Yesterday at 05:03 AM1 day I found from EISY migration WIKI the directions to update ZMatter USB Dongle Firmware Upgrade - (Eisy:User Guide - Universal Devices, Inc. Wiki) /Easy enough process to unplug from EISY, then install windows driver, plug into usb port, then web updater) but I am wondering if this is common practice or if many others are doing this step my ZMatter board from UD was purchased early on along with EISY so I was not surprised when found to be on the initial version - but when I did a search on release notes I am wondering IS this Firmware on USB Dongle something EISY should be updating - ?How many of the fixed items are impacting other users around here ?Thoughts on enabling some of the other options- long range?My dongle was Firmware was on 00.00.07.32 so I did he sequential updates to 7.35 then 7.45 then tried 7.46 twice, no error message, download looked normal but when done board still reported as 07.45. Answer was to then update the boot loader from 2.01 to 2.04, unplug for 10 sec then update to 07.46 (1 of the duplicate 07.46 choices in menuThen there were more options in firmware choices too.Also under more options I see some available options such as long range Currently enabled features:✔Static mode support✔Backup and restore API✔Save devices batteries when no PC software is running✔Advanced network statistics✔Promiscuous mode✔Jamming detectionYou hardware additionally supports:FreeLong Range supportAdd this featureFreeUART communications on faster speedAdd this feature99Zniffer and Advanced Radio ToolAdd this featureMaximal power (+7 dBm)Upon requestChange vendor ID in Serial APIUpon requesthere is what my search turned on for release notes and such as notes for others Firmware 7.32Baseline SDK Release: Base Silicon Labs 700/800 series Z-Wave controller build handling core S2 security frames, SmartStart inclusions, and Long Range (LR) protocol capabilities.Primary Scope: Handles standard NVM storage management and standard routing table structures.Upgrade to 7.35Routing & Retry Improvements: Improved frame retry mechanics and route-repair efficiency across high-density mesh networks.Buffer & Memory Bug Fixes: Resolved heap allocation edge cases during rapid sequential commands (e.g., rapid scene execution involving multiple nodes).SmartStart Inclusions: Fixed intermittent timeout issues when including battery-powered S2 devices during initial provisioning.Upgrade to 7.45Z-Wave Long Range (LR) & Multi-Region Support: Fixes and enhancements to regional RF channel handling (US LR frequency shifts and European LR frequency preparation).OTA Firmware Transfer Reliability: Fixed controller-side packet-dropping issues when executing Over-The-Air (OTA) firmware updates to target Z-Wave end-devices.Network Recovery & NVM Safety: Enhanced Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) backup/restore reliability—reducing network table corruption during ungraceful reboots or power loss.Upgrade to 7.46Maintenance & Patch Build: Minor point release specifically aimed at stability fixes post-7.45.Serial API Stability: Resolved rare serial communication lockups between the host controller software (IoX / eisy) and the ZMatter radio chip under heavy packet bursts.S2 Boot Bootstrapping: Fixed rare failures during the S2 security key exchange process for 800-series end nodes.Key Takeaway for eisy/ZMatter UsersProgressing through these versions systematically resolves controller lockup issues, network routing drops, and S2 inclusion failures. Keep your eisy IoX software up-to-date alongside board updates, as IoX relies on matching controller driver commands to fully leverage these underlying protocol fixes.And when I searched on Bootloader version .. mine is on 02.01.00.00The version sequence 02.01.00.00 $\rightarrow$ 02.04.00.05 corresponds to Silicon Labs' Gecko Bootloader (GBL v2.x) releases. While the Z-Wave application firmware handles network commands and mesh routing, the Gecko Bootloader handles hardware initialization, secure boot verification, and low-level serial communication.Moving from version 2.1.0 to 2.4.0.5 includes the following bootloader-level changes and fixes:Core Changes & EnhancementsEnhanced GBL Image Verification & Decompression: Improved validation of payload signatures and CRC checks before flashing application firmware, preventing partially downloaded or corrupted images from flashing. Added support for improved LZMA/LZ4 decompression routines for compressed firmware payloads.Improved UART DMA & Flow Control: Upgraded Direct Memory Access (DMA) handling for the UART serial driver. This resolves baud-rate