Issue
During a upgrade where the meter is in normal operation the meter will display the text Upgrading on the LCD screen.  Also the communication LED (L2) will be toggling as communication traffic goes back and forth from the computer or server to the meter.

Additionally, the Firmware Upgrade dialog box in ION Setup will show status updates every 10% during the firmware upgrade process.
If there are any troubles with communications between the meter and the computer ION setup will show entries in the Firmware Upgrade dialog box that look like the ones shown below.

In this case the RS-485 cable that was connected to the meter was disconnected to simulate a loss of communications.  These messages are just signs that communications have been lost for one reason or another.  In this case the user should not assume that their meter is broken.  If the user finds that these messages continue then they may choose to Abort the upgrade and restart.  However they should first be sure that the communication line between the computer and the meter is properly connected before aborting the upgrade.

Note:If a user chooses to restart their firmware upgrade it is not necessary and not recommended to power cycle their meter before restarting the upgrade.

In this example the RS-485 connection was re-connected after two No Response entries into the Firmware Upgrade dialog box.  As seen below the upgrade process continued once the connection was re-established.

If communications do not resume ION Setup will try to re-establish communications a number of times.  If there is no response after those tries ION Setup will consider the upgrade a failure and end the process.  The log below displays what this situation would look like.

Excerpt from the ION Setup Upgrade.log file:

This is the beginning of the firmware upgrade process.  ION Setup records the date, meter type, Serial Number, Unit ID and baud rate. Also each step in the process is documented here.

Upgrade started at Thursday, March 06, 2008 3:57:48 PM
Software Version (Build): Version 2.1 (Build 676)
Firmware Version = 7350V283
Firmware dated Wed Aug 22 13:24:58 2007
Device Name = ion7350
Device Serial Number = PC-0209A001-11
Device Unit ID = 105
Device BaudRate = 9600
Device already in download state
Flash memory cleared
Proceeding with firmware download
10% completed
Comm efficiency = 100.0%
20% completed
Comm efficiency = 100.0%
30% completed
Comm efficiency = 100.0%
40% completed
Comm efficiency = 100.0%
50% completed
Comm efficiency = 100.0%
60% completed
Comm efficiency = 100.0%
70% completed
Comm efficiency = 100.0%
80% completed
Comm efficiency = 100.0%
90% completed
Comm efficiency = 100.0%

This is where ION Setup tries to re-send communication packets to the meter and waits for a response.

No response... resending (1 of 439)
No response... resending (2 of 440)
No response... resending (3 of 441)
No response... resending (4 of 442)
No response... resending (5 of 443)
No response... resending (6 of 444)
No response... resending (7 of 445)
No response... resending (8 of 446)
No response... resending (9 of 447)
No response... resending (10 of 448)
No response... aborting (11 of 449)
Upgrade failed at Thursday, March 06, 2008 5:07:48 PM

After a number of tries ION Setup will end the upgrade process. You will see the following screen once an upgrade has failed.

Exit this screen and you will be advised that communication has been lost, as seen below.

Press OK and you will be prompted again as seen below.

Completely exit ION Setup and proceed to the Resolution below to recover your firmware upgrade.

If the meter was de-energized during the firmware upgrade process it will not display the words "Upgrading..." when it is re-energized.  This is shown in the figure below.

To confirm that the meter should still functioning, check the backlight on the meters LCD is on, and the life sign LED (L2) located on the back of the meter is toggling approximately 1 time per second.  These are good signs and indicate that the meter is functioning as it should.  The figure below shows L2 while it is lit.

Product Line
ION7300 series
ION Setup

Environment
Firmware Upgrade

Cause
One known cause of this problem is the loss of main power to the meter or a loss of communications during a firmware upgrade.

Resolution
*Warning: The firmware utilities listed here can cause permanent damage to your product if applied incorrectly. Before downloading any firmware updates, verify the firmware you are downloading is appropriate for the specific model number of your product. If you have any doubts, contact Technical Support for guidance.* *Warning: Devices should be disconnected from all monitoring software before performing a firmware upgrade*

If an ION73xx meter loses communications or power during a firmware upgrade it is still possible to resume the upgrade process.  This is because when the firmware upgrade process begins the meter is set to upgrade mode and the meter remains in this state (even if power cycled) because the upgrade kernel is stored in flash.

Note:When restarting the firmware upgrade it is not necessary and not recommended to power cycle the meter before restarting the upgrade.

The firmware upgrade can be restarted automatically as of ION Setup in V2.2, build 716 using single device mode. The firmware upgrade can also be restarted manually using network mode.

