Software Update Tutorial

Owned by Erica Santos (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jul 16, 2020 by Q Rothing
3 min read

Revision History

See release notes.

Introduction

This document contains the instructions for users to upgrade the software that their machine is running

If you have any questions about how to use this tutorial, please contact us here.

Release Notes for Software Versions

Please see the table on this page for all of the software versions, their release notes and their downloadable file (if available). Please note that the downloadable file will only work with this process.

Tools Needed

  • Ethernet cord

  • Ethernet port with internet access

Section 1: Software Update 

You can check the version of the software that you are running by opening the user interface and going to the Conf > Version tab. Scroll down in the version window until you find the one that is highlighted.

If you are running an earlier version of the software and want to update, start by going to config > status and then clearing g-code files and logs (depending on the version currently being run, the status tab may not be available, if this is the case just skip this step). Then plug in an ethernet cord that is connected to internet access into the ethernet port on the front of the machine. You should see green and yellow LED’s light up next to port when the machine detects an internet connection.

Click on the “Check for Updates” button. The machine will populate any new versions of the software into the version window. You may need to wait a few minutes for connection to be established and for the updates to populate. Click on the software version that you would like to install and then click “Save.” The Beaglebone will save the new version of the software, then reboot. This process may take several minutes.  

Do not unplug the machine or the ethernet cord while the software is updating!

As soon as the machine indicates that it is not connected in the bottom left hand corner of the screen clear your browsing cache. On a Chrome browser go to Settings > Advanced > Clear Browsing Data. You only have to clear ‘Cached Images and Files.’ This step may be a bit different with other browsers. Then reload the software UI page. Once the machine has rebooted, check that the desired version of the software was installed by going to the Conf > Version tab and checking which version is currently being run.

Section 2: Troubleshooting

While it can take 5 minutes or so to see the software versions available, sometimes the new versions do not come up. Be sure that you have an internet connection through the ethernet first, but if there is connection and you still don’t see the updates try the following:

The Beaglebone doesn't have a battery to maintain a system clock, so it relies on the network to properly set the time. Sometimes it can't establish a connection with the time setting server. The date defaults to Feb 2015, which causes issues with contacting secure sites over https.

  1. Go into the terminal window (Mac) or open Putty (Windows - can download this to your computer from the internet - search Putty).

  2. We can test that the time stamp is the problem with this command:

curl https://www.github.com/PocketNC

  1. If it complains about SSL certificate problems, then the date issue is likely what's wrong. Type in the command: date

  2. Here's the command to set the date to something reasonable (can change it to the current time, but anything after the latest software update date will work): sudo date -s '2018-08-29 08:44:00'