Instructions to update the firmware on a B4K camera

Mark S-H

Mark S-H

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Location
Pomorie, Bulgaria
Country
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Dash Cam
K6000, G1WH, G1WC, B1W, B4K
These are the step by step Instructions to update the firmware on a B4K camera
1. Firstly check the version number in the B4K camera.
2. Switch on the B4K camera and select 'Menu' button on the side.
3. Scroll until you find 'Version' in the settings.

1626159100692.jpg

4. Press the 'OK' button on the side to check the current version number in your B4K camera.
- In this case B4K_20201222_V008

1626159100702.jpg
5. Press the 'Back/Exit' button 2 times to get to the video screen.
6. Shut down the B4K camera.
7. On a computer, open the BlueSkySea website
8. Hover over the word 'DOWNLOAD' at the top of the BlueSkySea website.
9. Select '> Firmware' BlueSkySea Firmware

BlueSkySeaWS.jpg

10. Scroll down the list of firmware until you find the update (if any).
- In this case B4K 20210201 V009 Firmware
BSSFWPage.jpg

11. Select and download the new firmware file (in this case FWQ70A.bin) into a suitable area (desktop) on your computer or get the BlueSkySea B4K firmware version 20210201_V009 from this link HERE
12. Remove the micro SD from your B4K camera and connect it or another blank micro SD card to your computer using a suitable card reader.
13. Using Windows Explorer select the drive the micro SD card is assigned and delete any files and folders on the micro SD card leaving the card clean.
14. Copy over the FWQ70A.bin file from your computer to the root directory of the micro SD card.
15. Remove the micro SD card from the card reader and place it into the B4K camera.
16. Switch on the B4K camera. NB. This time the boot sequence of the B4K camera will take slightly longer than usual - do not worry, this is normal.
17. Eventually you will see the BlueSkySea logon screen and the B4K camera will boot up.

1626164617699.jpg

18. The B4K camera will load all the default settings and you will/may need to change the settings to your preferred selections.
19. You can check that the latest firmware version has loaded by following steps 1 to 5 above.
- Now updated to B4K_20210201_V009

1626160710664.jpg

20. Your B4K camera is ready to be used with the updated firmware.

E&OE - Please make me aware of any mistakes/errors - Thanks.
 
Last edited:
On step 13, it's better to do a card format than to delete files and folders. Otherwise looks good (y)

Phil
 
SawMaster said:
On step 13, it's better to do a card format than to delete files and folders. Otherwise looks good (y)

Phil
Click to expand...
Thanks Phil for the suggestion,
I was thinking that but if the SD card was already being used in the B4K camera then it would be ready and suitably formatted to work in the camera.
But yes you are correct, I may change that sentence to:

13. Using Windows Explorer select the drive the micro SD card is assigned and delete any files and folders on the micro SD card leaving the card clean or format tool within Windows Explorer to format the card.
 
Is there a description of the bug this will fix?
 
Mark S-H said:
Thanks Phil for the suggestion,
I was thinking that but if the SD card was already being used in the B4K camera then it would be ready and suitably formatted to work in the camera.
But yes you are correct, I may change that sentence to:

13. Using Windows Explorer select the drive the micro SD card is assigned and delete any files and folders on the micro SD card leaving the card clean or format tool within Windows Explorer to format the card.
Click to expand...
If the card is larger than 32GB formatting in Windows will change the file system and the firmware update won't run, in this case deleting the files is a better option, just make sure once it's all done to format in the camera again
 
@estore009 what happened to the B4K V009 firmware? I don't see it listed on your website any longer.
 
@estore009 Both my B4K cameras came with v008 firmware. I upgraded to v009 firmware, but have found after the update both cameras will show 'card error' with both SD cards and stop recording after a day or so. I reformated each card using the respective dash cam and they will work for a day and then show card error and stop recording again. I'm using Samsung 256 EVO cards, which should be high quality. Is there a way to revert to v008 firmware to test if the problem is the v009 firmware?
 
Last edited:
@Heathbar If the one card is failing in both of the cameras then I suspect it is a problem with the card. It could be a fake.
Have you tested it with the h2testw program?
 
