Flir E4 Thermal imaging camera teardown

[kaz911]

So in other words I should cancel my order now

I would think that firmware updates have not reached the production line yet. And we only have 1 confirmation so far that the new firmware blocks the update. The person who tried might have made a mistake in trying to update.  So I would still get the camera

[Edit: And remember the report is from a new 1 post user - might be a HackADay referral - and his report is 2nd hand. He also mentions that the E5 owner could not get the front panel serial to work any longer - which would imply that the E5 user/owner is quite technical - so why have we not heard from the owner here? So it might be FUD released from Flir - or it might be genuine... but...]

[mikeselectricstuff]

So in other words I should cancel my order now

Up to you, but hard to say.
Any new orders should probably be made conditional on FW version though till we know more.

[sipo75]

So in other words I should cancel my order now

If you are into hearsay, yes. One more old stock item left for the more daring.

[mikeselectricstuff]

[Edit: And remember the report is from a new 1 post user - might be a HackADay referral - and his report is 2nd hand. He also mentions that the E5 owner could not get the front panel serial to work any longer - which would imply that the E5 user/owner is quite technical - so why have we not heard from the owner here? So it might be FUD released from Flir - or it might be genuine... but...]

If it's FUD, Flir would be the last people to propagate it as the only effect would be to kill E4 sales. If anything it would be more likely Fluke
However I very much doubt FUD (unless just trolling) as anyone reading this thread knows there are plenty of units on their way to users here so it wont be more than a day or two before we know more, at least as regards units in the distribution chain now.

[ovnr]

Well, mine was just shipped. *crosses fingers*

[cynfab]

First post and new to eevblog. But not to hacking various electronics.

Add me to the list of new E4 owners/modders.
After fiddling with Windoze for far too long yesterday I finally got the e3.cfg installed and working, Wow what a difference.

Heartfelt thanks to Mike and all the others who made this possible.

Don't forget to apply for your freebies from FLIR,
http://www.flir.com/thermography/americas/us/view/?id=62227

I see that there is some talk of FLIR "upgrading" repair cameras to newer non-hackable firmware.
FWIW FLIR's download page   http://flir.custhelp.com/app/account/fl_download_software  still lists 1.18.7 update pack as the most recent for the Ex series. (just checked again, but YMMV) (you probably need to be registered & logged in to get to the downloads pages)
Given the talent here I'm sure that 1.20.?? is not the end of the story.

[olsenn]

Bear in mind that the one unconfirmed report from a new user relates to a unit that was sent back for repair, so we don't know what is in the current supply chain (though we know the chain is short from the recent cal dates).

How are away are the calibration dates from the sipping dates?

[cynfab]

My calibration date was Oct 2, 2013 ship date (to me) was Nov 6, 2013,

S/N: 639037xx
Site: FLIR Systems OU, Estonia
Firmware: 1.18.7

[firewire]

Bold statement on FLIR's website:

"As the global leader in infrared cameras and thermography equipment, FLIR ensures that your support begins, not ends, at the time of purchase. With over 60 sales and service offices worldwide, you are never far from a FLIR support representative."

The end bit would suggest you can use your new E4 as a tourist

Plus all E-series are 9hz indicating global use.

[lewis]

First post and new to eevblog. But not to hacking various electronics.

Add me to the list of new E4 owners/modders.
After fiddling with Windoze for far too long yesterday I finally got the e3.cfg installed and working, Wow what a difference.

Heartfelt thanks to Mike and all the others who made this possible.

Don't forget to apply for your freebies from FLIR,
http://www.flir.com/thermography/americas/us/view/?id=62227

I see that there is some talk of FLIR "upgrading" repair cameras to newer non-hackable firmware.
FWIW FLIR's download page   http://flir.custhelp.com/app/account/fl_download_software  still lists 1.18.7 update pack as the most recent for the Ex series. (just checked again, but YMMV) (you probably need to be registered & logged in to get to the downloads pages)
Given the talent here I'm sure that 1.20.?? is not the end of the story.

Confirmed (see screenshot), last firmware update was October 17th, version 1.18.7. There might have been some 'emergency' firmware quickly installed on the previous poster's friend's E4 to counteract this hack, but it seems the most current 'official' version is still hackable. I should be receiving my camera tomorrow, will report back.

[mikeselectricstuff]

so it is plausible that Version 20 is the new hack countermeasure.

Or just a routine scheduled production tidy-up to remove debug features now they've shipped enough to be confident that there aren't any major bugs.
Will be interesting to see if they've actually fixed the 2 actual 'bugs' in the older version - bootup messages onscreen if button rpessed during startup, and lack of time/date in the file info screen. Or maybe even addressd issues I raised in the review, though we know some of the apparently unused keys are actually used for some functions in higher models.

