# Firmware Upgrade
## Automatic Upgrades
EnGenius Cloud enables automatic upgrades by default and will upgrade firmware according to the **Maintenance Window** time period each week.
## Manual Upgrade
To manually update device firmware:
1. Select the firmware you desire to upgrade.
2. Click **Upgrade Now** (If you have the devices in the New Firmware Trial Zone, you will only upgrade the Firmware on these devices. )
3\. Click **Apply**.
## Freeze Firmware version
This is used when users don’t want to change anything, including configurations and device firmware, on a stable network to minimize maintenance.
By enabling the freeze FW version, users can select a version between beta, stable, or pre-stable versions to freeze by using the Firmware Release drop down menu
After you enable the freeze firmware version, the freeze firmware list will be displayed. So you can easily check what device firmware version you have frozen on the current network
**Compare** allows you to compare the current network device firmware version to the target freeze firmware version. So you can see the summary of the comparison. e.g., the number of devices to be upgraded / downgraded.
## Disable Freeze Firmware
When you disable freeze firmware, all models in the FW freeze list will be upgraded to the current FW release & maintenance window settings.
## Firmware Compatibility with Cloud Services
The cloud platform is generally backward compatible with older device firmware versions. However, in rare cases where compatibility issues arise, specific actions will be taken to ensure continued functionality.
* Force offline: Devices will be forced offline to protect the security and stability of both the cloud and device.
* Stop pulling data: The cloud may block partial or full device check-in data, potentially causing some charts or statistics to be inaccurate.
* Stop pushing config: Stop pushing new configurations to devices, and devices will keep running previous configurations.
## New Firmware Trial Zone
Users can choose cloud devices for a New Firmware Trial Zone, so the devices in the Trial Zone will be upgraded first (based on the **Maintenance Window** schedule), the other devices won't be upgraded within 21 days from the firmware release date. So you can prevent the network from going wrong after the firmware upgrade at one time.
{% hint style="info" %}
Better to know
the Trial Zone function works normally when the freeze firmware version is enabled. Devices in the trial zone will follow the current FW release & maintenance window settings.
{% endhint %}
### Remove Device from Trial Zone
If the firmware has any issue during the trial period, you can call support or roll back to the device's previous firmware version by removing the device from Trial Zone.
### **Upcoming Upgrade Schedule**
**This** allows you to know the exact firmware upgrade date of Trial Zone devices and other devices. So you will easily know what will be happening next.
## Advanced Settings
### Initial firmware Upgrade
To streamline the installation process and reduce deployment time for large-scale EnGenius device installations, this new feature is called 'Initial Auto-Firmware Upgrade– Bypass or Forced'. This feature provides administrators the flexibility to bypass the firmware upgrade during the device’s first assigning to the networks. Installers no longer need to wait for all devices to finish upgrading before leaving, especially in cases where poor internet quality slows down firmware downloads.
**Bypass**: Skip the forced firmware upgrade when the device is first assigned to the networks.\
**Forced**: Force the device to upgrade to the latest firmware when the device is first assigned to the networks. before configuration is applied.
### The Relationship with the Freeze Firmware Version
Bypassing auto-initial firmware upgrade priority is higher than the Freeze Firmware Version and New Firmware Trial Zone functions.\
Therefore, the device will skip the initial update and perform the first update according to the maintenance window.
---
# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.
Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:
```
GET https://doc.engenius.ai/home-cloud-user-manual/configuring-networks/firmware-upgrade.md?ask=
```
The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.
Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.