If your deployment has a Portal Light infrastructure, you can remotely manage and schedule firmware upgrades for both Kontakt.io Infrastructure and Tag devices. Once a firmware upgrade is scheduled, devices receive the next available firmware version over the air (OTA).
You can learn about the latest firmware releases from the Firmware changelog.
Before you begin
To set up and schedule managed firmware upgrades, you must be assigned the Device Management Administrator or Firmware Manager role.
Why use Managed Firmware Upgrades
Firmware upgrades are scheduled from Kio Cloud Device Management. This lets your organization plan upgrades so they happen at times that are least disruptive to users and operations.
Set a Firmware Upgrade Window. Restrict the days of the week and the time periods within each day when scheduled firmware upgrades can occur.
Schedule upgrades. Choose when your Kontakt.io devices receive firmware updates: either during your Firmware Upgrade Window or immediately.
Test before a full rollout. Schedule a firmware upgrade on a subset of devices to evaluate a firmware version, then schedule the upgrade for the remaining devices. With large fleets, you can schedule an upgrade for specific devices or for a specific device model.
Turn upgrades on or off. Scheduled firmware upgrades occur only when this setting is turned on. Turn it off during a planned no-change period or whenever you want an extra layer of firmware management.
Device requirements
Managed Firmware Upgrades requires the following:
Portal Light infrastructure. Portal Lights are installed and online, with connectivity to the local Wi-Fi network and Kio Cloud.
BLE Tags and Infrastructure devices. Within Bluetooth range of a Portal Light, with a signal strength (RSSI) of at least -85 dBm to receive a firmware upgrade.
Battery-powered devices. A battery level of 25% or greater.
Set up managed firmware upgrades
Complete the following setup steps before you schedule firmware upgrades.
Turn Managed Firmware Upgrades on or off
Scheduled firmware upgrades occur only when this setting is turned on. Turn it off when you do not want upgrades to occur, such as during a planned no-change period.
From Kio Cloud, go to Device Management.
From the Settings menu, select Firmware Upgrades, then select Edit.
To turn it on, select the Enable Managed Firmware Upgrades checkbox. To turn it off, clear the checkbox.
Select Save.
Configure the Firmware Upgrade Window
The Firmware Upgrade Window sets the days of the week and the time periods within each day when scheduled firmware upgrades can occur. It applies only to upgrades scheduled for the Next upgrade window. Upgrades scheduled for Immediately ignore the Firmware Upgrade Window.
From Kio Cloud, go to Device Management.
From the Settings menu, select Firmware Upgrades, then select Edit.
Select the Timezone used by the schedule. The default is UTC.
The schedule displays a 7-day window representing the days of the week. Each day is divided into one-hour time periods displayed in 24-hour time.
On the schedule, select the starting point of the time period, then drag to the ending point. A visual indicator shows the selected time period. A single day can have multiple time periods.
Example: three day window with multiple time periods.
Tip: To copy a time period to all days, select its Copy icon. To delete the time periods in a day, select its Delete icon. Repeat this step for each firmware upgrade window.
Select Save.
Upgrades scheduled for the Next upgrade window occur only during the time periods you set in the Firmware Upgrade Window. Upgrades scheduled for Immediately can occur at any time, inside or outside these periods.
Schedule a firmware upgrade
How to schedule a firmware upgrade
When you're ready to upgrade your Kontakt.io devices to the latest available firmware version, complete the following steps.
From Kio Cloud, go to Device Management. From the Inventory menu, select the category of devices to upgrade — Tags or Infrastructure.
Tags: devices that move, either attached to an object or worn by people.
Infrastructure: devices that are stationary and stay in a fixed position in a location. These include the Kontakt.io Portal Light, Portal Beam, Beam Mini, and Beacon models.
Select the devices to receive the firmware upgrade.
By default, all listed devices are selected, and the count appears in the Bulk option. To upgrade only a subset, set filters to narrow the list.
Select the Bulk option (it shows the number of devices to receive the upgrade), then select Firmware Upgrade.
