GE strikes again
My gateway is running software version AO 14 but when checking on the portal G E are pushing out software update to update backwards to version AO 13 makes no sense so am ignoring it
Anyone else experiencing this
screenshot?
Screenshot of update ?
Show options below? You should have only one option enabled there:
Production
Anyway, thanks for opening this thread! This reminded me that I have not done any updates since last year. Last time Gateway has updated, it was automatic. But nothing automatic since then. This time, I manually triggered the update, and it was completed in 30 minutes.
I have updated AIO from Inverter Firmware Version D0.616-A0.616 to D0.620-A0.620, and Battery Firmware Version 12 to 13.
All went well! Probably that the last firmware update I will ever get from GivEnergy.
And I think I know what happened in your situation.
You enabled Pre-Release updated and got updated to v14 in February this year.
But then at some point Pre-Release updates were disabled by you, or GE, so v14 is no longer offered. Instead, they offer you a downgrade to last stable release which is v13.
I am on 13 still, not throwing myself to a beta update just for LED light change (I've read the changelog). It's up to you if you want to stay on pre-release v14, or go back to stable v13.
@Hermes if you are version 1 then to me it looks like your v14 was pre-release and 13 is the release (possibly) But not having one of your models I’m not 100% sure.
https://givenergy2025.zohodesk.eu/portal/en/kb/articles/firmware-files-all-in-one
That's right, here's the changelog for Gateway:
https://givenergy2025.zohodesk.eu/portal/en/kb/articles/gateway-firmware-log
OP has got pre-release version installed since February, while everyone else is still on v13.
Really pleased that your updates went well. About 9 months ago I downloaded an update and had a week of heartache trying to get things right with GE trying to help before they went into administration. Since then with no GE backup,I have not updated anything and will not take the risk.
arthurma Thanks! Yeah, no more updates, even if they were offered! Risk of failure is too high. I feel like this was the last update ever, I am at a point where cloud dashboard access is no longer necessary for anything, so may as well close the pinned tab and never visit it again. And just let the machines work as they always did.
bRhFDKtjRMK9 And I think I know what happened in your situation.
You enabled Pre-Release updated and got updated to v14 in February this year.
But then at some point Pre-Release updates were disabled by you, or GE, so v14 is no longer offered. Instead, they offer you a downgrade to last stable release which is v13.
You are correct. I've seen the very same thing myself when I chose to disable pre-release toggle after the collapse of GE. I was immediately offered the downgrade to the production release 13. I haven't downgraded on the basis that I've not seen many people say they have downgraded OTA (with or without issue). Happy to keep the new LED function, although even as a long time watcher (we only have limited Freeview) I haven't noticed the slightest difference! 🤣 🤣
Mouton Glad everything is clear now. I laughed at your LED watching hobby 😃 But if you're saying there is no much difference between that LED-flickering pre-release and stable version you used before, then I will stay on the stable. 🙂
Follow on from original post, have been in contact with a company Predictive Support ( all ex GE software engineers) they tell me to stick with the V14 version as it more reliable than V13
On on positive note on contacting them via email I had a positive response within 24 hours, will carry on with this company for any future issues.
Good to hear the new Predictive Support business is responsive, might be useful if something goes wrong with the equipment down the line.
For now, I've taken the Gateway + AIO offline by blocking WAN access on my router. Since I only use local access via the GivEnergy app, there's no need for it to contact AWS and report every second or so. They don't need that access, and I don't need them for anything right now.
The devices will stay on my LAN for the foreseeable future. That's all I need at this point.
I hope the devices aren't resetting or rebooting when no internet is detected, I'll monitor them until I am certain everything is fine without WAN access.
Quick update: blocking WAN access works fine. Both the GivEnergy app and the Inverter app work without any cloud access at all, LAN only. Apps are a bit slower to respond but fully functional.
Monitored over several hours since yesterday, and devices are not rebooting. There are brief blips every few minutes (median outage about 14 seconds) but they recover on their own, nothing prolonged. Looks like normal retry behaviour when the cloud connection is blocked, not instability. Happy with this setup long term.
bRhFDKtjRMK9 This has been covered in the GivEnergy/GivTCP Facebook groups. Other than accessing Amazon Web Services, the inverters also periodically contact a timeserver pool to keep correct time. Posters on the groups say that this can also be done via GivTCP and some of the apps (RubikCubes app come to mind)
T-M I don't have Facebook, but good to know.