Note: If an upgrade fails on an ION73xx series meter, any settings or changes made to the template of the device will not be retained. These settings include PT/CT settings, Clock Settings, Nameplate Settings, Energy Readings and ITC Settings. This is because the upgrade temporarily backed up the settings of the template to the computer via ION Setup. When the connection is lost and ION Setup is restarted, those settings are not retained. In this case a saved copy of the template being used will be required. If you do not have a saved copy of your particular template, you can manually restore appropriate settings using the factory supplied template.

It is recommended that the latest version of ION Setup is used for this process, which can be found in FA212816. Be sure to connect communication cables to the same port that was being used during the original upgrade.  Once all connections are made follow the steps below.

Automatic recovery using Single ION Device configuration mode:

1. Close ION Setup, if it has not been closed since the failed upgrade
2. Open ION Setup.
3. Select single ION device configuration mode and login.

4. Select the appropriate connection type, enter the appropriate information (port, phone number or IP), and press OK to connect to the desired device.

5. If your ION 73xx family meter is currently in upgrade mode, ION Setup will recognize this state and will provide the prompt as shown below. Select Yes to recover your firmware upgrade.

6. At this point you will be prompted to select an ION Firmware Upgrade file (*.UPG), as shown below. Select the firmware file required for the upgrade. Press Open.

7. ION Setup will now resume your upgrade as shown below.

8. Once the upgrade is completed the following prompt will appear.

9. Press Exit and you will be returned to the Select Connection Type screen, shown below. At this stage in the process you will be prompted to upload the appropriate template to the device.

10. Select the appropriate connection type, enter the appropriate information (port, phone number or IP), and press OK to connect to the device. You will now be brought to the Setup Assistant screen. Click on the Template settings found in the left pane. Now click the Send to Meter tab shown below. This will allow you to select and upload the appropriate template to the meter. Click the Send button shown below.

11. You will now be prompted by the following window. Click OK and you will be prompted to select the ION Setup Device Configuration File (Template).

12. Select the template you wish to apply to the meter and press Open.

13. You will now be prompted by the Template Paste Options window. As explained at the top of the resolution section, when a failed firmware upgrade occurs, custom settings saved to your template are not retained. As a consequence the template paste options screen has no effect. The check boxes shown in the graphic below can be left checked or not as they have no effect. Again, the settings and data below (PT/CT settings, Clock Settings, Nameplate Settings, Energy Readings, ITC Settings), will not be retained and must be manually restored.

14. Once you have pressed OK on the window above, you will see the following status window appear indicating the template is being uploaded to the device. Allow the process to complete.

15. Upon completion, the window below will appear indicating the template was successfully applied to the device.

16. Press OK and you will be returned to the Setup Assistant window.
17. It is recommended to once again, completely exit ION Setup and reconnect to the device. This is to ensure that ION Setup returns to normal operating mode instead of Firmware Recovery Mode. The upgrade recovery of your ION73xx family device is now complete.

1. Close ION Setup, if it has not been closed since the failed upgrade
2. Open ION Setup.
3. Make sure Single ION device configuration mode is not selected and login.

4. Add the meter that was being upgraded into the network. See FA346479 for the ION Setup User Guide.
   1. If the previous connection was in the Single Device mode and/or the UNIT ID and baud rate are unknown. They can easily be found in the ION Setup upgrade.log file located in the install directory of ION Setup.  The ION Setup default install directory is:

D:\Program Files\Schneider Electric\ION Setup.

2. ION Setup will append the upgrade logs of each upgrade that it performs to the file.  So a record of any upgrade ever performed by a given installation of ION Setup is always available for reference later.  In this example the device is a 7350, its UNIT ID is 105 and it was communicating at a baud rate of 9600 kbps.

3. If connecting to the ION7300 serially, right click on the site and select properties.
4. Under the Timings tab set Transmit Delay to 100ms or greater.  This allows more time for the meter to respond to any data transmissions from ION Setup.

5. After the site is properly configured create a meter on the site with the same UNIT ID as the meter.

5. Start the firmware upgrade by right clicking on the meter and selecting properties.

6. Then in the properties dialog box select the Tools tab and click on Firmware Upgrade.

7. At this point the firmware upgrade will proceed just like a regular firmware upgrade.  The user will be prompted to select an upgrade file and template file.  Under the Template Paste Options it is recommended to de-select all the options as if any are selected ION Setup will try to communicate via ION to get the information.

8. When the upgrade starts the user should see the line "Device already in download state" appear in the Firmware Upgrade dialog box.

9. When the upgrade is complete the user should see the following screen.