Venus OS v2.57 – Cerbo GX

Today we’re releasing a new version of Venus OS – the software at the heart of our GX Product range.

This update concentrates around the Cerbo GX, fixing three issues.

1) One USB port is changed to be “power only”
There are three USB ports in the Cerbo GX, and one has proven to be unreliable for use with a VE.Direct to USB cable or other data connections. We spent a lot of effort to make it work reliably, but that proved impossible – unfortunately. The other two do work properly.

The USB port affected is the one closest to the HDMI port. This new firmware version changes its function to “power only”: to power the GX Touch. The Cerbo GX manual as well as the datasheet have been updated with this new specification. Newly produced units will have a different marking on the product, to make it clear that that USB port is different than the other two.

Installations in which this port is now used, with for example a VE.Direct to USB Cable, will lose connection to that VE.Direct device. I fully understand how this can be very inconvenient, especially for remote installations.

Temporary work around for installations using that USB port

In case you prefer to change the wiring later, and keep a working system until then, here is what to do:

1. Revert to the previous installed firmware in the Settings -> Firmware -> Stored backup firmware menu. Now the USB port will work again.
2. Logging the VRM Portal won’t work yet. Normally, reverting to a prior firmware version does not cause an issue, but unfortunately this time it does. Only for Cerbo GX devices. Our support engineers will need to make a change in the VRM Portal after reverting to a version prior to v2.57. Without the change, no data will appear on the VRM Portal. To have that done, please contact your Dealer. They will need to contact our repairs department.
3. Finally, at a more convenient time, rewire the system and update to the new version. When required, the number of USB ports can be extended with a USB hub, refer to the manual for more information. As the issue causing an unreliable data connection is extremely rare, chances that you’ll have an issue while still using the port for a short while are very slim. There is no need to contact us again when doing the upgrade – only during the downgrade as explained in step 2.

Note that in general, we advise against enabling automatic firmware updates on remote systems. See Settings -> Firmware updates -> Online updates for the related setting.

2) GX Touch display freezing up – solved
There was an issue that could cause the GX Touch display to freeze. The issue has been found and solved in this new version.

3) Change in VRM Portal ID
Some Cerbo GX devices had an issue with their VRM Portal ID. This update solves that by changing the VRM Portal ID on all Cerbo GX devices. The new VRM Portal ID is visible in the Settings -> VRM Online Portal menu.

For the installations that had an issue due to this problem, this update fixes it. For all other Cerbo GX devices, both already installed and/or still in stock, the change is seamless:

• New installations can be added to VRM by using both the old as well as the new VRM Portal id.
• Already installed installations will continue to log their data on VRM without data loss and without requiring any user interaction.

Full change log and how to update

You can find information about how to install the new version of Venus OS here. For the full change log, including previous releases, login to Victron Professional and select Firmware.