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Firmware Control: Tool to Flash any Firmware

This is outdated.
Please have a look here if you want to up/downgrade your camera.

This method is outdated:
I rewrote the Firmware Control tool to make it easier to use and compatible for everyone.
With this program you can flash any firmware of the Olympus OM-D and PEN and Stylus series. It makes it more easy to upgrade your firmware and allows people to separate the download and flash process. There are many cameras being supported. If your's is not, tell me and I will add support for it as well.

Features

  • Flash/install any firmware
  • Flash official and unofficial updates/firmwares
  • Upgrade and downgrade your firmware - no matter which version you are coming from
  • Download any official firmware ever published for your camera
    •  

Screenshots:




How to use the program?

First choose your camera, then select your firmware and download it. Put the firmware in a folder called "DCOLYMP" on your SD-Card and start your camera while pressing the OK button.
Wait until the red LED is blinking on/off. This means the process is finished and you can restart your camera. Finished!

Any risks? 

This might void your warranty. If you flash an official update from Olympus you are most likely on the save side. But there is no guarantee I can give you.
If you flash a custom firmware you are never on the save side. Think about what you are doing and always consider that this can break your camera.


 

Download links - Version 1.0a

//links not working any more. see information on top
Link 1.0a : Firmware Control 1.0.zip
Link 0.5   : Firmware Control 0.5.zip
Link 0.4   : Firmware Control 0.4d.zip
Link 0.3   : http://gdriv.es/olyfirmwarecontrol03
Link 0.2   : http://gdriv.es/olyfirmwarecontrol02
Link 0.1   : http://gdriv.es/olyfirmwarecontrol01


Version History

Version 0.5 //02.10.14
    rewrote the program
    support for E-P2 and E-P3
    supports SD-Card method, which is easier to use
Version 0.5 //08.09.14
    fixed a bug with the E-M1
Version 0.4d //20.08.14
    support for E-P5, E-PL3, E-PL5, E-PM2 & STYLUS 1
    Verison d - more bug fixes
Version 0.3 //13.08.14
    support for official updates
    new design - more easy to use
Version 0.2 //07.08.14
    support for E-M5
    support for E-M1 
Version 0.1 //06.08.14
    initial release
    flash any firmware
    support for E-M10


Help


If you are having trouble editing the host file please got to the path "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc" and open the file "hosts" with any text editor. Now remove those 2 lines:
127.0.0.1     dl01.olympus-imaging.com
127.0.0.1     fw01.olympus-imaging.com
If you want to access the Olympus server again, please remove the lines. This is necessary for version 1.0 to able to download a firmware.

 

Future plans

  • Mac Version
  • More in-app help/information
  • List of available (modified) firmware versions

Tell me your thoughts and wishes in the comments!
If you need support for other cameras let me know.
um

38 comments:

  1. Anonymous07 August, 2014 09:42

    Would love 30-40 Mbps in video mode and real zer0 sharpening in jpg/video.

    ReplyDelete
  2. admin07 August, 2014 15:58

    What do you mean by "real zer0 sharpening in jpg/video" ?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous07 August, 2014 17:12

    If you set sharpening to -2 , jpgs are still sharpened.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11 August, 2014 10:28

    multispot funtionality like Olympus OM4
    using AEL button
    need to change "A" menu voice "AEL/AFL" and add option 4 ("Multispot" )
    description of features:
    In mode 4 if you press AEL button for the first time you memorize spot exposimeter value (EV)
    if you press the second time you memorize the mean value between the first and second read
    if you press the third time you memorize the mean between the first, second and third value .....
    you can memorize at maximum 8 values and the mean btween these 8 values ( like OM4 setting)
    i think its not so difficult to hack
    when you press the 9 value you can reset ( or eliminate the first value)
    or like OM4 use the switch selector ( 1 to 2) to reset the mean value


    ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11 August, 2014 11:39

    > flash any firmware ... is modified or not.
    I haven't found a way to get Olympus updates as a file. I understand how to update the firmware using Olympus software, but I also understand the warnings about what happens if battery runs out or connectivity is lost. Firmware Control would make you many friends if we could get Olympus firmware updates as a file from somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Unknown11 August, 2014 13:35

    @fourletternerd I will make an update with support of official Olympus updates today. Stay tuned!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sascha Damm12 August, 2014 22:22

    Different frame rates and higher bitrates were the first things that came to my mind. It would be incredible to improve video maybe the way Vitaly's ptool does for the GH2.
    Oh, and definitely a Mac-Version of the software if possible!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous13 August, 2014 16:57

    Motion detect! It is cool~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE0368NBG1U

    ReplyDelete
  9. GOGO14 August, 2014 16:11

    amazing function ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksg78bteN7s&t=37s

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous18 August, 2014 19:55

    The Program crashes on Windows 8.1 when i want to download a firmware for the epl3...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous21 August, 2014 07:20

