IsatPhone Firmware Update

Hi Anthony

It is not a compulsory upgrade, but seeing it is available, it will only bennifit the phone and it's features.

As I said above, it was dead easy and took no time at all.



Cheers



Stephen

Thanks Stephen

Will do them tomorrow.

Cheers

Anthony

Hi Bruce

That would be very disappointing indeed.

I suspect it could be your computer, as I have done the upgrade to two other phone besides mine, and each time took no longer than 10 minutes.

Why I am saying your computer, is because one of the phones I did had the very same problems as you describe, after the computer had a hissy fit and now will not function correctly.

I was given the phone last night and it went through straight away.

The only thing I did different was to load the firmware upgrade tool first, then add the new version and the connect the phone.....make make sure it is not turned on.
Once the phone is detected, you are then prompted to press the start upgrade button..

Like I said, I have now performed 3 upgrades of this version and still waiting for one chap to get his phone back so I can do his as well.

If you live in SA and are coming through Clare, I could do yours as well.



All the best and hope it works out.



Cheers



Stephen

That's exactly why I got rid of mine. I got sick of the constant firmware upgrades & the associated problems doing it.

Hi Shaker

How many times did you hear in the car industry that a customer would blame the car for some reason, when in reality it came down to the operator and not the car at fault?

I have had my Inmarsat Phone for a good few years now and I have never experienced any problems with any firmware update to date.....touch wood....lol

The problem that Bruce is having could be caused by a number of issues. Is it a problem that relates to the computer that he is or even you were using?

One issue that could also be a problem for Bruce is him not updating the four previous updates since the 5.3.0 update from back in February 2013?

One thing I can tell you about me, is I am always very fussy and aware of my full facts.

The first update I had to carry out was version 5.2.0 in January 2013.

Then they had the 5.3.0 update only one month later in February 2013.

Twelve months later in March 2014 they released update 5.5.1

Three months later in June 2014, they then released update 5.6.1

Nine months later in March 2015, update 5.8.0 was released

Fourteen months after that in May 2016, the previous 5.11.0 update was released.

And now we have the latest update in April for update 5.17.2

Every update since 5.2.0 in January 2013, besides my own personal phone I usually do two other phone, so in reality, I have carried out 21 phone updates and never encountered any problems at all.

People are quick to blame the phone, but never think to blame the computer, or themselves for not following the instructions.

I am not saying this is the case with you or Bruce, but with todays modern appliances, it goes to show that manufacturers are not just releasing a product and then never following through with further research and updates.

Are you aware that your normal mobile phone has far more updates than a Satellite phone, there are firmware updates for our TV's, our DSLR cameras and the list goes on.

Like I said in my previous reply, one of my friends encountered the very same issues that Bruce was having. The problem there was not the phone, but infact the computer that my friends was using, so in this case, what do we call the problem, the phone, or the computer that was used to try and do the update?
Seeing I could carry out the update on my computer, and another update on another phone 14 hours later, I can definitely rule out the phone as the problem, I can rule out the operator for trying to do the update, but will blame the corrupt files on his computer, which is no fault of the phone.

I am just trying to set a few facts straight and we all must look at what we are doing and not to be quick in blaming a product when there could be other related problems that are the cause of the problem.


Cheers


Stephen

Why should I have to own a computer to manage a Satphone? My iPhone updates it's own operating system, the other reason I got rid of the Isatphone was that they kept moving the goal posts in regard to the credits time expiry.
I am also not Robinson Crusoe, there are many Isatphones for sale.

Well well shaker, why should you own a computer to upgrade your satphone, so you can do firmware upgrades, how else can you get them done, and the very same with your new sat phone, or are you never going to update that either?

You rave on about your time in the car industry, so how did your service techs get their fault codes and upgrades for the cars......a computer.

Come on mate, why do you always come back with smart remarks.

Get with the times and be positive about comments here on the forum.

You must have shares in the company!
Btw which is the smart comment?

I agree with your logic Stephen.

I did the upgrade on my two phones the other night. One went through with no issues the other was a pain in the "word we are now allowed to use on the forum"!

