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Upgrading Firmware

From time to time the Signal Owl may be updated with new firmware to add features and security improvements. It is highly recommended that you keep your Signal Owl up-to-date with the latest firmware, available from https://downloads.hak5.org/owl

Update via USB

To install the latest firmware via USB:

  1. Download the latest firmware upgrade file. Make sure the filename is upgrade-version.bin (where version is the firmware version, e.g., upgrade-1.0.1.bin) and that the SHA-256 checksum matches.
  2. Copy the firmware upgrade file to the root of an EXT4 or FAT32 formatted USB flash drive. Do not rename, unpack or otherwise modify this file.
  3. Plug the USB drive into the powered-off Signal Owl.
  4. Power on the Signal Owl from a reliable USB power source and enter Arming mode.
    1. For version 1.0.0, entering arming mode by pressing the device button (quickly, for less than 1 second) when the device enters SELECT mode as indicated by a very fast blinking LED on bootup. Arming mode will be indicated by a double-blinking LED.
    2. For version 1.0.1 onwards, enter arming mode by pressing the device button any time after the bootup process completes (roughly 1 minute). Arming mode will be indicated by a double-blinking LED.
  5. The upgrade process may take up to 5-10 minutes and will be indicated by a series of LED patterns. Do not power-off or disturb the device until the upgrade process is complete.

Update via SSH

To manually install the latest firmware via SSH:

  1. Download the latest firmware upgrade file. Make sure the filename is upgrade-version.bin (where version is the firmware version, e.g., upgrade-1.0.1.bin) and that the SHA-256 checksum matches.
  2. Power on the Signal Owl from a reliable USB power source and enter Arming mode.
    1. For version 1.0.0, entering arming mode by pressing the device button (quickly, for less than 1 second) when the device enters SELECT mode as indicated by a very fast blinking LED on bootup. Arming mode will be indicated by a double-blinking LED.
    2. For version 1.0.1 onwards, enter arming mode by pressing the device button any time after the bootup process completes (roughly 1 minute). Arming mode will be indicated by a double-blinking LED.
  3. Connect your computer to the Signal Owl's WiFi interface
  4. Copy the firmware upgrade file from your computer to the tmp partition on the Signal Owl. Do not rename, unpack or otherwise modify this file. 
    scp upgrade-1.0.1.bin root@172.16.56.1:/tmp/
  5. SSH into the Signal Owl 
    ssh root@172.16.56.1
  6. From the root@Owl prompt, use the sysupgrade command to flash the firmware 
    sysupgrade -v -n -F /tmp/upgrade-1.0.1.bin
  7. The upgrade process may take up to 5-10 minutes and will be indicated by a series of LED patterns. Do not power-off or disturb the device until the upgrade process is complete.

Firmware Update LED Patterns

During the upgrade process, the red LED will indicate the following states:

Firmware version 1.0.0

  1. Red blinking – booting
  2. Red solid >> red fast blinking – entering SELECT mode
  3. Red double blinking – beginning upgrade process
  4. Red solid – upgrade in progress
  5. Red blinking – rebooting
  6. Red solid >> red fast blinking – entering SELECT mode
  7. Red slow blinking – upgrade complete, no payload found error

Firmware version 1.0.1 onwards

  1. Red blinking – booting
  2. Red solid >> user configurable – entering ATTACK mode
  3. (after pressing button) Red double blinking – entering ARMING mode, beginning update process
  4. Red solid – upgrade in process
  5. Red blinking – rebooting
  6. Red slow blinking – upgrade complete, no payload found error

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