PART 1 - Before You Begin...
Before you can upgrade the reader firmware, you must first download the latest firmware from the Timer Portal. This can be found in the Downloads section under Firmware > MiniTrack. The latest version will be the last listed folder. You may see two files, you ONLY need the .zip file.
In order to complete the update you'll need:
- A MiniTrack
- The update .zip file downloaded from the Timers Portal
- An empty USB drive, 4GB or as close to that as possible (if you have issues you may need to try another or smaller drive)
- 1 Ryobi Battery
- AC Power Cord for the Controller
IF YOUR CONTROLLER IS CURRENTLY RUNNING VERSION 5.2.9 OR OLDER:
Due to security measures written into reader version 5.2.9 you must use a "write-protected" USB drive with a physical lock switch to update your Mini. These drives are getting rarer and rarer, so it may be more useful to use a 4GB or less SD card with a USB adapter. If you need help with this process, feel free to contact support. A locking USB device is ONLY needed to get past 5.2.9
PART 2 - Prepare the Update File
- You'll need an empty USB drive. We recommend using a 4GB drive, or as close to that size as possible. If you have issues with the update you may need to try a smaller or different USB drive.
- Once you've downloaded the firmware zip file from the timers portal, extract the contents of the zip file and place them on the root directory of that USB drive.
- After you've done that, the drive should look like this:
(If your folder structure does not look like this, the update will not be successful) - Remove the drive from your computer.
PART 3 - Upgrade the MiniTrack
- Ensure that your MiniTrack is powered OFF.
- Plug in AC power AND put at least one fully-charged Ryobi battery in one of the battery slots.
- Insert the prepared USB drive into any one of the four USB slots on the controller.
- Turn on the controller.
- As the MiniTrack upgrades, the screen will give some progress reports, and the port LEDs will cycle from 1 to 4 and back to 1 as the upgrade process runs. This indicates progress.
- Eventually, you will hear a beep, all the controller lights will light, and a message on the screen will prompt you to remove the USB drive. If the controller hangs on this step for more than 15 mins, power the MiniTrack off and on again to restart the process.
- The software will automatically detect that you have removed the USB. It will then reboot the reader so the new software is running. The reboot can take 5-10 minutes.
- Check the Reader Software version in the Versions sub-menu: MENU + 7 + 3 + 2 to verify the update was successful. If the controller does not report the new version, power the MiniTrack off and on again to restart the process.
For updating to versions 7.7.01.01 and above, the update process will occasionally fail in two different ways. The first way, the update will appear to be processing and towards the end of the process, it will fail and boot back into the current(old) firmware version without asking you to remove the thumb drive. The second way, the update will hang during the update process and will not prompt you to remove the thumb drive or reboot. For both methods, you should reboot the controller and attempt the update again. If the update fails in the second method described above, make sure to give it 15-20 mins before rebooting. In some rare cases, we have seen the update take several attempts. If you have repeated the process more than 5 times, contact support.