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Notecard Firmware Releases

Blues regularly provides updated firmware releases for Notecard that include feature additions and other improvements.

warning

Make sure you read and understand the Blues Firmware Release Policies and Procedures before updating Notecard firmware.

Firmware Releases

This section lists all available Notecard firmware releases.

The easiest way to install new firmware on Notecard is by performing OTA DFU with Notehub (though this is not supported on Notecard for LoRa) or by using the In-Browser Terminal, but the .bin files are also provided for manual DFU with the Notecard CLI or STM32CubeProgrammer.

v9.2.1 (July 11, 2025)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Added the max argument to the note.add API. This allows you to limit the number of Notes in a given Notefile, and optionally force a sync when that limit is met.
  2. Added the file.clear API, which clears the contents of an outbound (.qo/.qos) Notefile, deleting all pending Notes.
  3. Added Notecard for LoRa support to the limit argument of the note.add API.
  4. Added support for the sync argument of the var.set API to all Notecards.
  5. Added a new reserved environment variable, _cell_carrier, that accepts a PLMN code . When set on a cellular-based Notecard, the corresponding carrier will be preferred. If unable to connect, Notecard falls back to automatic carrier selection. Please note this is NOT included in the v8.2.1 LTS Firmware release.
  6. Includes the bug fixes documented as part of the v8.2.1 LTS Firmware release.
Previous Developer Firmware Releases

v9.1.1 (April 16, 2025)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Added a card.illumination request for retrieving an illumination level from an attached OPT3001 ambient light sensor.
  2. Added lux illumination level to _track.qo Notes when using tracking mode and an attached OPT3001 ambient light sensor.
  3. Added "mode":"i2c-master-disable" and "mode":"i2c-master-enable" to the card.io API to disable (or re-enable) Notecard acting as an I2C master.
  4. Added support for variable-length numeric arrays in Note Templates.
  5. Added "umin":true argument to the card.transport API to force longer network transport timeouts when using Wideband Notecards.
  6. Improved efficiency of web requests.
  7. Notecard for LoRa
    1. Improved the reliability of syncing data with Notecard for LoRa.
    2. Added support for Notecard for LoRa in the card.led API when the device is in neo-monitor mode.
    3. Added support for Notecard for LoRa when using "sync":true with the var.set API.
    4. Added support for Notecard for LoRa when using "limit":true with the note.add API.
  8. Notecard Outboard Firmware Update
    1. Improved overall reliability for Notecard Outboard Firmware Update.
    2. Added the ability to disable Notecard Outboard Firmware Update for a specified number of seconds with the card.dfu API.
    3. Added support for the STM32F429.
  9. Blues Mojo
    1. Fixed an issue with Mojo statistics when a connected LiPo battery is charging.
  10. Other Bug Fixes
    1. Fixed an issue with the ntn.gps API.
    2. Fixed a bug when using temporary continuous mode for web requests.
    3. Fixed a bug with the card.aux.serial API that was inadvertently clearing the baud rate.
    4. Fixed the truncation of long error strings.
  11. Incorporates changes from LTS Firmware release v8.1.4.

v7.5.2 (November 22, 2024)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. This is the first Developer Firmware release to support Midband Notecards.
  2. Support for multiple SSIDs for WiFi-capable Notecards via the text argument.
  3. Added a new feature to card.location.track that allows _track.qo Notes to carry a user payload.
  4. The response to a card.status request now returns the effective inbound and outbound sync period in the inbound and outbound fields, respectively.
  5. The response to a card.status request now returns a sync field that indicates if the Notecard has ever synced with Notehub.
  6. Improvements to DFU error reporting.
  7. Improvements and bug fixes for the interactions between Notecard and Starnote.
  8. Bug fix for Notecard Outboard Firmware Update with STM32L5 MCUs.
note

v7.5.1 of the Notecard for LoRa firmware contained a bug that affected firmware updates via sideload. v7.5.2 fixes that issue and aligns version numbers for all other firmware binaries.

v7.4.2 (August 29, 2024)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Added support for toggling AUX_EN with the environment variable _aux_en.
  2. Added support for the card.io API mode:"+busy" argument on Notecard LoRa.
  3. Added ability to disable the onboard LED (as part of the card.io API).
  4. Allow attn mode to be changed while re-arming.
  5. Replaced brownout detection RTC reset with app level RTC check.
  6. Added a fix for Notecard WiFi v2 Soft AP mode.
  7. Improvements to the DFU state machine.
  8. Improvements for Notecard LoRa sync times.
  9. Added support for Notecard XP .
  10. Added support for non-XP Notecards in the Notecarrier XP.
  11. Fixes an issue with Notecard LoRa that resulted in the device loading invalid firmware when updating from a 6.x to a 7.x firmware release.