The one with no issues had been back to manufacturer for a repair (see foot note below) and had the previous update by them. so in effect was up to date.

The one with issues had missed several updates and kept stopping and saying the upgrade had had a fatal error. I tried again and again. I checked the version history on the phone and it looks like the upgrade went through.

So it would seem that operator error or lack of attention to the phone was the cause.

I love my Inmarsat - never had an issue making or taking calls or sending texts. The service from my Service Provider is second to none. Never had dropouts or failure to connect. I also have an Iridium (work owned) and I don't like it - to many dropouts and fail to connect. Yes it works but is not as reliable as my Inmarsats.

Footnote - my Inmarsat developed a fault. Took it back to Service Provider and they sent it of for repair. Got a phone call saying lots of "expensive technical stuff". I asked whether it was worth ($$$) repair and he said see what they (repair shop) come back with. Never heard back - phone arrived by courier and when I rang to find out the bill - was 'No Charge!' The only part of my phone that came back was the case - the replaced the entire "Mother-in-law Bored" -gratis, free, zip nothing.

I bought the phone in 2012 - sent for repair in February 2016. Not bad, so I struggle to find it necessary to slag them off...

Cheers

Anthony

Stephen

Thank you for the suggestions. After pondering my problem overnight, I downloaded a fresh set of USB drivers and successfully installed them on my PC. That allowed me to select the fpk file required for this upgrade, and the IsatPhone connected successfully and appeared to start the upgrade. However before showing any progress it stopped, and instructed me to switch off and disconnect the IsatPhone and start again. I did this, with the same negative outcome. Clearly the IsatPhone does not want to talk with my PC.

However I have a laptop and another PC, so I repeated the procedure using the laptop, and this time I succeeded. The IsatPhone screen confirms that V5.17.2 is installed. So I got the required outcome, but not without a bit of fiddling.

Thanks again for your advice.

Bruce

Hi Bruce

That is great news and a positive outcome in the end.

It makes you wonder how and why files can get corrupted on some computers and not others. Thank goodness that you had the other computer, otherwise you have been pulling your hair out., and again it shows that your phone was never at fault, but the software on your first computer.

The other chap that I was talkng about had his computer crash, and after he had it all sorted out, it would not recognise his sat phone, so there must be something strange going on in the Windows world.

Once again thanks for getting back with your outcome.



Cheers




Stephen

Hi,
While not referencing the IsatPhone, I have had trouble updating my Thuraya 2520 with a windows 10 laptop.

I ended up using VMware to load windows XP onto my windows 10 laptop and downloaded all the USB drivers and update files onto the XP section of my computer and updated it that way, all went well.

If think the problems I had were linked to incompatibility with the USB drivers and win 10.

William

Hi William

That is also another positive outcome, and is getting to the point that I made earlier in the post.

Far too many people are quick to blame the product that they are trying to upgrade and bagging it out, when in reality, the comes down to the computer software and not the actual product itself.

Thanks for taking the time to reply and great that you have success, well done.



Cheers




Stephen

I've found a couple of times that if it fails on one PC it worked on another.

The package installs a bunch of drivers so the pooter can speak to the phone. Not all of the drivers are compatible with all PCs. Same deal applies when other kinds of hardware are attached.

If you get sick of doing it, some dealers will for a modest fee. Or take a drive and a bottle to our SA champion ;-)

Hi Sigmund

I am now very sure that all problems appear to be computer related, and not the phone.

I even had another local drop his phone into work on Tuesday for me, and like every other upgrade that I have done, went through in no time flat and no problems at all.

I have heard of some dealers charging up to $80 to do the upgrade which to me is just highway robbery for just over 10 minutes of computer work, and you do not have to sit in front of it while it goes through.

Thanks for your reply.



Cheers




Stephen

It's the likeliest Stephen. Though my first IsatPhone Pro succeeded in the update which then rendered the phone close to unusable. There was then 6 months of to and fro with dealer and importer - the latter as useful as t*ts on a bull