SMT1500RMI1U Firmware/modbus issues

[Anonymous user]

Hi,

we installed an SMT1500RMI1U UPS today. Connected it via USB on Debian Linux by apcupsd 3.12.14 and tests worked quite well.

When using apcaccess we realized that some data like 'LOADPCT' which is quite important to us was missing.

After some digging we found out about modbus and switched to serial cable which didn't work out as we got COMMLOST errors.

So after some more digging we stumbled across this post:

Frequently Asked Questions

As SMT was on the supported platforms and we thought maybe modbus isn't enabled yet we gave it a shot and realized too late our firmware was already 09.5.....

The upgrade with Upgrade Wizard 4.0 failed during the process and we were left with a blank apc looping restart and "Firmware upgrade in progress..." all the time.

So we had a blank machine with no more firmware.

We went on and were able to flash the firmware 09.2 from the /temp directory using Hyperterminal and "Sent file" command.

We were relieved as we had a responsive apc back, but it seems it was the wrong firmware.....

We have no more grp2 available so only the 2 outlets on grp1 are working and all our voltage configs are around 120V (we had around 220V before as we are in Germany).

So it seems we are stuck with a apc with the wrong firmware.

Any idea how to get the 09.5 firmware so we can flash it back? We weren't able to find a download for this firmware anywhere on the web.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Kai

[BillP]

Hi Kai,

What do you see for the UPS ID that should be listed where the serial number and firmware is? It should be something like ID18 or similar. Let's start there.

[BillP]

Hi Kai,

I can attach the file here for you for ID20 UPS which to me appears as UPS 09.2. I don't see a UPS 09.5. Though, I don't know what the state of the UPS is yet. Have you tried to run the Wizard a subsequent time? Even though I attached the file, I don't know what you'll need to do (yet) to load it depending on what state the UPS is it.

The Firmware Upgrade .exe when it's extracted extracts a FirmwareUpdateImages folder it looks at so it should be detecting the ID and putting it on there. But, did you use that if you're on Linux or you strictly sent a file via HyperTerminal from a Windows machine? Just want to understand the exact steps as to how we got to this point and the tools used, beyond what you shared.

[Anonymous user]

Hi Angela,

thank you for your reply. If it is something I can find next to firmware in apcaccess it would be ID=20. I can't look it up on the panel right now, as I'm out of the office now unitl monday.

Here is an old apcaccess output before the upgrade:

APC      : 001,027,0684

DATE     : 2014-12-05 10:28:50 +0100 

HOSTNAME : berlinmoll001

VERSION  : 3.14.10 (13 September 2011) debian

UPSNAME  : berlinu1

CABLE    : USB Cable

DRIVER   : USB UPS Driver

UPSMODE  : Stand Alone

STARTTIME: 2014-12-05 10:24:49 +0100 

MODEL    : Smart-UPS 1500

STATUS   : ONLINE

BCHARGE  : 100.0 Percent

TIMELEFT :  79.5 Minutes

MBATTCHG : 5 Percent

MINTIMEL : 3 Minutes

MAXTIME  : 0 Seconds

ALARMDEL : 30 seconds

BATTV    : 40.9 Volts

NUMXFERS : 0

TONBATT  : 0 seconds

CUMONBATT: 0 seconds

XOFFBATT : N/A

STATFLAG : 0x07000008 Status Flag

MANDATE  : 2013-06-15

SERIALNO : AS1324136293 

NOMBATTV :  36.0 Volts

FIRMWARE : UPS 09.5 / ID=20

END APC  : 2014-12-05 10:28:56 +0100

Hope that helps.

[Anonymous user]

Hi Angela,

I will try again with your file on monday, but if I remember correct this was the file I used to upgrade. I did the following steps on a windows machine as the upgrade tool

is a .exe. Linux was only used for apcaccess with apcupsd but not for flashing.

1. Flashed 09.2 with FirmwareUpgradeWizard4_0.exe via USB

2. Upgrade failed and APC looped in state "Firmware update in progress...."

3. Connected via Serial with Hyperterminal on the windows machine

4. APC stated it has no firmware anymore on the Hyperterminal console (Download Manager / No application in Memory)

5. Sent file SMT20UPS_09-2.enc with Hyperterminal

6. APC rebooted once the file transfer finished and was back accessible

grp2 (2 outlets) aren't shown on the panel anymore and don't work and all the voltage stuff showed values around 120V +/- 20 instead of 220V +/-20 like it was before.

