Below is an advanced copy of an email that we will be sending out on Monday, October 17th to all of our customers and Russound Certified Installers worldwide to let them know about a very important new feature in all of our RCI products...automatic firmware updates. As a valued partner, we wanted to give you some advance notice so that you can be prepared for any questions you may receive from your customers. Thank you for your support of Russound and its products.
This new firmware launches a feature that has been at the top of our request list: Automatic Firmware Updating. From now on, all of Russound's RCI products will be configured to automatically update whenever a new firmware version has been released. No more truck rolls will be needed for updating RCI products in the field once they have been updated to this latest firmware version.
For the installers who want to be able to have more hands-on control of any updates, the automatic update feature can be disabled at the installer's choice and the products can then be updated manually by the installer as new versions become available.
As a reminder, all Russound firmware for the RCI products includes a default configuration password that is designed to prevent easy access to the configuration settings by homeowners so that the system configurations are not modified without your approval. (contact your sales rep for the password).
You will be asked for this password any time that you wish to adjust any of the settings in WebConfig.
We are very excited to release this highly requested feature and as always are eager to hear about other feature or product requests that you may have. You can email productideas@russound.com with any of these requests.
| How do I get this important new feature? |
We have released this new version of firmware to our manufacturing team so that any new units built will be pre-loaded with it from the factory. However, it will take several months for the new units to cycle through our supply chain and get to the field. When doing any new installations of RCI products, all Russound installers should therefore update the firmware running on the units that they are installing. This same process has always been a recommended best practice for all devices. It's very easy to do:From the Web Config page of any RCI product, go to Admin, Firmware Update, and select Web Update. For any systems that don't have internet access, you can download the firmware file from the Russound Portal and save it on a laptop to perform the update in the field. |
| How does the automatic update process work? | RCI products running the latest firmware will automatically check with Russound's servers to identify any necessary updates available and will then perform the update at an installer-configured time of day. |
| Can I specify when these automatic updates occur so that I can adjust it to the best time for each customer? | Yes, the time of day for the updates is set in Web Config. The default setting is in the early morning and we expect that for most customers the best time of day to do these updates is between 2AM and 6AM, similar to when most cable and satellite TV boxes perform their own updates. |
| Can I disable the automatic update feature if I want to control all updating myself? | Yes, you can easily disable the feature in Web Config. We understand that many of our installers like to be able to fully control their customers' systems and give you the option for either automatic updates or manual updates of the firmware. The default setting is "Automatic". |
| Does this automatic updating work for every component in a system? | The automatic updates are currently only for our MCA-Series Controllers and the XStream Series of streaming audio solutions. Keypads that are connected to the controllers are not part of the automatic updating process and must be updated manually if an update is ever required. Keypad updates are very rarely needed however. |
| Model | Description | New Firmware Version |
MCA-66 |
6 Source, 6 Zone Controller Amplifier | 3.01.02 |
MCA-88 |
8 Source, 8 Zone Controller Amplifier | 3.01.02 |
MCA-88X |
8 Source, 8 Zone Controller Amplifier Streamer | 3.01.02 |
XSource |
Streaming Audio Player | 6.01.02 |
XZone4 |
4 Stream, 4 Zone Audio System | 6.01.02 |
Oct 14 16
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