SPC 4320 Firmware update path

sphinxicus

Hi All


I recently got an email from Vanderbilt to notify me that my panel (4300 series) is on a legacy firmware. Its on 3.6.6. The email states that i need to update to at least 3.8.5.


I have connected to my panel with SPC pro and clicked the "get config file from panel" button.



This upgrade was something i was meaning to do anyway and i found a zip file on my PC that i downloaded last year although i cant remember where from.


It has folders labelled "3.11.1-R.38577 > installer edition".


Within the panel firmware i have the following folders:
- Upgrade path to 3.6.6
- downgrade to 3.7
- update from 3.7_3.6
- update from 3.8 and later


In that last folder there is a file named SPC 3.11.1 - R.38577.fw. However, when i go to the website https://www.spcsupportinfo.com/SPCConnectPro/?p=7898 it states that the latest version is 3.8.5.


So i have 3 questions:

• Is the latest stable release the 3.8.5 or the 3.11.1?

• Do i have to follow an upgrade path from 3.6.6 or is it ok to make the jump to the latest release?

• Does SPC Pro still work or does it all move to browser access?

Thanks for reading

sphinxicus

Well since there was no response to my questions, I took a punt, went ahead and successfully upgraded the panel and peripherals to 3.8.5.

In the event that someone is looking for any info relating to the above in the future, I'll add what i did in the event that it might help someone.

Download the latest firmware (3.8.5 at the time of writing) from https://www.spcsupportinfo.com/SPCConnectPro/?page_id=1211 and unzipped it.

Logged in to the panel via the web interface. (I had to do this via SPC connect as i couldnt seem to connect to my panel locally even though i know the correct IP address). Once logged into the panel with your normal user account go to Configuration > Grant access > and enable Engineer and manufacturer access

Log out of the panel and log back in with the engineer account. Once logged in, enable "Full Engineer" mode.
Click on Files > Upgrade and on this page you have the ability to chose the items to upgrade; Panel, peripherals, language.

Make sure to upgrade the panel first, then peripherals then language. (all the applicable files are included in the package you downloaded in the relevant folders).

When the upgrade is complete, the version of SPC Pro i was using (3.6.6) would no longer connect to the panel. I downloaded SPC Connect Pro from https://www.spcsupportinfo.com/SPCConnectPro/?page_id=37, installed it and was able to connect to my local panel just like i could with SPC Pro.

There is a great video on YouTube available made by Vanderbilt which covers the upgrade process. Hope it helps someone.

fastfw11

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117560690#Comment_117560690

Thank you for this detailed description. I wonder if you have advice on my issue:

Similarly, I am a user of an SPC 4300 on firmware 3.6.6 that I am trying to upgrade, but it isn't working.

I managed to get my panel online (turned DHCP on and it's assigned a fixed local IP address 192.168.1.xx).

I created an SPC Connect account, both for a user and an installer. Both working. I can see basic status/events/log and get notifications.

However, although I can see the panel is online via SPC Connect, I did not manage to connect to the panel when I press the respective button.

I can also not connect to it locally on https://192.168.1.xx, which means I cannot upgrade that way. Connection just fails, no matter what browser I try. Seems to me like it's some kind of HTTPS certificate error because I managed to see an SSL error once:

An error occurred during a connection to 192.168.1.xx. SSL peer rejected a handshake message for unacceptable content. Error code: SSL ERROR ILLEGAL PARAMETER ALERT.

Tried to upgrade the firmware via an installer account, but the message was the the minimum firmware required for an online upgrade is 3.8.5.

I also tried SPC Pro to connect to the panel via Ethernet and USB cables, but for whatever reason that failed too :(

Here's a view of my panel in SPC connect- online.

But when I click on "connect to the SPC panel" I get this error:

If you or anyone reading has some advice for me, that'd be appreciated!

hesker

Did you get this sorted because I have just gone through this and I’m sure I can advise on what to do.

First thing is are you setting up a fixed IP or allowing the router to assign through DHCP

fastfw11

That’d be amazing as not fixed yet :(

It’s DHCP but I have a fixed IP reserved on the router. It’s working and SPC Connect is online.

hesker

Have you pinged the panel to verify the connection

Try directing your browser to http://panel IP address:443

ie

http://192.168.1.99:443 or whatever you have set

fastfw11

Thank you.

I tried this local connect (both http and https, with 443 port and without) to no avail.

I was thinking this could be a problem with the SSL certificate, my router blocking access, or a very old software (3.6.6). But cannot confirm any of them.

Note that the original poster had a similar problem ("Logged in to the panel via the web interface. (I had to do this via SPC connect as i couldnt seem to connect to my panel locally even though i know the correct IP address)").

But for me, even though I can connect to SPC Connect and see the panel both via the web portal and the iOS app, I can perform some basic functions like set/unset, I cannot click on "connect to panel".

hesker

That “connect to panel” link doesn’t work for me either. See pic attached so we are speaking about the same thing.

Your problem in connecting to the panel browser locally may be that it’s because TLS is still enabled.

See my thread on the delta bell. I posted links to Siemens tech bulletins on this.

I think your next step is to install the SPC Pro software. Connect through that and disable TLS

hesker

Just checked on a Windows 10 PC. The "Connect to the SPC Panel" link does work and brings me to the following page

https://www.spcconnect.com/wapi/flexcweb.aspx/secure.htm

It is the same login view as presented by the panel browser.

I think advice is the same. You need to install SPC Connect Pro software and disable TLS.

I didn't need to as when I inputted the address https://Panel IP address into my browser I eventually did get an option to proceed even though the cert was invalid. On several browsers I wan't given the option. I just lucked out with one. I think it might have been Mozilla on an old XP laptop. I then logged in and disabled TLS and could access via http://Panel IP Address:443 from any browser.

fastfw11

Eureka!

Your comment about TLS was the key.

It made me think that I need the oldest browser I could find. I dusted off Internet Explorer from an old machine. Managed to log in locally and disable TLS. Then I was finally able to log in with a modern browser and update the firmware to the latest. All working now.

Thank you 🙏🏻