v7.3.1 (June 24, 2024)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Improved reliability of Starnote -to-Notecard communications.
  2. Significantly improved I2C reliability on Notecard WiFi v2.
  3. Improved reliability of Notecard Outboard Firmware Update for STM32-based MCUs.
  4. Expanded Notecard Outboard Firmware Update support to include additional STM32 chip varieties.
  5. General improvements to the responsiveness and reliability of Notecard firmware updates.
  6. First release to support the Mojo power monitor.
  7. Added new var APIs, var.set, var.get, and var.delete, for an easier way to manage DB Notefiles.

v7.2.2 (April 10, 2024)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Improved support for Starnote and non-terrestrial networks (NTN).
  2. Various Notecard LoRa improvements and bug fixes.
  3. Improved network stability for Notecard WiFi v2.
  4. Improved Notecard Outboard Firmware Update for STM32 targets.

v7.2.1 (March 6, 2024)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Added support for Notecard LoRa.
  2. Added support for Starnote and non-terrestrial networks (NTN).
  3. Fixed a bug where the "files" array wasn't being respected for the card.attn request's "files" mode.
  4. Augmented the response to the note.template request to identify if metadata will be included with Notes. Metadata is included by default for cellular and Wi-Fi transports, but not for LoRa or NTN.
  5. Increased the maximum payload size for non-templated Notes from 250 to 256.
  6. Improved JSON number handling for very large and very small numbers.
  7. Reduced power consumption when tracking a journey with the card.motion request.
  8. Improved time to recover from ECONNABORTED network errors.

v5.3.1 (September 18, 2023)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Adds support for efficient binary data transfer with card.binary.
  2. Adds the ability to validate Notecard responses with a CRC check.
  3. Adds Outboard Firmware Update support to hosts that support MCUboot bootloader.
  4. When USB-connected, adds additional retries before a network registration penalty box is initiated.
  5. Added the _fw_download_always_enabled reserved environment variable to override host behavior and always allow DFU operations.
  6. Added the ability to automatically return to the preferred SIM selection after a user-defined number of hours when using an external SIM and SIM failover.
  7. Reduced the amount of time it takes to perform a Notecard DFU.
  8. Fixes the erroneous return of {io} in response to a corrupted message sent as a command.
  9. Fixes possible contradictory card.location status response when card.location.mode is set to "mode":"off".
  10. Preserves the host DFU metadata in the event of a host restart.

v5.1.1 (April 5, 2023)

Firmware: notecard-5.1.1.16026$20230511152328.bin and checksums

  1. All web requests now offer an async argument. The new argument allows you to send web requests without waiting for a response from Notehub.
  2. The hub.signal request now provides a seconds argument for handling timeouts.
  3. You can now schedule automatic Notecard Outboard Firmware Updates with the _dfu_period environment variable.
  4. The Notecard can now restart hosts in a variety of ways using the _restart_host_use_attn, _restart_host, _restart_host_every_hours, and _restart_host_no_activity_hours environment variables.
  5. The hub.sync.status request now returns machine-readable codes to allow for better tracking of the Notecard's sync process. (You can try this for yourself by running a hub.sync request in the In-Browser Terminal.)
  6. The hub.sync.status request no longer includes time or completed in its response until after the first device sync.
  7. The card.aux request now provides a ms argument you can use to debounce state transitions under a provided duration.
  8. The card.aux.serial request now provides way of notifying a host when the Notecard downloads host firmware.
  9. Wi-Fi configuration is now saved before device reboots.
  10. The Notecard has a new algorithm for voltage averaging to reduce swings due to modem current draws.
  11. A bug is fixed that prevented switching the rate with the card.aux.serial request.
  12. Various download speed improvements to Notecard Outboard Firmware Update.

v3.5.2 (November 2, 2022)

Firmware: notecard-3.5.2.15620$20221031190539.bin and checksums

  1. Reduce hub.set continuous mode data usage from ~4KB/hour to ~2.5KB/hour for apps requesting immediate inbound Notefile sync by specifying sync:true.
  2. Improvements to Notecard Outboard Firmware Update and a bug fix for STM32 hosts with inverted boot.

v3.5.1 (October 7, 2022)

