Flashing

Updating the firmware on your ImpulseOSD device is simple and quick, no drivers or DFU mode is required for the process. When newer firmware is available the Config Tool will inform you of the update shortly after startup and can be done automatically with just a single click.

Because updating is a quick and seamless experience, your device settings and screen configuration is automatically saved and migrated, we highly recommend staying up to date with the newest firmware.

Bootloader

You can manually flash different versions of the firmware by clicking the Update button in the Screen Designer. This will cause your device to reboot to the bootloader mode, while this happens the Config Tool will wait for the operating mode to change and then detect the device again.

This should happen automatically, however on some computers with older USB chipsets the device may not be found again after the mode changes. The Config Tool will detect this situation and recommend that you disconnect and reconnect the USB cable without removing power to the device.

Once the device is successfully detected in the bootloader mode you will be given the option to browse and flash different available firmware versions. Whilst we do our best to ensure that the settings on the device are migrated across firmware versions, it is definitely advisable to always keep a backup of your configuration if you are changing versions manually in the bootloader.

Versions

ImpulseOSD firmware is given a version which consists of two numbers combined with a decimal point in the format:

<firmware version>.<settings version>

You can view the current Config Tool version and the device version in the bottom of the settings panel accessible from the Screen Designer.

The firmware version will increase every time we release a new update. The settings version will only increase when we make internal changes to the settings data structure.

The Config Tool is specific to the current settings version. It will work with any firmware version as long as the settings version matches. When we release a firmware update which requires a new settings version we will also release a new Config Tool to match. We strongly recommend to keep both the Config Tool and firmware up to date with the latest available.

Show Unsupported

In the bootloader view you can toggle the "Show Unsupported" option to enable flashing firmware with a settings version which does not match the current Config Tool. If you flash unsupported firmware, or if you allow the Config Tool to update to a new settings version but decline to flash a matching firmware, the Config Tool will run in Reduced Functionality Mode. This mode does not allow you to use the Screen Designer and change OSD settings, however it is still possible to Backup, Restore and flash firmware.

Full Chip Erase

Selecting the "Full Chip Erase" option is not recommended and should not be necessary in normal use. It should only be done when explicitly advised by ImpulseRC support.

Flashing with this option selected with completely wipe the device including the activation data. When the device restarts after flashing, the Config Tool will attempt to activate the device again by contacting ImpulseRC servers, however each device is only allowed a small number of activation cycles before becoming blacklisted. This entry in the blacklist can only be removed by contacting ImpulseRC support.