Some notes on updating CPS and radio firmware

Updating the firmware is (IMHO) an important aspect of maintaining MOTOTRBO two-way radios. Apart from the enhancements and new features, these updates may contain one or more bug fixes. 

CPS2 is the recommended software needed to program individual radios; however, for larger fleets, my preference is to use Radio Management (even if some/all of the radios don't support OTAP).

In EMEA, CPS2 can be supplied by Motorola Solutions or one of their Reseller Partners, on a DVD by ordering GMVN6241C. From my own experience, most folk will simply share this with their customers on a stick etc. EMEA Reseller Partners will also have access to Motorola Online and are able to find all the software there.

You can find a complete and up to date listing of all relevant MOTOTRBO software versions here.

The firmware packages themselves are provided free, however, in order to upgrade higher tier radios beyond R02.10.01.0000, the radios either need to be in warranty or covered by a software maintenance agreement. The DP540*; DP1400; SL1600; DM1400 and DM1600 are considered low tier radios and can be upgraded even if they are not covered by any support agreement or hardware warranty.

MOTOTRBO radios shipped in EMEA as of November 2019, will come standard with a 5-year software maintenance agreement as well as a number of premium features free of charge. These radios can be upgraded as needed.

When I say higher tier radios, I mean the:

• SL2600
• DP2000 series; 
• DP3441;3661; 3441e and DP3661e
• DP4000 series
• DM4000 series
• SL4000 series

If you're going to keep pre-R02.10.01.0000 firmware in your PC you might need to keep CPS 16.0 (828) as the older firmware installation packages look for the presence of this when run. The update can be carried out in CPS2 as usual.

If you have a very old radio with very old firmware (a DP4601, for example; that is on firmware R02.02.00), you should not upgrade to the latest firmware in one go:

1. If the radio is covered by a support agreement (i.e. you bought a software maintenance agreement or a service package), first upgrade to R02.10.08.0001 then to the latest (currently M2020.01 though this will change in a few weeks).
2. If the radio is not covered by any support agreement, I would suggest first upgrading to R02.60.xx then to whatever you have/need.
3. The same is true for repeaters.

Firmware updates can be done via the programming cable or Wi-Fi (if the radio has this). It is not possible to upgrade the firmware over the air.