Updating the Elite
Hornby Elite

If you are experiencing some difficulty in updating your Elite units from firmware versions to that of v1.43, v1.44 or v1.45 in Windows 10 then look no further. The latest update for the Elite is v1.45, released 3rd September 2019.

It has been said that these updates cannot be done without great risk of ‘bricking’ your Elite and I am not happy backing that hypothesis.

* Caution: While upgrading firmware to any piece of hardware it is not always easy as it does always carry some risk, no matter what. However, in this day and age it is far less likely that anything will go wrong if correct procedures are followed and you don‘t have power failures in the middle of the update. Please always use the mains outlet for this firmware update and NOT the laptop battery if using a laptop.

If your first attempt does not succeed do not give up as it could take more than one go. The following guide shows how to update the Elite using Windows 10 or 11 while for Windows 7 and XP the process is not too disimilar.

How it was done
Scenario
  • Former firmware version for this update was 1.44 and is now updated to 1.45 since this article was last edited. You should, of course, update to the current 1.45 rather than use any previous version.
  • Task: To update to v1.45 on a Windows 10 or 11 PC/laptop with a fresh install of Windows Home or Pro build 1903 or higher with all updates installed and background apps removed that were not required for future use (optional). Privacy Settings were also adjusted as per the guide laid out elsewhere on this site. Regardless of the version the procedure is exactly the same.
  • This is the official update zip file downloadable from Hornby to save you searching for it. Please be aware the link does not always work in Firefox and the download, although appears to begin in Opera, can be extremely slow. This is down to the server it resides upon but is generally OK.
  • Official Hornby Elite New Firmware Updater v1.45
  • No anti-virus software of any kind was installed and there was no need to worry about Windows Firewall either.
  • With the Elite unit already switched on turn on the computer. Open Device Manager in the Control Panel which matches the start of the setup process for the Hornby guide mentioned above. From this you will be able to see the COM port you connect your Elite to. Try and keep it to ports 3 and 4 if possible as the first two can, on some laptops, be utilised by the system and therefore will be unavailable.
...continued
Step by step
  • Connect the USB cable (already fitted to the Elite) to the laptop or PC USB port and note the COM port number that appears in Device Manager.
  • You may expect to see ‘CD RS-232 Emulation Demo’ under Other devices (as per Hornby instructions) but instead you will almost certainly note that the port lists USB Serial Port (COM?) where ‘?’ is your COM port number. This means the driver that has been installed by Windows 10 or 11 is correct and the version will be very close to 5.1.2600.7 dated 06-12-2012 by Microchip Technology. So no need to look for the port name to match that of Hornby‘s R8214 Hornby Elite.
  • Even if you attempt to force the Elite driver onto the system your computer will tell you the best driver is already installed. Leave it at that. From this you should be able to work out that I already tried it.
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Upload the firmware
  • Unplug the mains AND the USB cable from the rear of the Elite. Hold the STOP button on the Elite and plug the mains cable back into the unit while keeping the STOP button depressed for a minimum 15 seconds.
  • Release the STOP button and wait again for 15 seconds and then plug the USB cable back into the Elite. Wait again for a final 15 seconds.
  • Find the Application file ‘Elite Updater V1.45’ (or v1.44 or 1.43 if using the earlier versions first) from the unzipped download you did earlier and run it as an Administrator.
  • In the new dialogue window choose the port number matching that listed in Device Manager for the USB Serial Port (COM?) and then choose the PC type for the download to work for you. No.1 is faster and no.3 slower. Generally number 2 is a good place to start. I chose 3, for v1.43 and, later, 2 for v1.44 and v1.45 (which was slightly quicker, obviously) which was successful but still a tad slow. Click Download and leave alone until finished. You may see an ’Update Fail‘ dialogue box but do just go over the process again. The slower connection (3) usually works best here.

You SHOULD see a message of SUCCESS when complete, or, as in v1.45 you should see text above the green progress bar saying Update Finished. The Elite display should now be showing your normal startup screen display. If not simply try again. Occasionally it can take more than one attempt to complete the process. Try a different PC type number each time... For v1.45 I tried all three PC types after attempting the quicker speed and it was PC Type 3 where success was obtained. So try not be disheartened and do be patient.