Local access was very slow with WAN blocked, because devices were busy blindly retrying contact with the cloud. So I ended up creating a spoof AWS server on my local network. I'm imitating three AWS IPs that GE equipment has got hardcoded and wants to connect to at all times. GE devices are sending TCP package to it EVERY SECOND. My spoof server responds back with correct answer. I've also spoofed initial handshake (GE equipment dumps entire configuration of all registers on first contact, and was not happy that my spoof server was not requesting it, now it does).
Looking at that amount of garbage traffic, no wonder GE couldn't afford cloud access and started asking for money.
Need to spoof time syncing too, it seems.
T-M the inverters also periodically contact a timeserver pool to keep correct time
The dongle uses that to keep correct time. The inverter does NOT as the dongle does NOT pass the time onto the inverter.
Vestas Dongle? What you mean by that please?
I have Ethernet connection to AIO + GW, no WiFi, nothing else is being plugged in.
bRhFDKtjRMK9 Ok I think this meant Hy Flying Shanghai or whatever the name is, WiFi module, which hosts http page, and passes internet to the internal guts of GE equipment and back.
Unfortunately, it doesn't expose any time syncing settings in the GUI.
I set tcpdump on port 123, trying to catch NCP communication with timeservers. Will see how that goes.
Vestas I stand corrected. I can understand how the internals of an inverter might well not need clock time, but assume they do keep track of elapsed time in order to derive kWh from kW, so thanks for the clarification
bRhFDKtjRMK9 https://community.givenergy.cloud/d/6709-the-nuclear-option-what-if-ge-wasnt-there
Second post in that says what it does.
I assume the firmware push happens even to those not on premium, based on their settings. Our gateway hasn't updated but given the firmware is only described as having a single fairly trivial change I'm not concerned.
Vestas Amazing, thank you! Thanks to your findings in that post, I was able to add last piece of the puzzle, spoof DNS and NTP, so now both GW and AIO modules are connecting and syncing time with my timeserver.
Heartbeat spoof server is active, nothing goes outside. I only bothered to spoof one type of heartbeat request-reply, and one type of initial handshake. Enough to keep the equipment happy indefinitely, with time synced correctly.
bRhFDKtjRMK9 Shouldn't need ntp access. Dongle doesn't care what time it is as long as it gets a heartbeat signal.
Edit - not sure why you're doing this, doesn't GivTCP do what you want?
Vestas Hmm, if I don't keep time synced in GE equipment, then eventually it will lose track and scheduled charging sessions from midnight till 6AM will not be accurate. Right?
I don't use GivTCP, I hacked everything by reverse engineering.
bRhFDKtjRMK9 “Hacked”, best hope the Chinese parent company aren’t watching/listening 😉
bRhFDKtjRMK9 The inverter needs the time updated (and doesn't use ntp). The dongle doesn't care.
You'd be better off just running HA/GivTCP but YMMV.
Maxwell This is just a lighthearted remark. 🙂 While I would like to modify GE firmware, I lack the expertise to do so. That would be true hacking. Chinese parent company cannot prevent me from doing this - there is no warranty anyway, and I've fully paid for my equipment, I can do with it whatever I want.
My efforts are simply a workaround to keep the equipment functional without a cloud connection.
Eventually, the cloud service may be discontinued for everyone, especially if the remaining parts of GE cease operations.
Vestas Thank you for your comments. I am still learning.
From what I have discovered, GW and AIO IPs have initiated NTP connections with my chrony service and synced time with it.
From my perspective, NTP was offered, the offer was accepted, and the time was synced. This happens every time I press "Restart Module" on the HTTP page, and it also occurs when there are issues with comms.givenergy.cloud communication.
Vestas You'd be better off just running HA/GivTCP but YMMV.
You are right! But it is already done, and I had a blast! I can only blame myself. 🙂
I do not need much else going forward, I guess. I can even read and modify AIO settings without the GivEnergy app. It should be enough for my personal use.
bRhFDKtjRMK9 From what I have discovered, GW and AIO IPs have initiated NTP connections with my chrony service and synced time with it.
Yes but that doesn't mean the time on the inverter has been updated over modbus.
I'd encourage you to be very careful about what you write to registers ("I can even read and modify AIO settings") as there's nobody to fix things if you brick it.
Vestas Thank you for your feedback. I am aware of the risks. My solution is clean and functional, as it replicates the requests sent by the GivEnergy app (verified via tcpdump sniffing).
Regarding time synchronization, I will revisit this in a couple of weeks or months to check for any time drift. If the issue persists, I will explore ready-made solutions.
Thank you for all your comments.