Firmware: notecard-3.5.1.15545$20221118160948.bin and checksums

  1. The card.motion.sync request now allows you to sync on orientation changes (instead of motion changes) by passing a threshold of 0. With this mode enabled, motion events now include a tilt field to show the number of orientation changes since the previous event.
  2. Added the ability to get alerts if USB power is connected or disconnected through the card.voltage request.
  3. The Notecard now automatically triggers a sync when its file system is full.
  4. Added a {wifi-unavailable} error when making a card.wifi request on cellular Notecards.
  5. Added 15 minutes as a minimum session length for Notecards in continuous mode.
  6. Fixed an issue where no-sat tracking notes could inadvertently appear when using external GPS.
  7. Fixed an issue that could cause loss of cmd requests if sent in rapid succession.

v3.4.1 (August 3, 2022)

Firmware: notecard-3.4.1.15128$20220811230306.bin and checksums

  1. Added card.aux.serial to expose various capabilities over the Notecard AUX pins.
  2. Added support for streaming of Notecard accelerometer data.
  3. Enhancements to env.get and env.set to fetch a group of variables, and query variables by modified time.
  4. Added env mode to card.attn to monitor environment variable changes.
  5. Added auxgpio mode to card.attn to monitor AUX GPIO changes.
  6. Added time field to env.modified to query for environment variable changes since a known epoch time.
  7. Added threshold to card.location.mode response when not 0.
  8. Added limit to card.aux to disable concurrent modem use when using an external GPS receiver.
  9. Added on, seconds, and off to hub.set to enable temporary continuous mode when performing web transactions.
  10. Enable GPS/GNSS activation even if Notecard time has not yet been set from a successful cell network connection.
  11. Change GPS/GNSS hdop to float.
  12. Allow GPS/GNSS seek even if the Notecard is in a cellular network penalty box.
  13. Add penalty box errors to status returns for GPS/GNSS and Network connectivity.
  14. Ensure hub.sync.status returns extended service failure errors in response.
  15. Restart continuous mode session if inbound notification is sent to the Notecard.

v3.3.1 (May 23, 2022)

Firmware: notecard-3.3.1.14612$20220518212851.bin and checksums

  1. Autonomous reporting of GPIO state with card.aux. See Using AUX GPIO Mode for more information.
  2. Addition of usb, gps, wifi, and cell to the response object of card.status which indicates the associated component is powered on.
  3. Adding unsigned types of uint8, uint16, uint24, and uint32, to Note templates.
  4. The card.motion.mode API's sensitivity settings have been updated to use 25Hz sampling, providing improved performance.
  5. The "best location" in Notehub will remain the most recent GPS location, as long as the device has not moved and an adequate GPS signal is established (instead of reverting to cell tower location after 72 hours of no GPS activity).
  6. In tracking applications, daily charging minutes added to _track.qo Note template.
  7. The card.wireless API is now supported on Wi-Fi Notecard.
  8. Wi-Fi Notecard error messages improved when there are Wi-Fi connection failures.
  9. Addition of the _restart_no_activity_hours reserved environment variable.
  10. Miscellaneous other minor improvements and fixes.

v3.2.1 (February 2, 2022)

Firmware: notecard-3.2.1.13982$20220821154627.bin and checksums

  1. note.template payloads and strings can now be variable-length.
  2. Added verify:true to note.template to return the current template on a Notefile.
  3. web.post now supports payload fragmentation and reassembly at Notehub.
  4. card.attn adds verify:true to show the current attention mode configuration.
  5. card.attn adds mode: disarm,-all to clear all monitored conditions.
  6. AUX UART baud rate is now configurable via a card.aux request.
  7. Added GPS HDOP to card.location response in status and threshold fields.
  8. Major rewrite of JSON marshalling/unmarshalling logic to reduce runtime memory needed and allow the Notecard to sync a much larger number of non-templated Notes.
  9. Miscellaneous sync and power management improvements and minor fixes.

v1.5.6 (October 8, 2021)

  1. Added the web.delete API.
  2. Added seconds as an optional parameter on all web requests as an override to the standard 90 second timeout.
  3. Support for bidirectional Notehub.io certificate verification during TLS authentication.
  4. A random, unique, Note ID can be created and returned on a note.add if the supplied Note ID is "?".
  5. file.stats now takes an optional "file" parameter that returns the stats for the specified Notefile only.
  6. note.add, note.update, and note.delete all accept the verify:true parameter to immediately save the Notefile change to flash.
  7. dfu.status adds an err string property. If used along with "stop":true, this sets the host DFU to an error state with the specified string.

v1.5.5 (May 27, 2021)

