Firmware Dongle

Dongle firmware releases

All historical dongle firmware releases. The latest is at the top.

Version	Date	Highlights	Pairs with receiver
v16 (current)	2026-05	Receiver-side configuration query/set (rxcfg). Per-receiver fw / bv / nb / nbd / ca / fd in status JSON.	v22+
v15	2026-05	Non-blocking OTA serial writes + faster WDT recovery.	v15+
v14	2026-05	OTA dongle lockup recovery + flash_recover escalation + flash_ping liveness command.	v15+
v10	2026-05	OTA flash mode. New flash_begin / flash_data / flash_end / flash_abort serial commands.	v15+
v9	2026-05	Clamp clockSyncIntervalMs and friends; scrub queued commands on forget.	v9+
v7	2026-05	Push-on-arrival receiver telemetry (rxupd JSON line per ACK).	v9+
v6	2026-05	RF spectrum scan command + active ch in per-second status.	v9+
v5	2026-04	Host-driven receiver registration: forget IDENT serial command.	v9+
v4	2026-04	ACK-payload protocol overhaul. TDMA-style polling, MAX_RECEIVERS=32, packed SHOW_LOADN.	v9+
v3	2025-01	Migrated from RF24Mesh to pure RF24 with deterministic addressing.	v7+
v2	2025-01	Added FW_VERSION tracking system with version-history comments.	v6+
v1	—	Initial: basic mesh networking and command queuing. Not separately documented.	—

What's in each download

Each dongle release ships four files (mirroring the receiver build layout):

os4_dongle_v<N>.bin              app partition           (flash @ 0x10000)
os4_dongle_v<N>.bootloader.bin   chip bootloader         (flash @ 0x1000)
os4_dongle_v<N>.partitions.bin   partition table         (flash @ 0x8000)
os4_dongle_v<N>.boot_app0.bin    OTA next-app pointer    (flash @ 0xe000)

The dongle has no over-the-air update path — it's wired-only, but updates are quick (it's right there on USB). Routine updates only need the .bin; first-time flashes need all four.

How to upgrade

See Flashing a dongle. The host won't talk to a dongle running an incompatible firmware version — when in doubt, upgrade both ends to the latest pair.

How to add a new release page

1. Build and publish the firmware with ownerutils/deploy_dongle_firmware.
2. Confirm the four .bin files are available under https://backyard-hero.com/download/firmware/dongle/.
3. Add a row at the top of the table above and create a Firmware-Dongle-v<N>.md page modeled after v16 with the new release notes.
4. Update the Latest releases section of Firmware downloads.