[olsenn]

Unfortunately, the official website is an invalid indication of current firmware. There have already been E4's shipped with firmware newer than 1.18.7

[mamalala]

Unfortunately, the official website is an invalid indication of current firmware. There have already been E4's shipped with firmware newer than 1.18.7

Where are you located, and did you buy the camera online? If you are in the EU, and bought it online, you should be able to check it out and then return it within 14 days if you don't like it, and then get the money and all expenses back, under EU customer protection laws for sales done online. And since the price is above 40 Euros, you don't have to pay for the return shipment either.

Greetings,

Chris

[mrflibble]

Confirmed (see screenshot), last firmware update was October 17th, version 1.18.7. There might have been some 'emergency' firmware quickly installed on the previous poster's friend's E4 to counteract this hack, but it seems the most current 'official' version is still hackable. I should be receiving my camera tomorrow, will report back.

And let's not discount the possibility of user error. This is only one report, and not first hand, right? Anyways, we'll find out soon enough when more people get their E4. Especially the ones currently on backorder.

Should the newer firmwares really be fixed for the current hack, there's still loads of options. If this really is a "fix the hack" update, then the obvious choice is just downgrade to a known to work version. Either through the standard FlirInstallNet, or absolute worst case it's jtag time.

Incidentally, I was reversing the usb protocol used by FlirInstallNet ... but I got a bit sidetracked.  Currently busy with a python script for unlocking some features + generic data logging.

At any rate, if the 1.20.3 firmware really is a Flir fix in response to the E4 hack then it would be useful if we could get the versions + build dates. And obviously a dump of the new firmware. Did I understand correctly that the USB mode menu is no longer working on 1.20.3? Or maybe they just bound it to a new key combo. 

[mikeselectricstuff]

Firmware News update

I have just spoken with David at PASS.

My E4 was despatched today. All signs are that it is an old firmware 

What signs - did they say if they'd checked FW version of their current stock?

[mrflibble]

Many suppliers advertise money back guarantees but the only issue I have met is with digital cameras and software. Once a digital camera has had a picture taken, some suppliers consider it 'Used' and as such non-resalable. I suggest you do not take any thermal pictures with the camera before confirming its firmware status.

For those in the EU, if you bought it through a webshop you should have a 2 week period to decide "No sir, didn't like it" and send it back (oh, and get a refund XD).

[mrflibble]

What I heard from David did not sound promising  I don't want to misquote him, but I thought there was mention of delaying shipment's and new firmware, but please confirm this if buying an E4 as I may have misheard what was said.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the new firmware "fixes" things. But we really need more info, so for now I guess it's business as usual until we get some more data.

[London Lad]

Mine was shipped by PASS this morning! Fingers crossed.

[mikeselectricstuff]

PASS also appear to have a communications channel to FLIR HQ ?

As a distributor I would rather hope so....  When they called me after my review  they mentioned they were the biggest FLIR UK distributor.
Maybe they'd like to feed back that most of the recent rush of purchases are from people that wouldn't have bought any TIC if the hack hadn't happenned

[mamalala]

Many suppliers advertise money back guarantees but the only issue I have met is with digital cameras and software. Once a digital camera has had a picture taken, some suppliers consider it 'Used' and as such non-resalable. I suggest you do not take any thermal pictures with the camera before confirming its firmware status.

That's exactly the kind of thing why that customer protection legislation was put in place, as far as "off premise" sales are concerned. It is meant to give the customer a chance to check out the goods, in some attempt to "emulate" an on-premise sale where you could actually try out the stuff beforehand. Since that is not possible with distance and off-premise sales, the 14 day period was put into place.

Greetings,

Chris

[mamalala]

It is probably some knee jerk reaction from the bean counters without considering the long term implications.

That would be my guess as well. After all, those bean counters concern themselves only with stuff happening in a quarter year, until the next report is due.

Greetings,

Chris

[ixfd64]

It might be a good idea to preemptively look for a new way to hack the device before the new firmware (if it really exists) becomes standard.

[mrflibble]

It might be a good idea to preemptively look for a new way to hack the device before the new firmware (if it really exists) becomes standard.

Heh, I suspect you and I are not the only ones that thought of that one. The main preemptive task was just to grab all the online resources you can find before they go *poof*. And check out the possibility to do some vague non-descript stuff. After that, it's just wait and see what they did.

I have high hopes that we can work around it, especially if it is a pointy haired knee jerk reaction. Those kind of fixes tend to suck, due to lack of thinking time.

[PA0PBZ]

It might be a good idea to preemptively look for a new way to hack the device before the new firmware (if it really exists) becomes standard.

I disagree, we need the new firmware to look at (other) ways to hack the device. I would be very surprised if it was not hackable anymore, and with the knowledge we have now I bet that it is going to take less time this time, whatever they have done. It's clear that it is just software, the hardware will still be the same, and the new firmware has been put together in a hurry (assuming that it has been created to stop the current hack).

[olsenn]

Greedy bastards! Instead of thinking, "look at all these E4 sales, thanks to this hack we are making a fortune", they are thinking, "look at all these E4 sales, no thanks to this hack we are losing a fortune"!