Self-test is passed without issues.

Is there a firmware difference between Europe and US? Because as you see in the apcaccess output before the upgrade it states 09.5.

[Anonymous user]

Hi Angela,

I came in this morning and reflashed the APC with the file provided by you. This time flashing the firmware with FirmwareUpgradeWizard worked.

But still once the APC rebooted I only have grp1 outlets available and Voltage is also around 120V +/-20 instead of 220V....

Self-test still passes without an issue.

Any other ideas?

[Anonymous user]

Hi,

I just talked to APC in Germany and explained them the issue. They are going to RMA the APC.

I will follow up here once the new APC arrived.

Thank you for your assistance.

[Anonymous user]

Hi Angela,

we got the new APC and guess what firmware it is running.....

This means I'm back with an working APC running firmware 09.5, but I'm not able to enable modbus in this firmware. Even in the Advanced Menu there is no value for it.

One funny thing is, even APC Germany told me there is no firmware 09.5....

Any suggestions?

[BillP]

I think there is some confusion here and I am double checking on it. I think it stems from the fact that historically, ID20 referred to SMX type UPSs only. UPS 09.5 came along for ID20, which you have (and I also don't really see an existence of publicly, only internally) and started supporting the SMT1500RMI1U/SMT1500RM1U so now ID20 is for SMT/SMX <=1500VA.

So, I rechecked our Modbus application note and look at the top section: http://www.apc.com/whitepaper/?an=176

Products Supported

Most APC Smart-UPS in the SMT family and all models in the SRT family are supported. SMT rack mount 1U models are not supported and only SMT models running firmware greater than UPS 09.0 are supported. SMT models with UPS 08.0 or higher may be updated. See Knowledge Base article FA164737 on APC.com for information on firmware updates.

I am going to see if I can find out what version Modbus will be supported on these particular units and also clarify the descriptions on ID20 in general, assuming I am accurate here.

*Edit* - more information. The issue you experienced with your UPS appearing as a different one, not showing outlet groups, having a different voltage, etc was due to a firmware bug that was identified. Also, it appears Modbus support for this UPS won't likely be available until sometime next year after Q1. Let me know if this is a huge issue or what impact it will have and I will see what we can do. I am also going to have the knowledge base updated to clarify ID20 can be SMT1U products too.

[BillP]

FYI "UPS 09.5" was released for factory manufactured units only- that's why the RMA replacement unit came with 9.5 preloaded. It hasn't been released for field upgrade yet.

[Anonymous user]

On 12/11/2014 6:26 AM, Angela said:

The issue you experienced with your UPS appearing as a different one, not showing outlet groups, having a different voltage, etc was due to a firmware bug that was identified. Also, it appears Modbus support for this UPS won't likely be available until sometime next year after Q1. Let me know if this is a huge issue or what impact it will have and I will see what we can do. I am also going to have the knowledge base updated to clarify ID20 can be SMT1U products too.

Hi Angela,

thank you for your reply and all the updates on this issue. If Modbus will be available in Q1/Q2 in 2015 that is totally cool with us.

We can help ourselves until then. 🙂

[Anonymous user]

On 12/11/2014 6:52 AM, Noah said:

FYI "UPS 09.5" was released for factory manufactured units only- that's why the RMA replacement unit came with 9.5 preloaded. It hasn't been released for field upgrade yet.

Hi Noah,

thank you for your reply 🙂

[BillP]

Awesome! Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

[Anonymous user]

Is there any update on this topic? We are going into Q3/2015 now.

Thank you in advance for any information.

[BillP]

Hi Kai,

Sorry for the delay. I was checking and the modbus release for this UPS is not yet available publicly as some priorities have shifted based on various demands.

What I can offer is a beta version that has not gone through full testing, if you're interested. Our basic testing does not show any problems and it appears to work well.

Would you like to try this? If so, I'll add you as a friend and private message you a direct download link.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Hi Angela,

thank you for your reply. Sorry the week has been pretty busy so I was not able to reply until now.

I will be on site where the APC is earliest in September but still would accept the beta version offer if the public version is not available until then.

I'll check for the private message!

Thanks again!