procedure below.
  8. Reboot the player into normal operating mode.

Avoid resetting the static IP

If you need the player to use a specific IP address after a firmware installation from the Recovery Console, follow the procedure below:

  1. Do not reboot at the end of the installation process.
  2. Open the "Diagnostics" page.
  3. Go to the "System configuration" / "Change configuration" / "Add configuration change" section.
    • The name of the section is different depending on the hardware revision of your player.
  4. Set the IP configuration and click on the "Set change" button.
  5. Reboot the device.

Troubleshooting

  • "tar: gzip: Cannot write: Broken pipe"
    The PKG file is corrupted. Download the file again after clearing your browser's cache.
  • "Could not recover firmware image package file"
    If you receive this error when trying to update from a PKG file, attempt to install the factory default firmware.
    If you receive this error when installing the factory firmware, then contact SpinetiX Support.
  • "ERROR: package corrupted or forged"
    That could happen when the package file got corrupted upon download (try downloading it again) or when the system date is not correct (set the date manually on the Diagnostics page).
This page was last modified on 4 October 2023, at 10:49.