  1. Enhancements to support Notecard-related features in the Airnote product.
  2. Added support for end-to-end encryption of Notes through Notehub.
  3. Add GNSS Horizontal dilution of precision (HDOP) support, including waiting for location to converge to configured HDOP before recording _track.qo notes, and adding the HDOP to the _track.qo body.
  4. If sync:true is specified in card.location.track, an immediate sync occurs every time a track note is added.
  5. card.version now accepts a field api: major-version that defines, for compatibility purposes, the major version number of the notecard firmware that the host was developed to use. In the response, the api returns the current firmware's version number.
  6. Added _tri_gps_failure environment variable as a triangulation configuration option for Notecard to first try GPS, then fallback to using cellular triangulation if it is unable to make a GPS fix.
  7. Fix to improve the accuracy of card.voltage readings.
  8. Corrected behavior of heartbeat reporting in card.location.track.
  9. Miscellaneous bug fixes and improvements to MCU/SBC host reliability, continuous mode operation, and external SIM support.

v1.5.3 (February 24, 2021)

  1. Notecard I2C request/response reliability improved when the I2C bus is shared among multiple devices.
  2. Added rearm and wireless modes to card.attn.
  3. Implemented minutes as a new response to card.location.mode to return the currently-configured ring-fence debounce period.
  4. To allow for long-range enclosed transportation use cases, Implemented an enhancement to suppress motion-induced Notecard wake up when repeated network connectivity failures occur.
  5. Added a warning to _health.qo if battery voltage is low or dead, at most once per day.
  6. Implemented a card.random function to obtain a single or buffer full of random numbers from the Notecard hardware RNG.
  7. Miscellaneous bug fixes and reliability improvements for devices communicating over I2C and those running in continuous communications mode.

Developer Firmware Checksums

md5

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1cac7851ec7d1ea1a86fe4002b7a7284  notecard-s3-7.2.1.16425$20240305202032.bin
f4b589d37fc512f0a53e893a60825561  notecard-u5-7.2.1.16425$20240305202032.bin
fdb4f1172fa035f03f2ec594fe3d96b5  notecard-wl-7.2.1.16425$20240305202032.bin
aae84fa07f7afb73b399cad78fc1df0f  notecard-5.3.1.16292$20230917203639.bin
f20ebf233cf7be699af90f06a4408283  notecard-u5-5.3.1.16292$20230917203639.bin
a7cd1969876b9ef13c2087b3e9dbb833  notecard-5.1.1.16026$20230511152328.bin
8cf964de13a2d2bbbbb96fb4146f1e24  notecard-3.5.2.15620$20221031190539.bin
97bc2aeb17dd6c573b47f58335f092cd  notecard-3.5.1.15545$20221118160948.bin
fd7318030d4fef21b6e6c4b088ed16ca  notecard-3.4.1.15128$20220811230306.bin
e4a30632d42784c347f09aaf3825737d  notecard-3.3.1.14612$20220518212851.bin
866098e724c5aef221d19fdf0356f538  notecard-3.2.1.13982$20220821154627.bin

sha256

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aac6ee7cc23e6385dba186d9389137581ef7bc6f18457c6ec3db8fccbf42a5e3  notecard-9.1.1.17181$20250415154152.bin
755ad8c440af1716b61e9f14ba3b95e4c5a11b0dc0a53b8a3ec1597bf0a1eba1  notecard-s3-9.1.1.17181$20250415154152.bin
16c49fe327df6b16905da115eaf6d08f5d9fcd038e91e24ab57444949ba873a4  notecard-u5-9.1.1.17181$20250415154152.bin
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0ad8c1253416a93571ef9ec05d868cfa0e7e78fddb66387fba32623afae017d5  notecard-wl-7.2.1.16425$20240305202032.bin
5dad2ac34dba93e82e73f1b83efbfcd338754c3abdf72f50905c89e951cf021a  notecard-5.3.1.16292$20230917203639.bin
e15ec3dab650b6761dd2c4b116e6878e8aae5b4fafb3ad5ff56a3989a053668f  notecard-u5-5.3.1.16292$20230917203639.bin
f2247c3bf2890ee051f20bc739494310711d5e778f1ffdc02a92d20e868f7f46  notecard-5.1.1.16026$20230511152328.bin
ffbf202264ba7d2b7aa28167cc0722df90fbbed5e3064b0440273729fe13b9a9  notecard-3.5.2.15620$20221031190539.bin
6744e0c3f31849944151d08364fb02b2d27187897f0932d6c07cf1c4e1051e5d  notecard-3.5.1.15545$20221118160948.bin
2e9043883e2f57265a18f74e79ad448b8a3d8e4567983011480d06c0a4cbf46f  notecard-3.4.1.15128$20220811230306.bin
8a58324e4d2a4b04b69a60fe101687f51354e6dcc1037fda33e15abb8a21129c  notecard-3.3.1.14612$20220518212851.bin
3a1ef9c6ebe45501ca26b425569ed469cc2636807ef1a39c780f3657e803cdf1  notecard-3.2.1.13982$20220821154627.bin