Heathbar said:
Is there a way to revert to v008 firmware to test if the problem is the v009 firmware?
Click to expand...
Should be a card-related problem. Anyway, will DM you V008 firmware download link!
 
If issues follow a card it might be bad, and sadly these suckers can go bad fast in some cases. ( brand model dont matter here )
Also why i always recommend memory cards that have warranty in dashcams, and to buy local / where you stand a good chance of a pleasant RMA process.
You could run it thru with sdformatter but it will take a while with a 256GB card, but there is a slight chance this little software from the organization of memory card makers can restore it.
Personally a month or two ago i got a brand new Adata endurance in 256GB size, for some reason its read & write speeds was only 1/10 of what it was supposed to be, a once over with the sdformatter gave the card its rated speeds back. ( first time i have experienced this myself but i have heard it mentioned in here before )
 
Mark S-H said:
@Heathbar If the one card is failing in both of the cameras then I suspect it is a problem with the card. It could be a fake.
Have you tested it with the h2testw program?
Click to expand...
Actually it is two different but identical SD cards... Both fail independently in each cam. I bought them new from the official Samsung retailer on Amazon, so I don't think they could be fake. Also seems unlikely I got two bad cards or that they had time to wear out... They have been used less than 3 weeks. I'll try the suggested test program to be sure.
 
kamkar said:
If issues follow a card it might be bad, and sadly these suckers can go bad fast in some cases. ( brand model dont matter here )
Also why i always recommend memory cards that have warranty in dashcams, and to buy local / where you stand a good chance of a pleasant RMA process.
You could run it thru with sdformatter but it will take a while with a 256GB card, but there is a slight chance this little software from the organization of memory card makers can restore it.
Personally a month or two ago i got a brand new Adata endurance in 256GB size, for some reason its read & write speeds was only 1/10 of what it was supposed to be, a once over with the sdformatter gave the card its rated speeds back. ( first time i have experienced this myself but i have heard it mentioned in here before )
Click to expand...
I actually have two identical Samsung SD cards that are less than 3 weeks old
... The issue happens with both cards in both cameras. I'll try the SD formatter a go in case the built in camera format option is the issue.
 
yeah it sux when you run into things like this, you would suppose memory cards follow a standard, and they also do but still there are differences, and some brands even compound this by making almost damn sure their systems only with with their own brand of memory cards, though i dont think that is the case with Blueskysea.

The B1w and B2w i tested back in the day i dident find any problems with memory cards, and i try to run as many different cards thru test cameras i get.
I have not been part of testing the new Blueskysea cameras, but there are some good guys on that team.

Back in the day i got 2 64GB cards that back then cost more than a 256GB card do today, the one i did not get to fill one time ( PNY U3 card ) and second card Trancend ultimate U3 card i did not get to fill 2 times.
Thankfully RMA was a pleasure with the amazon seller and the other was sold by and fulfilled by amazon so also no problem, almost had replacement cards before i got to ship the broken ones back.
 
SDformatter restores the card to factory specs, and if using the 'full overwqrite' function also tests it. I like to rung "h2testw" freeware afterward, again doing a full overwrite, to verify the testing. And always do an in-cam format anytime you've placed the card in another device. This approach, though time-consuming, has never failed me with several different cards. But always remember that dashcams can be finicky about which cards work well, so even a fully tested and verified card may still not work well.

Phil
 
Thankfully you can do other stuff on the PC meanwhile, cuz even if the cards are fast in read &write speeds it sure do take its time.
 
estore009 said:
Should be a card-related problem. Anyway, will DM you V008 firmware download link!
Click to expand...
@estore009 Thanks for sending a link to the V008 firmware. I reverted both my B4K cameras from V009 back to V008. I found the issue with "card error" has stopped. Before the error would occur within 12 hrs of a card reformat. Now both cameras have been running for 4 days without any "card error" messages. The only thing that changed in this test is the firmware version.
 
Heathbar said:
Now both cameras have been running for 4 days without any "card error" messages. The only thing that changed in this test is the firmware version.
Click to expand...
Could you tell me which exact Samsung card you are using for it? Will ask my tech support man to have a check it!
 
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