In the Schedule Firmware Upgrade window, choose when the upgrade occurs:
Next upgrade window: devices receive the upgrade only during the time periods set in your Firmware Upgrade Window.
Immediately: devices are queued to receive the upgrade right away.
Select Schedule.
A confirmation displays the results as counts:
Devices requested: the number of devices you selected for upgrade.
Upgrade scheduled: the number of devices scheduled for upgrade.
Nothing to upgrade: the number of selected devices already on the latest firmware.
Devices inaccessible: the number of selected devices that couldn't be scheduled.
Note: Make sure the Enable Managed Firmware Upgrades setting is turned on. Devices receive scheduled upgrades only when this setting is on.
Display the firmware columns
In the Tags and Infrastructure list views, use Customize Table to choose which firmware columns to show: Available Firmware Upgrade, Scheduled Firmware Upgrade, and Firmware (the current installed version).
From the list view, select Customize Table.
Select the columns you want to show, and clear the ones you don't. You can also arrange their order.
Tip: If you don't see a column you expect, select Restore Default to show all available columns.
View devices with available firmware upgrades
In the Inventory menu, the Tags and Infrastructure list views have an Available Firmware Upgrade column. If it isn't showing, select Customize Table to add it.
A black upgrade icon appears next to each device that has an upgrade available. To see the upgrade details, point to the icon.
View devices with scheduled firmware upgrades
In the Tags and Infrastructure menus, you can filter for devices with a scheduled upgrade, and the Scheduled Firmware Upgrade column shows a calendar icon for each device.
From the Inventory menu, go to the Tags or Infrastructure menu.
To see only devices with a scheduled upgrade, select Add Criteria, then select Scheduled Firmware Upgrade.
As a scheduled upgrade progresses, devices drop out of the filter one by one as they finish upgrading. You may need to refresh your browser.
In the Scheduled Firmware Upgrade column, point to the calendar icon to see the upgrade details.
Black calendar icon: a firmware upgrade is scheduled for the device.
Grey calendar icon: no firmware upgrade is scheduled.
FAQs
How do I know when a firmware upgrade is available for a device?
Check the Available Firmware Upgrade column in the Tags and Infrastructure menus. For details about firmware releases, see Device firmware releases.
If a device is two versions behind the latest released version, how does it upgrade to the latest version?
Schedule an upgrade for each version until the device reaches the latest released version. For example, if the latest version is 3.0 and the device is at version 1.0 with two versions in between (1.5 and 2.0), first schedule the upgrade to 1.5, then to 2.0, and then to 3.0.
Kontakt.io recommends keeping device firmware up to date to avoid scheduling multiple upgrades. Firmware releases also commonly include improvements and fixes.
How do I know when a firmware upgrade is scheduled for a device?
In the Tags and Infrastructure menus, select Add Criteria, then select Scheduled Firmware Upgrade.
Does a device transmit and receive data while it's downloading a firmware upgrade?
No. This is why it's recommended to schedule upgrades during your defined Firmware Upgrade Window.
Can I cancel a firmware upgrade?
A scheduled firmware upgrade can't be canceled.
Are there any Kontakt.io devices that cannot receive scheduled firmware upgrades?
Yes — the Nano Tag and Sticker Tag cannot receive scheduled firmware upgrades.
What happens to devices that cannot complete the scheduled upgrade within a time period in the Next upgrade window?
The devices are queued to receive the upgrade during the next time period in the Firmware Upgrade Window. For example, you schedule 200 devices for an upgrade and your Firmware Upgrade Window is set to Monday through Wednesday, 12 AM to 3 AM. If 100 devices upgrade successfully on Monday between 12 AM and 3 AM, the remaining 100 are queued for Tuesday between 12 AM and 3 AM. This repeats until all scheduled devices are upgraded.
What happens when a device fails to receive a scheduled firmware upgrade?
The device is queued to receive the upgrade again 24 hours after the first attempt. If the second attempt fails, reschedule the firmware upgrade for the device.