LTS v8.2.1 (July 11, 2025)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Fixed an issue that was causing redundant DFU status update messages to appear in the "Host Firmware" tab on Notehub.
  2. Fixed a bug where the sn couldn't be reset with the hub.set API on Notecard for LoRa.
  3. Fixed a bug where the org argument of the card.wifi API wasn't taking effect.
  4. Fixed a bug with the _restart_host_no_activity_hours reserved environment variable that generated redundant _health.qo Notes.
  5. Starnote
    1. Fixed an issue related to setting Notecard's time using Starnote.
    2. Fixed issues related to using Starnote for GPS.
    3. Made other significant improvements to Starnote to Notecard communications.
  6. Also includes the new features documented as part of the v9.2.1 Developer Firmware release.
Previous LTS Firmware Releases

LTS v8.1.4 (March 21, 2025)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Fixed issue with the Wi-Fi SSID not appearing in Notehub _session.qo Notefiles when set with the card.wifi/text argument.
  2. Fixed various issues with Notecard for LoRa (including the ability to detect and recover if LoRaWAN gateway goes offline).
  3. Fixed regression of missing card.aux/mode:led feature.
  4. Improved reliability of Wi-Fi connections on Notecard WiFi.
  5. This is the first LTS release to support Midband Notecards.
  6. Support for multiple SSIDs for WiFi-capable Notecards via the text argument.
  7. Added a new feature to card.location.track that allows _track.qo Notes to carry a user payload.
  8. The response to a card.status request now returns the effective inbound and outbound sync period in the inbound and outbound fields, respectively.
  9. The response to a card.status request now returns a sync field that indicates if the Notecard has ever synced with Notehub.
  10. Improvements to DFU error reporting.
  11. Improvements and bug fixes for the interactions between Notecard and Starnote.
  12. First LTS release to support Notecard WiFi v2.
  13. A hub.log request now logs data to _health_host.qo instead of _health.qo.
  14. Added several new bandwidth-saving reserved environment variables: _restart_retain_hub, _restart_no_sync, _session_unsecure, and _session_no_ping.
  15. Significant improvements and fixes for Notecard Outboard Firmware Update on both STM32 and ESP32 host MCUs.
  16. Improved accuracy of statistics returned by file.changes and file.changes.pending requests.
  17. Notecard for LoRa now supports the full parameter in a note.add request.
  18. Incorporates changes from Developer Firmware release v7.5.2.

LTS v6.2.5 (August 19, 2024)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Reduced excessive accelerometer logging.
  2. Improved modem reliability for all Notecards, along with some specific improvements for narrowband (NB) SKUs.
  3. Added support for Notecard XP .
  4. Fixed a bug related to Wi-Fi fallback for Notecard Cell+WiFi.
  5. Added support for toggling AUX_EN with the environment variable _aux_en.
  6. Replaced brownout detection RTC reset with app level RTC check.

LTS v6.2.3 (May 17, 2024)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. This is the first LTS version to support Starnote and non-terrestrial networks (NTN).
  2. This is the first LTS version to support Notecard LoRa.
  3. Improved Notecard Outboard Firmware Update for STM32 targets.
  4. Fixed a bug where the "files" array wasn't being respected for the card.attn request's "files" mode.
  5. Augmented the response to the note.template request to identify if metadata will be included with Notes. Metadata is included by default for cellular and Wi-Fi transports, but not for LoRa or NTN.
  6. Increased the maximum payload size for non-templated Notes from 250 to 256.
  7. Improved JSON number handling for very large and very small numbers.
  8. Reduced power consumption when tracking a journey with the card.motion request.
  9. Improved time to recover from ECONNABORTED network errors.
  10. Fix output of trace on AUX after Notecard DFU.

LTS v6.1.1 (January 3, 2024)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. This is the first LTS branch to support the Notecard Cell+WiFi.
  2. Allow the Notecard to wake the host (or send a Note) when the Notecard's motion status changes from "moving" to "stopped" (or vice versa). Learn how to configure this feature in this guide.
  3. Added Notecard Outboard Firmware Update support to the Notecard WiFi v2.
  4. Added the _usb_disable reserved environment variable to allow for remotely disabling the Notecard's USB port to prevent tampering.
  5. A call to hub.sync.status will return scan:true if triangulation data was sent to Notehub in the most recent sync.
  6. The LED on the Notecard Cell+WiFi and Notecard WiFi v2 will blink red when Wi-Fi is active.
  7. A call to card.location will now return cell tower location or triangulated location of the most recent session if GPS not available.

