Firmware Upgrade Guides: Obihai 2xx/3xx/10xx/21xx

primerisk

Hello everyone!

I recently had a lightning strike at my home and it fried my OBi202 that I had used for many, many years. Unfortunately I didn’t heed the warnings of others to configure a 2nd device before HP shutdown the ObiTalk service and I was stuck looking for alternatives. Luckily I found obifirmware.com that promises to be able to breathe new life into your OBi devices. The only problem is the support and guidance for installing the firmware was over on the now-defunct DSLReports website.

Not to fear! Reddit users to the rescue! I scrubbed through dozens of posts and was able to cobble together guides to update your OBi2xx/3xx, OBi1xxx, and OBi21xx devices with the 3rd party software posted on obifirmware.com and links to those guides are below (Google Docs versions)

I take no credit for any of the wonderful work of the folks at obifirmware.com, all props to them for their hard work and dedication to bring our OBi devices back to life with Google Voice.

OBi2xx/3xx devices:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_6k0-z18mzHbj0y_vmph_yk5b-FCqqaPNSScAQU5wjM/edit?usp=sharing

OBi10xx devices:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TTWPpZ8BVYzRjNLHEKEf50IPmPyaOah1XMJZAIhgzQw/edit?usp=sharing

OBi21xx devices:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/142HOI5pqUHc-6qCbLTm2twVDe-80PopUZIAMVXlIz2U/edit?usp=sharing

Feedback and comments for improvement are welcome!

Fala

primerisk I have used your guide to update a 1 OBi1032 and 3 OBi2182 units. I currently have a working OBi2182 with 3 Callcentric accounts, and 3 working Google accounts. I would like to update this unit, but hate the idea of having to setup each account again.

EDIT: I did update the working OBi2182 and all the settings remained intact during the upgrade process. {Can I backup the Configuration on the current firmware/setup and restore it with the new firmware after the update?}

The guide was well put together.

Mario

primerisk
Thank you very much for the guide. I’ve try to do by myself, but where not possible. I’ll follow your guide for my OBI 201.

primerisk

Fala I subscribe to “If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It”. Unless there is some config feature that you really, really have to get access to, I’d just leave it be. Just download all of the firmware now and you can always upgrade it in the future if something goes wonky (technical term).

If you must tempt fate, I upgraded one OBi2182 for my BIL and all the configs stuck, no backup and restore required. Depending on your starting firmware version YMMV and you may have to setup the Google Voice configs again. If you download and save your config, the other SIP service settings restore just fine, you only have to re-enter the passwords. GV configs do not transfer in my experience.

Fala

primerisk I did go ahead and update the other OBi2182 and the settings were unaffected by the three firmware updates. Thanks!

Duxa

Thanks for this. My unit is still working, but this will be useful in the future!

patlaw

I have a number of 1022s that I’ve tried to configure for non-Google accounts, but I’m not able to get the phones to recognize the accounts. Has anyone experienced any problems using this firmware, such as bricking the phone? If the update fails, can the firmware be rolled back?

TallguyNJ

THANK YOU. Instructions worked perfectly.

cockpitbbb

I did this it worked fine for a few weeks, then I got this error:

https://i.imgur.com/irB5Yoe.png

primerisk

cockpitbbb The only time I’ve seen these issues is when the service was backing off. Log into the device and view the System Status. See if you are getting a message like “Backing off” or “Service Unavailable”. If so, unplug the device for 5 minutes and then plug it back in. If you are getting a Authorization or Password error, you need to reconfigure the SP.

kuro

Thanks for the detailed tutorial.
I tried configuring on my obi300 today, but kept getting “Connecting to 216.239.36.145;Token Error”. I tried to get a new token several times but it didn’t work.

kuro

kuro it started to work normally now without any changes

cgrohs

Hey thanks for the guide! I am having trouble getting my obi200 to take an IP address. I have it disassembled and have a root shell via the uart serial. In the logs it looks like its unable to get a dhcp lease from the router. I have also tried setting the IP manually, no luck. Interestingly the ethernet port is eth1 and is treated as a WAN? Running dhcpc -i eth1 does not cause an error (as eth0 is the default) but still no dhcp lease. Any advice?

Also tried resetting to factory settings.

OzarkEdge

cgrohs

The single Ethernet/WAN port on a reset OBi200 should be using DHCP to secure its IPv4 address from your router/DHCP server. The Internet LED should flash intermittantly green with data activity.

Assuming your default OBi200 is healthy, have you tried using a different Ethernet cable and LAN port on your router? Did you reset your OBi200 using the pin hole in the bottom (hold for 15 seconds until the Power LED flashes red)?

What is the history of your OBi200… did it work? Did you buy it used? Maybe its Ethernet port is dead… does your router report a healthy LAN port connection to the OBi?

cgrohs

OzarkEdge I bought it used which makes me worried… I will try the reset again. Whats odd is the LED does flash with activity, especially when i do arp scans. I did not check the router config, good idea.

Just tried it: reset puts me in the same situation. Its trying to get dhcp but cant. Also after a few minutes it reboots, seems to be some kind of watchdog.

OzarkEdge

cgrohs Just tried it: reset puts me in the same situation. Its trying to get dhcp but cant. Also after a few minutes it reboots

Feels like something is corrupt. I wonder if the AC/DC power adapter is faulty and underpowering the OBi.

cgrohs

Adapter is rated for 12v at 1 amp, which should be good. The reboots seem to be consistently timed. I am thinking maybe my firmware is corrupt, is there some other way to flash the new firmware? Maybe with the FireFoxAV bootloader?

cgrohs

Ok I think something is definitely defective. Running a command like tftpboot from the bootloader just causes the device to stop. No lights no nothing just gone.

pqcracker

Greetings,

Just want to say that this still works! The 404 page not found that is expected when getting the authentication token looks different than it does in the guide, which caused me to panic ever-so-slightly, but everything still worked beautifully.

I was very reluctant to start messing with my obi200 because it has been working with Google Voice for many years, but I took a chance because I had a bad feeling that something was going to happen to disrupt my enjoyment of the service. As I get older I am much more inclined to take the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, but I took a chance and it worked out favorably. Many, many thanks to everyone who contributed to this effort. I am grateful to those who provided the knowledge that I lacked and equally grateful to those who have ensured that access to the information still remains available, especially considering what happened to DSL Reports. You are all heroes!