Upgrading Impinj R700 Firmware from version 7.x to version 8.x

This support article covers both the default behavior changes and major new features in Impinj R700 firmware version 8.0. Find the 8.0 download here.

When you upgrade to version 8.0, settings will be retained if they have been explicitly set in a previous firmware version.

Any setting unchanged from a prior version factory default, and therefore not configured by the user, will update to the new firmware default on firmware upgrade. Explicit settings are those that were intentionally changed by the user.

For example, in version 7.6, the default RFID interface is the Impinj LLRP interface. If this setting was never changed by the user, upon upgrade to 8.0 the RFID interface would update to use the Impinj IoT device interface. This may cause a breaking change for your application. 

The procedure below demonstrates how to retain the Impinj LLRP interface setting when upgrading to firmware version 8.0, a similar procedure can be used for additional default settings you would like to retain upon upgrade: 

Before upgrading the firmware on your reader, do the following:

1. Select the RFID interface of the Impinj R700 to Impinj IoT device interface through the reader web UI or Rshell.
2. Set the RFID interface to Impinj LLRP interface
3. Upgrade to Reader Firmware 8.0 

Default Behavior Changes

HTTPS Enabled (HTTP Disabled)

HTTPS is now enabled by default. The default certificate on the Impinj R700 is self-signed. When connecting to an Impinj R700 you may encounter self-signed SSL certificate warnings. Please see this article if you are experiencing SSL certificate issues. 

In version 8.0, the firmware supports loading certificates on to the reader using the Impinj IoT device interface. For additional information regarding loading certificates please see Certificate Management with Impinj R700 Firmware

Attempts to connect to the reader on port 80, by HTTP, will be redirected to HTTPS when HTTP is disabled.

For information on configuring your reader to use HTTP, please see this support article. 

Impinj IoT Device Interface Enabled 

Previously available as an option, the Impinj IoT Device interface is now enabled by default. 

After upgrading to firmware 8.0, you can configure your reader to use the Impinj LLRP interface via the reader web UI, the Impinj IoT device interface /system/interface/rfid REST endpoint, or via RShell using the ‘config rfid interface’ command. 

SNMP Disabled 

SNMP is now disabled by default. SNMP can be enabled through the RShell command 'config snmp service enabled'

CAP Installation Disabled 

CAP installation is now disabled by default.  This means any attempt to load a custom application built into a .upgx file through Impinj R700 embedded toolkit will be prevented. CAP installation can be enabled with the RShell command “config image cap enable open” or via the Impinj IoT device interface REST endpoint /system/cap/installation.

Here is an example of how to execute a curl command to enable CAP installation:

curl -f --insecure --header ‘Content-Type: application/json’ --location --request PUT http://root:impinj@impinj-AA-BB-CC/api/v1/system/cap/installation  -d ‘{“mode”:”Open”}’

Any CAPs installed prior to upgrade to firmware 8.0 will still be installed after upgrade.

CAP Privileges Restricted

Custom applications now run as the 'cap' user instead of 'root' user. This means that applications have reduced access to the file system and run with reduced privilege. Upon upgrading to version 8.0, any existing applications will be automatically reconfigured to run as 'cap'.

Removed Support for FTP 

The reader no longer supports FTP. It is replaced by SFTP. The service can be accessed using the login ‘sftp.’ The default password is 'impinj', but should be changed during reader setup to a unique, secure value. The SFTP password can be changed via the RShell command ‘config network sftp server password [old_password] [new_password]’.

Note: There is a known bug in version 8.0.1.240 where the SFTP user only has read/write permissions in the /tmp and /scratch directories. To enable SFTP support for the /customer directory, execute the following command from within the reader's OSShell.

chmod a+rwx /customer

 

Additional Changes of Note

New Versions of Impinj Development Libraries

Impinj Octane LTK and SDK were updated to utilize TLS 1.3. If utilizing firmware version 8.0 of the R700 reader firmware, we recommend that you update your applications to utilize version 11.0 of Impinj Octane LTK  and version 4.0 of the Impinj Octane SDK.

The .NET versions of the Impinj LTK and SDK have been updated to support .NET 5 which may require updating your application.

Impinj ItemTest 

Reader firmware 8.0 will be compatible with Impinj ItemTest version 2.7 or later. By default, Impinj ItemTest will update to the newest version on application launch.

To check your ItemTest version, open the application and select “about” from the menu on the left. The version number can be found on this screen. An example image is shown below. 

To install or update Impinj ItemTest, the latest version can be downloaded from this page.

For more details, please view the release notes and the download files from Impinj R700 Reader Documents & Downloads.  The Firmware reference manuals, programming manuals, and R700 installation and operations guide have been updated to include information about these improvements, and are available from the Impinj Support Portal. See the revision history within the manuals for details on the changes to the impacted manuals.