LTS v4.4.4 (September 27, 2024)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Fix excessive logging when exiting the penalty box.

LTS v4.4.3 (July 12, 2024)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Increased the likelihood of retaining the Notecard's time when recovering from a power brownout condition.

LTS v4.4.2 (November 30, 2023)

Downloads:

Changes:

  1. Errors reported by the onboard accelerometer are no longer sent to Notehub by default.
  2. Fix to prevent host MCU from re-downloading host firmware upon restart.
  3. Fix possible contradictory card.location status response when card.location.mode is set to "mode":"off".
  4. Fix an issue where, after an inbound Notefile was retrieved, using "sync":true in a note.add request didn't actually initiate a sync.

LTS v4.4.1 (May 15, 2023)

Firmware: notecard-4.4.1.4015700$20230505180038.bin and checksums

  1. Fix to preserve dfu.status metadata values after Notecard restarts.
  2. Fix incorrect cellular penalty box data in the card.wireless.penalty and hub.sync.status seconds responses.

LTS v4.2.1 (March 3, 2023)

Firmware: notecard-4.2.1.4015688$20230227005219.bin and checksums

  1. Decrease duration of Wi-Fi penalty box if in continuous mode or on USB power.
  2. If hub.set mode changed to "off" while the modem is powering up, modem will quickly and gracefully shut down.
  3. Fix to make hub.set mode:"dfu" idempotent.
  4. Fix to keep the Notecard modem from powering on after a hard reset if mode:"off".
  5. Fix to keep the Notecard online if in continuous mode and OTA DFU has been paused.

LTS v4.1.1 (December 7, 2022)

Firmware: notecard-4.1.1.4015681$20221206134917.bin and checksums

  1. Annual Long Term Support (LTS) release. For additional details and our LTS policy see this section. Includes all features in developer release 3.5.2 as well as the items below.
  2. Service failure retry & penalty box fixes.
  3. Clear files on card.attn when mode is disarm.
  4. Return current serial baud rate in response to a card.aux.serial request.
  5. ATTN Watchdog fixes for computing polling intervals and resets.
  6. Improvements related to JSON array and string handling in Notecard requests.

LTS v2.4.1 (Feb 6, 2023)

Firmware: notecard-2.4.1.2014024$20230127210448.bin and checksums

  1. Enhance card.attn to add -all option and improve watchdog timing.
  2. Show extended service failures in hyb.sync.status requests.
  3. Improve timing accuracy of card.location.track heartbeat events, and prevent spurious heartbeat events if motion has occurred.
  4. Fix to ensure that Wi-Fi signal and SSID always show for card.wireless requests and in _session.qo Notefiles.
  5. Fix to keep the Notecard online when in continuous mode and DFU has been paused.

LTS v2.3.1 (June 14, 2022)

Firmware: notecard-2.3.1.2014013$20220613194620.bin and checksums

  1. Added additional programmatically testable error codes to JSON responses.
  2. Support for open SSIDs on the Wi-Fi Notecard.
  3. Enhancements to long term robustness for always-on devices.
  4. Miscellaneous enhancements for DFU timeouts, card.motion.mode sensitivity settings, GPS location updates.
  5. Addition of the _restart_no_activity_hours reserved environment variable.

LTS v2.2.1 (March 1, 2022)

Firmware: notecard-2.2.1.2013856$20220219214539.bin and checksums

  1. Send Wi-Fi usage data to Notehub in session data.
  2. Add Wi-Fi usage data to card.version.
  3. Light red LED to register SoftAP button push, and when in SoftAP mode.

LTS v2.1.1 (November 15, 2021)

Firmware: notecard-2.1.1.2013839$20211117220152.bin and checksums

  1. First Long Term Support (LTS) version. For additional details and our LTS policy see this section.
  2. Added support for local-only Database Notefiles via a .dbx extension. These Notefiles reside on the Notecard and do not sync to Notehub.io.
  3. Miscellaneous fixes for DFU, Notehub connection management, and penalty box behavior.

