How to Update HackRF One Firmware (SOLVED)

To check the version of the installed software and HackRF firmware, run the command:

hackrf_info

As you can see, the version of the software installed on this computer is now 2021.03.1:

hackrf_info version: 2021.03.1
libhackrf version: 2021.03.1 (0.6)

And firmware version 2018.01.1:

Firmware Version: 2018.01.1 (API:1.02)

You can make sure that this is the latest software version on this page: https://github.com/mossmann/hackrf/releases/

In the same place, we learn that starting with release 2021.03.1, CPLD bitstreams are now included in the firmware and are automatically loaded with it during an update. You no longer need to update the CPLD separately.

This section will show you step by step how to upload the new firmware to the HackRF.

The firmware file comes with libhackrf and hackrf-tools. The name of specific packages can be different on different Linux distributions. See above How to Install Driver, HackRF Tools and SDR Utilities for details.

That is, you need to wait for these packages to be updated in the repositories of your distribution, or you can compile them yourself.

The file with the firmware is called hackrf_one_usb.bin, let's find the path to it in the system:

locate hackrf_one_usb.bin

In my case, this is /usr/share/hackrf/hackrf_one_usb.bin.

Although the updated libhackrf and hackrf-tools should mean that the firmware file is also new, check that the file has a fresh creation date.

ls -l /usr/share/hackrf/hackrf_one_usb.bin

To start the update process, use a command of the form:

hackrf_spiflash -w /PATH/TO/hackrf_one_usb.bin

For example:

hackrf_spiflash -w /usr/share/hackrf/hackrf_one_usb.bin

All is ready:

Turn HackRF off and on for changes to take effect (disconnect from USB cable).

Let's check the software version again:

hackrf_info

The HackRF firmware is now updated!

See also: How to start with HackRF and gqrx