Upload a New Firmware File to the Radio

This page explains how to load a firmware image onto your FLEX-8600 using the Radio Setup dialog. You would do this to update the radio to a specific firmware version without using the automatic update check.

Before you start

• AetherSDR must be connected to the radio. The Radio (tab) will not populate correctly without a live connection.
• Download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com and note where it is saved on your computer. AetherSDR accepts .msi (FlexRadio v4.2+ WiX installer), .exe (older self-extracting installer), or a pre-extracted .ssdr firmware file.
• Do not transmit during the upload.

Steps

1. Open Settings > Radio Setup....
2. Click the Radio tab.
3. Click Select Installer... to open a file chooser.
4. Navigate to the installer or firmware file on your computer, select it, and confirm. AetherSDR auto-detects the format from the file header and extracts the .ssdr if needed. A status message appears while the firmware is being prepared.
5. When the status indicates the firmware is ready, click Upload Firmware.
6. Watch the progress bar and status text below the button. Wait until the status indicates the upload is complete before doing anything else.
7. Reboot the radio as directed by the firmware release notes to apply the new firmware.

What each control does

Control	Kind	Behavior
Radio SN	Indicator	Chassis serial number (read-only). Shows the chassis serial if available, otherwise the radio serial. Displays an em dash (—) if no value is reported. A small copy button appears next to the value on hover or focus; click it to copy the serial number to the clipboard.
Region	Indicator	Radio regulatory region.
HW Version	Indicator	Hardware version string. Displays an em dash (—) if empty, prefixed with v if no leading v. A copy button is available.
Model	Indicator	Radio model. A copy button is available.
Nickname	Text field	User-friendly radio nickname.
Callsign	Text field	Station callsign.
Station Name	Text field	Identifies this AetherSDR client to other multiFLEX stations. Defaults to the OS hostname if empty. Stored in AppSettings as StationName. Sent to radio as client station <name>.
Remote On	Button	Enables remote wake / remote-on.
Options	Indicator	Shows licensed radio options. Displays the radio's reported option string or, if empty, inserts sensible defaults (e.g. GPS, PGXL if the radio has an amplifier, otherwise GPS). A copy button is available.
FlexControl	Indicator	Detected state of FlexControl hardware.
multiFLEX	Indicator	multiFLEX enabled state.
License Info	Indicator	Displays license details (Subscription / Expiration / Radio ID / Licensed version) from the radio.
Check for Update	Button	Queries for available firmware updates. If an update is found, the status area shows the available version and instructs you to download the SmartSDR installer from flexradio.com, then use Select Installer... to stage it.
Select Installer...	Button	Opens a file dialog that accepts .msi (FlexRadio v4.2+ WiX installer), .exe (older self-extracting installer), or a pre-extracted .ssdr file. The firmware stager auto-detects the format from the first 8 bytes (OLE/MSI magic vs PE/COFF MZ) and extracts the .ssdr without external tools. A status message is shown while the file is being prepared. Renamed from Browse .ssdr... in v26.5.3.
Upload Firmware	Button	Starts the upload using the file staged by Select Installer.... A progress bar and status text appear below and update as the transfer proceeds.
Reboot Radio	Button	Displays a confirmation dialog and then sends a reboot command to the radio. On LAN connections, AetherSDR automatically reconnects after the radio finishes booting. On SmartLink/WAN connections, you must reconnect manually. The button is disabled when the radio is disconnected. New in v26.6.3.
Reboot: label	Field label	Descriptor label next to the Reboot Radio button. New in v26.6.3.
TX Follows Active Slice	Button	TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with Active Slice Follows TX. Disabled automatically during Split operation. Stored in AppSettings as TxFollowsActiveSlice.
Active Slice Follows TX	Button	Switches the active slice when TX moves externally (e.g. WSJT-X or CAT). Mutually exclusive with TX Follows Active Slice. Stored in AppSettings as ActiveFollowsTxSlice.
APD (tab)	Tab	External Adaptive Pre-Distortion sample port selection per TX antenna (ANT1, ANT2, XVTA, XVTB). Tab is hidden unless the radio reports apd configurable=1 (FLEX-8x00 with SmartSDR 4.2.18+). New in v26.5.1 (#2186). Lazy-built only when the tab is first clicked.
External Sampler (per TX ANT)	Section header inside the APD tab showing a 2x2 grid of ANT1/ANT2/XVTA/XVTB sampler-port combo boxes.
ANT1: / ANT2: / XVTA: / XVTB:	Combo box	Picks the sample port (INTERNAL, RX_A, RX_B, XVTA, XVTB) that the radio uses for APD feedback on that TX antenna. INTERNAL samples inside the radio; external ports require a coupled feedback signal from the linear amplifier output. Changing sends setApdSamplerPort() to the radio.
Equalizer Reset:	Section row label for the APD equalizer reset button.
Reset (APD Equalizer)	Button	Clears all per-antenna APD training data on the radio. Sends resetApdEqualizer() to the radio's TransmitModel.
Themes (tab)	Tab	UI appearance settings including per-slice color overrides. Tab label in code is 'Themes'. Lazy-built when first clicked.
Slice Colors	Group box header for the slice color controls.
Use Aether defaults	Radio button	Uses the built-in slice color palette (cyan/magenta/green/yellow/orange/teal/coral/lavender). Selecting this disables the custom color buttons.
Custom colors	Radio button	Enables per-slice color pickers (A-H). Selecting this enables the eight color buttons below.
A/B/C/D/E/F/G/H color buttons	Button	Click to open a color picker for that slice letter (A-H). The button's background reflects the currently assigned color. 8 buttons arranged in a horizontal grid. Stored via SliceColorManager which persists to AppSettings.
Reset All to Defaults	Button	Resets every per-slice custom color to its built-in default.
SmartLink (tab)	Tab	Pinned SmartLink TLS certificate management. Lists each pinned certificate (host, SHA-256 fingerprint, pinned date) with per-row Forget and Forget All. New in v26.5.3 (#2951 Phase 2). Lazy-built when first clicked. Phase 2 of GHSA-wfx7-w6p8-4jr2: cert-pin mismatch now hard-pauses the handshake with a modal dialog.
Pinned SmartLink Certificates (section)	Section header for the pinned certs table inside the SmartLink tab. Lists every host this client has pinned on first connect (trust-on-first-use). Phase 2 of GHSA-wfx7-w6p8-4jr2. Pin schema migrated from plain strings to {fp, pinnedAt} objects.
Host / SHA-256 fingerprint / Pinned (table columns)	3-column read-only table: Host (hostname), SHA-256 fingerprint (monospace), Pinned (YYYY-MM-DD or '(pre-phase 2)'). Backed by WanCertCache in WanConnection.cpp.
Forget selected	Button	Removes the selected host's pinned cert fingerprint so the next connect re-pins silently.
Forget all	Button	Clears every pinned cert (with confirmation). Next connect to each radio silently re-pins. Shows QMessageBox::question before wiping.
Select Installer...	Opens a file dialog for a SmartSDR installer (.msi, .exe) or pre-extracted .ssdr firmware file. Passes the selected path to FirmwareStager which extracts .ssdr payload and emits progress.	Label changed from 'Browse .ssdr...' to 'Select Installer...' in v26.5.3.