LTS Firmware Checksums

md5

794ec4f88cb33e86884f8d167c8cb001  notecard-8.2.1.17285$20250711172848.bin
61f345e6950dec42ba64239a81e7b55a  notecard-s3-8.2.1.17285$20250711172848.bin
1390b4e8fb3e9980c59d20714e176df2  notecard-u5-8.2.1.17285$20250711172848.bin
8ca246a69c723fb5f9448f9f522bcd80  notecard-wl-8.2.1.17285$20250711172848.bin
8caa1ca9215b34bb7b8c3f6661743dad  notecard-8.1.4.17149$20250319220838.bin
e47f0c6c83d1d71539657943dc101427  notecard-s3-8.1.4.17149$20250319220838.bin
429877438192dc4254550b2f55793a44  notecard-u5-8.1.4.17149$20250319220838.bin
c21d5b83b760a93764468a9a05387dc8  notecard-wl-8.1.4.17149$20250319220838.bin
ba488146c6aa747429d6d13f71f87ca4  notecard-6.2.5.16868$20240819133312.bin
726c96eefd3d282603c23e2a108ecf49  notecard-u5-6.2.5.16868$20240819133312.bin
3476a9f0a30b2db77b8a241cd0b8b13c  notecard-wl-6.2.5.16868$20240819133312.bin
62d7887981779b57e66b7c8b25f512e2  notecard-6.2.3.16585$20240517112300.bin
16028283841c15455912b06bae7460cd  notecard-u5-6.2.3.16585$20240517112300.bin
7be718162bab12f6f02c2bf8160f3b22  notecard-wl-6.2.3.16585$20240517112300.bin
bcb000f5e06d323fe0eee88c1dc42768  notecard-6.1.1.16332$20231222144855.bin
c9a9573d7b9ad411cb5abf5beea7f9fe  notecard-u5-6.1.1.16332$20231222144855.bin
0fa3092ebaee49e3242a2c28b41a042b  notecard-4.4.4.4015707$20240926192723.bin
bf073fa4c0f9ed501efb6929e64d5e47  notecard-4.4.3.4015706$20240710130004.bin
d2f9b8f64e29981fd68e81fd365ab054  notecard-4.4.2.4015704$20231130201039.bin
3c999cf0d551a2aadeac09242f6c4105  notecard-4.4.1.4015700$20230505180038.bin
f4c8ee422540de40edd51da7c4b72497  notecard-4.2.1.4015688$20230227005219.bin
105c8a30865e5313ce527190286c8de8  notecard-4.1.1.4015681$20221206134917.bin
a7746b162b4a355229b5a651f58974b0  notecard-2.4.1.2014024$20230127210448.bin
b1bebc3c08001bce9f99a02a7b992ba5  notecard-2.3.1.2014013$20220613194620.bin
f1c207f897ac1a44a6f1f784c7353863  notecard-2.2.1.2013856$20220219214539.bin
653d3045e3ab369a4641132c71bf9cef  notecard-2.1.1.2013839$20211117220152.bin

