Read the firmware revision on the panel's system information screen before every project transfer, and read it again when the transfer ends. A transfer session can install firmware along with the screens, and the revision that lands can differ from the one on record. If the two readings differ, attempt no further transfer: restore firmware only through the manufacturer's own software release for that panel model, never from a copy of a firmware file.
Before a project transfer to an operator panel, read the firmware revision the panel itself displays and write it down. Read it again when the transfer finishes. One programming session can load screens and install firmware together, and the revision that lands can differ from the one the machine record expects. The revision sits on one line of the panel's system information screen, so the before and after comparison takes about 1 minute and a photograph.
Plan the transfer window at 15 minutes, which covers the backup, the transfer and the panel's reboot of about 2 minutes. This checklist covers what to record before the transfer, what the manufacturer's release notes and compatibility list tell you, what to check afterwards, and what to have on hand if the revision comes back wrong. Firmware goes back on a panel only through the manufacturer's own software release, never from a copy of a firmware file.
Read the revision before you transfer
Open the panel's setup or diagnostics menu and find the system information screen. Record three things, and photograph the panel while you are there:
- The revision on the panel now. This is the baseline every later reading is compared against.
- The programming software version and build you will transfer with, from the software's about screen. Write the exact numbers; 3.1 and 3.1A are different releases, and the difference matters.
- The revision on record for the machine, from the commissioning sheet or the maintenance log.
If the displayed revision and the maintenance record already disagree, resolve that before any transfer. Two unknowns in the history cannot be separated afterwards. Keeping the installed revision on file is the same discipline controller teams apply, and a write-up on reading and tracking a controller's installed firmware revision shows the practice from the controller side.
What the firmware revision changes
Manufacturers publish two documents worth reading before a transfer. The release notes for each firmware revision say what the revision adds or fixes. One operator panel family's 2025 changelog added Modbus master support; an earlier revision in the same family corrected the display of signed 16-bit Modbus values. A revision can change what the panel can do, not just how it looks.
The firmware compatibility list on the manufacturer's download page says which revisions a given product accepts. Read it against the software release you plan to install: the list decides whether that release accepts the project you are about to send. Controller projects carry the same kind of matching on their side, and a write-up on changing a controller project's revision for firmware compatibility shows how the pairing is handled there.
Before the transfer
Work through this list before the cable is connected:
- Back up the project in the panel and test the copy. Label the backup with the panel's revision and the software version, and open it once to confirm it loads. Backups carried across on a CD-R commonly arrive read-only and refuse to open; a backup from a CD-R that will not open has its own fix.
- Confirm the release on the manufacturer's download page supports the panel model, and read its firmware compatibility list before you install anything.
- Install firmware only through the documented update procedure for that exact panel model.
- Give operators a plan for the transfer window. Either the machine sits in a site-approved stopped state for the duration, or operators keep the status they need by another means. An HMI interruption mid-cycle can leave an operator without required indication, so choose the window deliberately. Allow 15 minutes end to end.
- Note the panel model and its serial or order number. Support will ask for them, and the model decides which releases are valid.
After the transfer
Work down this list in order:
- Read the revision again from the same system information screen and compare it with the photograph. The comparison itself takes about 1 minute. A finished progress bar tells you the session ended; the two readings tell you what the session changed.
- Load the approved project and confirm the screens, navigation and controls match the commissioning record.
- With the machine in the site-approved test state, exercise Start and the other commands operators use, and watch the responses on the controller side.
- If the revision moved and no firmware update was planned, stop there. Make no further transfer from this state; each further attempt can overwrite the evidence and the only usable project.
- If the panel is power cycled later and comes up without its project, treat that as a separate fault: a panel that loses its project after a power cycle has its own first checks.
- If a restore attempt fails after a reboot, that failure also has a dedicated checklist: a project restore that fails after reboot.
Example: one transfer moved two versions
The machine record reads: panel firmware D.5, programming software 3.1, project backed up and labelled with both. An engineer opens software 3.1 to send a screen change, presses Start, and the transfer plus reboot takes about 2 minutes. The panel comes up, and the system information line that read D.5 yesterday now reads D.2.
Compare the readings:
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Expected revision, from the record | D.5 |
| Revision read after the transfer | D.2 |
| Revision lines moved, unplanned | 1 |
| Further transfers to attempt now | 0 |
| Software versions in play | 3.1 on the bench, 3.1A on the manufacturer's download page |
Read against expected: D.2 against D.5, one revision line moved without anyone choosing a firmware update. That single moved line is the diagnosis: the session installed a different firmware along with the screens, and the project that landed was written for D.2. Loading a D.4 file from another panel looks like a shortcut and is not one, because D.4 and D.5 are different revisions, and the compatibility list, not habit, decides whether the approved project accepts either.
The route back runs through the manufacturer's own release:
- Get the current software release, here 3.1A, from the manufacturer.
- Check that its compatibility list names the panel model and a revision the approved project accepts.
- Back up the panel's present project, labelled with the D.2 reading.
- Follow the release's documented update and transfer sequence, exactly as printed. Expect the panel to reboot at least once during the write.
- Read the revision again and expect the documented value, reload the labelled project, and repeat the Start test.
If the compatibility list does not name the panel model, stop and ask the manufacturer's support line with the readings, the versions and the transfer history in hand.
What to have ready for the manufacturer's support line
Support can name the release and the documented procedure for the exact panel when the file in front of them is complete. Have these on hand:
- Panel model and the serial or order number
- The revision photographs, before and after, with dates
- The programming software version and build used, and the release you plan to move to
- The labelled project backup and its date
- What the transfer session reported, and when the change was first noticed
- Which screen or command first showed something wrong
With that set, the conversation moves from identifying what is on the panel to naming the release that restores it, which is the conversation that ends the fault. And if it is the notice board next to the panel that is due for replacement, our shop-floor screens and andon-style boards category is where a quote starts.
Recommendation: photograph the revision on the panel's system information screen before every project transfer and file it with the software version and the labelled backup; read the revision again when the transfer ends. If the two readings differ, attempt no further transfer until you hold the manufacturer's own release for that panel model and its documented update procedure.
Questions
Where does an operator panel show its firmware revision?
On the panel's setup or diagnostics menu, on a system information screen. The menu path varies by panel family; one widely used operator panel family prints it under Terminal Settings → System Information, next to the model. The manual for the exact panel names the path. Photograph the screen and file the photo in the machine's maintenance record so every later transfer has a baseline reading to compare against.
Does every project download change the panel's firmware?
No. Some sessions load screens only. Manufacturers document firmware installation as its own procedure inside the programming software, and some releases combine the two in one transfer, so the behavior depends on the software release and the panel model. The release notes and the firmware compatibility list say which applies to yours, and the before and after readings on the panel settle what actually happened. An unplanned revision change is a stop signal: no further transfer until the manufacturer's own release and procedure are in hand.
Can a firmware file from another panel restore the revision?
No. Firmware comes from the manufacturer or its distributor, inside the release their documentation names for the exact panel model. A copy passed along by e-mail or kept on a shared drive has no documented origin and may not match the panel variant, and a wrong or interrupted firmware write can leave the panel without a working system. Ask the manufacturer's support line for the release and the update procedure for the model in front of you.
Planning information, not legal or engineering advice. Rules differ by place: check codes and permits with your local authority and your licensed trades.