Skip to content

Upgrade Notes

What changes between major Rotorflight versions, and what you have to set up again after upgrading. The full technical change list is in the firmware's Changes.md.

Upgrade procedure

  1. Update the Configurator first.
  2. Back up your configuration with diff all and save it to a file.
  3. Flash the new firmware with Full chip erase.
  4. Restore the backup, then go through the list for your version below.
  5. Update the Lua suite on your radio to the same version.
  6. Check the controls, servo directions, governor and failsafe before flying -- blades off for anything that spins the motor.

2.3 to 2.4 (firmware 4.7.0)

Development version

Rotorflight 2.4 is under development. This list grows as features land.

Nothing has to be redone. Saved settings carry over. Things to know:

  • Bus servos (SBUS out, FBUS master) now default to a scale of 500 instead of 1000, matching PWM servos. Existing configurations keep their saved values.
  • Bus servos with a speed limit used to move far slower than configured (about 20 times at 50 Hz SBUS). They now move at the set speed -- check any speed-limited bus servos before flying.
  • Horizon mode has its own angle limit (horizon_angle_limit, default 55°) and eases in over half a second when engaged.
  • Airborne detection can also use stick response and vertical acceleration (airborne_mode).
  • The RX_PPM, RX_PARALLEL_PWM and GHOST receiver protocols and the CMS on-screen menus are no longer built into the standard firmware.

New in 2.4:

  • Spektrum SRXL2 ESCs (throttle and telemetry over one wire), and full-size Spektrum receivers such as the AR6610T.
  • FrSky RPM and temperature sensors over F.Bus/S.Port, and XACT servo programming over the F.Bus master link.
  • New System Status and System Config telemetry sensors, used by the radio dashboards.
  • Tune advisor statistics for tuning help on the radio.
  • Configurator: Remap FC, CRSF Sensors and ESC Programming tabs.

2.2 to 2.3 (firmware 4.6.0)

Set up again after restoring:

  • Governor. The governor was rewritten. Governor modes are now OFF, LIMIT, DIRECT, ELECTRIC and NITRO, with new throttle types and ramp settings. Old governor settings don't map across -- go through the Governor setup again.
  • Rates. The default rate type is now ROTORFLIGHT (maximum rate, expo and shape). Backups restore your old rate type, but the cyclic_ring setting now means a percentage of the maximum rate; check it on the Rates tab.
  • Throttle range. rc_arm_throttle is gone, and the minimum and maximum throttle are now worked out from the receiver's stick travel (rc_min_throttle/rc_max_throttle default to 0 = automatic). Check the throttle reads 0% and 100% on the Receiver tab.
  • Motor pole count now defaults to 0, which turns off RPM measurement until you enter the correct number. A diff all from 2.2 doesn't contain the old default of 8 -- if you relied on it, set it again on the Motors tab.
  • Battery. Capacity, cell count and cell voltages are now kept per battery profile (six of them). An old backup only fills in profile 1.
  • PID loop on F4/F7. The gyro rate on F4 and F7 boards dropped from 8 kHz to 4 kHz. Because the PID loop is a divider of the gyro rate, it halves too -- check the PID loop frequency on the Configuration tab.

Changed behaviour and defaults:

  • SmartFuel is a new battery charge estimate that never jumps back up in flight. See SmartFuel.
  • Servo or mixer override now blocks arming (OVERRIDE arming flag).
  • Motor override switches off by itself if the Configurator stops sending it for a second.
  • Blackbox now logs only while armed, with rolling erase and governor data on, by default.
  • Rescue does a flip to upright by default (rescue_flip = ON), and arming is refused while rescue is active.
  • The default stick deadband is 5, and the default battery alert is at 35%.
  • PID mode 4 is available for testing new controller features. PID mode 3 stays the default and is unchanged.
  • New: IBUS2 receivers, FBUS master output, ESC telemetry to Spektrum radios, forward programming for ZTW and OMP ESCs.

2.1 to 2.2 (firmware 4.5.0)

Set up again after restoring:

  • RPM filter -- redo it on the Gyro tab.
  • Telemetry sensors are now configured the same way for every protocol -- reselect them on the Receiver tab.
  • Gyro rate was reduced on some boards, so check the PID loop and Blackbox logging rates.
  • PID modes 1 and 2 were removed; profiles using them must be tuned again in PID mode 3.
  • D-term mode ERROR was removed (it's always GYRO now); retune D on profiles that used it.
  • Yaw collective impulse was removed.

Renamed: crsf_telemetry_sensors → telemetry_sensors, crsf_telemetry_interval → telemetry_interval. The individual telemetry_enable_* switches, pid_dterm_mode, the *_decay_*_curve settings and the *_error_cutoff settings were removed.