sha256

65153a3ea4cbdfca7b7616a353276ac46df6d9d14c61cf660fda57a99dde9ce5  notecard-8.2.1.17285$20250711172848.bin
fdc3f957c7ab64ba65a9f3ff4aa2b4697d6fb214457258de59df652485254e6a  notecard-s3-8.2.1.17285$20250711172848.bin
3337a9fafb8ba3817333ffa742e774a6bf359d0e42ed190a08b43a3a6ba6e507  notecard-u5-8.2.1.17285$20250711172848.bin
3f238136557ab497afdb020d3f0b0def760ca6ca9cd52ce15698ef600bee004f  notecard-wl-8.2.1.17285$20250711172848.bin
f87dd3c1dc8b2cbe963287e2d7574ebb0cb42f7a169a0e88d1b5df3fe9f3d59f  notecard-8.1.4.17149$20250319220838.bin
cd0ebdb137210824ed512204a7f0bbf0d238132e1e014ef09239f3b7dbfc34e4  notecard-s3-8.1.4.17149$20250319220838.bin
39f688cf283c30e54254d1f43239ac01805637dab22d1d57bc27f8666c002d82  notecard-u5-8.1.4.17149$20250319220838.bin
612565244d345cdc5019eb8ce0d53919d9be3b6fe03898b40c09d8150ff2915a  notecard-wl-8.1.4.17149$20250319220838.bin
d82483d706c5cbabb64793ac361f80dfc7a0ac309396d180df2cb72b01a7c4d7  notecard-6.2.5.16868$20240819133312.bin
9152cabf155e53897bf2554785d033cff9ebff64b36ca63f4cfcd2a0c04e706c  notecard-u5-6.2.5.16868$20240819133312.bin
a3e4ac1fd634aa55bbe99eb42ddd6389b211599983a2ac3994c501c637935f3b  notecard-wl-6.2.5.16868$20240819133312.bin
7da2d96f50ce5a15d4c21baf1bee48c0f12355de3cbe16733fc4cd993f75ae54  notecard-6.2.3.16585$20240517112300.bin
9bd5a835fadedce9963f9d948d04e0d05e6fdae5b421e595a2b4a9b632588c45  notecard-u5-6.2.3.16585$20240517112300.bin
ad121cb286a72d58a82360478e7fa71bae5c8b636db19dd0af6c65a22f548a47  notecard-wl-6.2.3.16585$20240517112300.bin
f4025e8e059a4ffdf4c6736f48d5ef202a9812dc521fb02e1a028ae081e6492d  notecard-6.1.1.16332$20231222144855.bin
b7feb4a7809a8c01ad9e99ccfbb555ff40ad2afb981c23c4aef526a293f451fc  notecard-u5-6.1.1.16332$20231222144855.bin
20311f24441dca7a5f648d1219d69677d41bd21fcfdf5df6f8579f3a4095dab6  notecard-4.4.4.4015707$20240926192723.bin
508aec8482e42566f85549831449a19d80825b6789b4e191ef37a9133ad2da08  notecard-4.4.3.4015706$20240710130004.bin
a1bd5b71e72afecc801e39a426f4b25de9f56dc465f8998bd030173fb85f562d  notecard-4.4.2.4015704$20231130201039.bin
6839ddfd05892a466f844b7d25a55149a951a068c17f233f6db79c200299683c  notecard-4.4.1.4015700$20230505180038.bin
f4205d3c6f6b1b2117d53ee374b968b170f414ef29b7c60bb93484dac6b367f2  notecard-4.2.1.4015688$20230227005219.bin
64d60511365351f711d6e7ad5cece4cb04029e634b1d1e29080cf93becff3d3b  notecard-4.1.1.4015681$20221206134917.bin
31c6e561695d07f3d72f4b1fa1a0e3d3e850d2e469d01f1c45ce908e97d78c70  notecard-2.4.1.2014024$20230127210448.bin
3d65ac74b8c30cb18d661339356042d1108ace2b177b532ee02114729dfa8456  notecard-2.3.1.2014013$20220613194620.bin
1bc71770ac49d61d42ec80f9fc41928e81a7aa40083dcb34c3cd62f99b25641b  notecard-2.2.1.2013856$20220219214539.bin
bea9ad4e9e47fdc4114c5f20f55e06dbbe20520f69eb0b6b6a71566e2c9fbfc4  notecard-2.1.1.2013839$20211117220152.bin

Firmware Release Policies

The Notecard firmware is managed on two parallel product lifecycles:

  • Developer Firmware Releases
  • Long-Term Support (LTS) Releases

This section summarizes how these releases are versioned, as well as our policies around customer deployments and support timelines.

Developer Firmware Releases

Developer Firmware Releases are meant for testing new Notecard features and functionality during the early prototype and pilot phases of a project. It's not uncommon for these releases to expand the feature-set of the Notecard based on feedback and requests from customers building real applications.

These releases happen, on average, once a quarter and are supported by Blues for 90 days from the date of release, or the date of the following developer firmware release whichever is soonest. Once that 90-day period elapses, customers will be required to upgrade to a newer version in order to receive support.

Long-term Support (LTS) Releases

Long-term Support, or LTS, releases are meant for scaling, enterprise customers deploying an application to production. These applications are often feature complete and ready for the field, and do not need new features, or the risk associated with incorporating updated firmware into an existing application. LTS releases address this problem by supplying stable and consistent behavior that customers can bet on for field deployments.

LTS releases happen at least once per year, with occasional bug-fixes back-ported into the current major LTS line each quarter, if needed. LTS releases are feature-frozen, meaning that they do not generally receive new features, API changes, or any functionality that modifies the documented behavior of the device. Customers actively covered under an Enterprise Agreement benefit from an extended support window in which Blues will address critical issues, such as security vulnerabilities, for a period of 10 years from the date of initial release. Customers deploying an application to the field must select an LTS version in order to receive support.

Release Versioning

We've chosen to adopt a firmware version numbering scheme inspired by the LTS practices employed for NodeJS. Namely, we're adopting an even and odd major version numbering scheme to delineate between our LTS and Developer releases.

LTS releases will always start with an even number, and we will increase the minor or patch version numbers in the event fixes from a newer release need to be back-ported to an earlier LTS. For example, 2.1.1 was our first LTS version. If, in the support period, we identify a need to back-port a critical vulnerability, we would release a new LTS version on this line with a new minor or patch number, for example 2.2.1.

Likewise, Developer releases will always start with an odd number, and we will increase the minor or patch version numbers as we cut updated Developer firmware releases throughout the year.

Additional Resources