Network tab

Control	Kind	Behavior
IP Address / Mask / MAC Address	Indicator	Read-only network addresses. Each includes a clipboard copy button.
Enforce Private IP Connections:	Toggle	Rejects non-RFC1918 peers. Defaults to Enabled.
Network MTU:	Spinbox	Sets maximum outgoing VITA-49 UDP packet size in bytes (576-9000). Default 1450 is safe for most VPN/SD-WAN tunnels. Stored in AppSettings as NetworkMtu.
DHCP / Static	Toggle	Switches between DHCP and Static IP modes.
IP Address: / Mask: / Gateway:	Text field	Static IP configuration fields.
Apply	Button	Pushes the network config to the radio.

GPS tab

Control	Kind	Behavior
GPS info	Indicator	GPS presence and live lat/lon/alt/time/satellites info.

TX tab

Control	Kind	Behavior
TX Band Settings	Button	Opens the dedicated per-band power/tune dialog.
Timings (in ms)	Spinbox	TX hang / delay timings.
ACC TX:	Text field	ACC transmit delay in milliseconds. Range 0-5000 ms.
TX Delay:	Text field	TX delay in milliseconds. Range 0-5000 ms.
RCA TX1:	Text field	RCA TX1 delay in milliseconds. Range 0-5000 ms.
Timeout (sec):	Text field	Interlock timeout in seconds. The radio stores this value in milliseconds internally. Range 0-3600 seconds.
TX2:	Text field	TX2 delay in milliseconds. Range 0-5000 ms.
Interlocks - TX REQ: RCA / Accessory	Toggle	Enables RCA and accessory interlock inputs.
Max Power:	Spinbox	Sets radio-level TX power cap (0-100%).
Tune Mode:	Combo box	Selects how the tune button behaves.
Show TX in Waterfall:	Toggle	Draws TX signal in the waterfall.
TX Follows Active Slice	Button	TX follows the active slice. Mutually exclusive with Active Slice Follows TX. Disabled automatically during Split operation. Stored in AppSettings as TxFollowsActiveSlice.
Active Slice Follows TX	Button	Switches the active slice when TX moves externally (e.g. WSJT-X or CAT). Mutually exclusive with TX Follows Active Slice. Stored in AppSettings as ActiveFollowsTxSlice.

Phone/CW tab

Control	Kind	Behavior
Enable/Disable the Level Meter During Receive	Toggle	Shows mic level meter even in RX.
Iambic:	Toggle	Enables or disables the iambic keyer on the radio.
Iambic Mode: A / B	Button	Selects Curtis iambic mode A or B for both the radio and the local software keyer. Mutually exclusive pair. Default is A.
Swap:	Toggle