synchronization glitches and packet overruns during high-speed serial updates between the eisy host processor and the ZMatter chip.Secure Boot & Hardware Root of Trust: Updated cryptographic libraries (upgraded mbed TLS integration) for hardware Root of Trust verification on Silicon Labs EFR32 Series 2 (800-series) chips.Shared SRAM Reset Info Handling: Fixed edge cases in how software reset reasons are stored in the first word of SRAM (0x20000000). This ensures that when the eisy sends a command to reboot the ZMatter board into bootloader mode, the board reliably registers the reset command without hanging.Power-On Reset & Stability Patches: Fixed stability bugs where specific brownout or low-power state transitions could cause the bootloader to trap in a boot loop instead of jumping to the main application image.Do You Need to Update It?If it came bundled with your controller firmware image: Modern flasher tools often bundle the matching bootloader image alongside application releases (e.g., SDK 7.45/7.46 streams). Flashing this updated bootloader is safe when updating via PC/web tools as long as the tool explicitly recommends or requires it.If everything is currently running fine: If your eisy successfully communicates with the ZMatter board and accepts OTA/firmware updates, you do not need to manually force a bootloader rewrite.AFTER update of bootloader unplugged from USB for 10 seconds to ensure it started back up on new bootloader. Why are there two identical 00.00.07.46 - Controller choices?When updating through the z-wave.me web flasher:First 00.00.07.46 - Controller: Standard production firmware release.Second 00.00.07.46 - Controller: Regional frequency variant (e.g., US LR vs. EU/AU static frequency configuration) or a duplicated channel build provided by the tool repository.03.13.4709 - Z-Uno / repeater: DO NOT select this. That firmware is designed exclusively for Z-Uno custom developer boards acting as standalone sub-nodes/repeaters.
12 hours ago12 hr Great stuff, thanks for the post! A few questions:You mention Firmware Update, is this actually the API you're updating?As shown in Protocols / Z-Wave / X-Ray / DH Controller:String DATA controller.data.APIVersion = "07.32" Integer DATA controller.data.APIVersionMajor = 7 (0x00000007) Integer DATA controller.data.APIVersionMinor = 32 (0x00000020)Now that you completed this update, have you noticed any changes or improvements in operation?And finally, I assume this update can be made regardless of the controller being used (EISY vs. Polisy)? Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by peterathans
12 hours ago12 hr Thanks for this post. I’ve just been researching the FW on the dongle as I prepare for ZWave LR.
12 hours ago12 hr One question: did your existing Zwave network stay intact after doing these updates, or was a backup first needed then a restore?Also, any updates pertaining to zigbee?
12 hours ago12 hr Author Cannot speak to better performance or anything yet - my efforts here are in prep to "move" my old Insteon + Zwave network from ISY994 over to EISY. My current old Zwave stuff here is very old so will be "rebuilding" the zwave from scratch. I did the update on Windows 11 PC - installed the universal driver on the 1st link (in UD WIKI) and then ran the web tools from edge browser (links here ZMatter USB Dongle Firmware Upgrade - (Eisy:User Guide - Universal Devices, Inc. Wiki) /) Sorry cannot answer IF this wiped my controller as I also did a dongle factory reset afterwards
10 hours ago10 hr The instruction was from my own Z-Wave upgrade, on mac so glad to hear it works on windows. Nothing was lost in my case, needed to fix long range bug.
10 hours ago10 hr 12 minutes ago, Javi said:The instruction was from my own Z-Wave upgrade, on mac so glad to hear it works on windows. Nothing was lost in my case, needed to fix long range bug.Thanks, Javi. I'm planning to install 3 Long range devices soon. So I'm clear, you're saying I'll need to update the ZMAtter FW to be able to use it -- correct?
8 hours ago8 hr 1 hour ago, hart2hart said:Thanks, Javi. I'm planning to install 3 Long range devices soon. So I'm clear, you're saying I'll need to update the ZMAtter FW to be able to use it -- correct?Yes we locked out z-wave long range unless at a min version (7.42) as other version had too many issues. eisy-ui is currently the only interface which gives you the option to choose mesh or long-range.Tip: take a picture of the QR code and upload to pc, then select the image instead of trying to scan with a PC camera.... or use eisy-ui on mobile
Create an account or sign in to comment