    Sorry, but i can*t uncompress the downloaded Folder fpr 4_c.
    Why is the size more than 60 MB?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous28 August, 2014 18:39

    Hi Jonathan, can you contact me on private please ? thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown28 August, 2014 18:44

      I can not find any contact information of you. Please write me an email: hansi.best@gmail.com

      Delete
  13. Anonymous02 September, 2014 14:53

    Hi Jonathan,
    das Progi läuft leider nicht unter W7 x64, wenn ich denn server starte blitz einmal kurz das cmd Fenster auf und dann Server Stopped. Eine Idee? Gruss Uwe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown02 September, 2014 15:51

      I included a prerequisite. Check if it works with Pyhton2.6 installed. For me it worked on win7_64x with that.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous02 September, 2014 16:00

    tnx for the prerequisite, now server starts, but error:local firmware file does not exists! Uwe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown02 September, 2014 16:06

      Did you select a flashable firmware file? This error message only shows up, when no file is found. If your problem still exist you can email me: hansi.best@gmail.com
      (in German if you want)

      Delete
  15. Anonymous02 September, 2014 16:20

    I fixed it.
    First step i copied the firmware file into python directory.( error gone )
    Second step i switched off the firewall. ( Oly Updater found the server )
    Voila, it did the job on my E-M5 and flashed.TNX a lot, i will play a bit more the next days.Uwe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08 September, 2014 04:01

      Did what Anonymous said, Firmware Control still crashes as soon as I try to edit the host file. Win 7 64 bit. Any thoughts?

      Delete
    2. Unknown08 September, 2014 04:08

      Maybe you have a firewall or a Anti-Virus app that disables the access. Try to edit the file on your own. I updated the post regarding this topic.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous08 September, 2014 06:33

      Editing the file directly (once I figured out how to make _that_ work) did the trick, and it's running 2.0 now. Thanks!

      Delete
  16. Unknown08 September, 2014 13:24

    Hi within oly_models_body.xml you have the EM10 body as model 1090 and 1130. So when you try to update EM1 body to firmware 2.0 it searches for OLY_E_113_1200_0000_0000_HACKED.BIN and not OLY_E_109_2006_0000_0000.BIN so the server does not start. I had to go into the TEMP folder and manually change the file name inside start_server.bat, this solved the problem. Even olympus updater reports firmware as 1.5 but when installed camera says 2.0.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Unknown08 September, 2014 14:36

    Update on previous post regardless of the camera body chosen or the name of the file selected, when choosing to flash a custom file start_server.bat always looks for OLY_E_113_1200_0000_0000_HACKED.BIN. This is confirmed in version 0.4d and 0.5.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown08 September, 2014 14:45

      That file is not in use. Please use the main application to flash a firmware.

      Delete
    2. Unknown08 September, 2014 15:05

      When you try to start server it calls upon start_server.bat but filename OLY_E_113_1200_0000_0000_HACKED.BIN is always referenced, two solutions is to either rename the file to OLY_E_113_1200_0000_0000_HACKED.BIN or edit start_server.bat to look for correct file.

      Delete
    3. Unknown08 September, 2014 16:53

      The file I execute is the python file. If you remove the bat file the windows program still works as normal. There is no code reference to that bat file. If that problem still exists write me an email: hansi.best@gmail.com

      Delete
  18. Anonymous08 September, 2014 22:44

    Hallo, habe das Problem das sich der Server nicht starten lässt. Sobald ich die firmware-Datei auswähle startet kurz der Server, schwarzes Fenster blinkt auf und dann stopt der Server wieder. Phyton habe ich instaliert. Ich habe win7 x64. Kannst du mir weiterehelfen ... Danke

    ReplyDelete
  19. GOGO16 September, 2014 12:32

    The python is 64 bit.
    Another are here. https://www.python.org/download/releases/2.6/
    (1)for x86 - https://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.6/python-2.6.msi
    (2)for Mac - https://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.6/python-2.6-macosx2008-10-01.dmg

    ReplyDelete
  20. KenP13 November, 2014 13:42

    Would you be able to release a Linux version of your tool? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Slethen13 November, 2014 14:02

    Have you ever considered releasing the source code? I would love to make a GTK version for Linux users.
    I've had many issues flashing Olympus firmwares in VM's

    ReplyDelete
  22. Zewel von Lelek09 January, 2015 22:58

    Any chance of EVOLT/E-series Olympus DSLR support? Particulary E-600? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown10 January, 2015 17:59

      I will have a look at it. Maybe I will add all Olympus cameras

      Delete
    2. Unknown12 January, 2015 20:44

      What update do you need? Is it the same update as for the 620?

      Delete
  23. Anonymous21 January, 2015 17:57

    Hi,

    Does anybody have an experience of hacking the firmware of E-PM2? Any success or improvement regarding video quality?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  24. GRK.0319 August, 2021 09:35

    New web site is looking good. Thanks for the great effort. spy phone

    ReplyDelete

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