Firmware Upgrade Review - new features for $65

I sent my CPAP (a 450 "Pro" model, running firmware v. 2.01, manufactured near the end of 2010) in to Accurate Biomed Services for the $65 firmware update. I wanted to have the features of the later machines, including the humidifier pre-heat option, the "silent mode" and AutoIQ. Thanks to blakepro whose report of this process was tucked in the back of my mind until I was ready. His posting was in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=59433&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... 20#p769339

Another thing they could have "upgraded" for me was my time-zone. Instead of having the machine set to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), it could be whatever zone I wanted. That is particularly helpful to folks who are further west and want the on-display calculations to include all their morning hours of sleep!

The cost of the service was $65 plus shipping. Normally the turn-around time is about a week, but due to an unfortunate series of events mine took longer. I am glad I didn't send my machine until I had another one I could use while it was away.

Ian McCullough helped me at each step. He said that the tech who used to do these firmware upgrades was not there anymore, so I had a choice of which of their facilities to use. I picked Indiana as it felt closer to me than Florida. I talked with the tech by phone, and got the address and carefully packed up my machine in a PriorityMail medium box (I would have used FedEx if it hadn't been near a weekend, it was a couple bucks cheaper -- the Post Office keeps moving their packages on weekends though).

They got my machine and it probably would have been a two-day turn around. Here is where we hit a snag. My CPAP would not take the upgrade. It had serious errors logged, and needed a new main circuit board. I had no clue, as the machine was working fine. That made me wonder how anyone would know if their machine was experiencing difficulty.
I started posting about error codes in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=91178#p839409

Ian stepped in and authorized the repair, at no additional cost to me. That was amazing!

There was another glitch. When I got the machine back it had been downgraded to v. 1.24. The display no longer lit up, and it was clear a first year circuit board had gone in by mistake. Back it went -- they paid for return shipping, and had it picked up at my door. This time the machine went to Florida. The tech confirmed my suspicions about the circuit board, and ordered a new 2.xx board from the factory. He said they don't get many 2.xx machines for repair so didn't have the boards on hand (at first I thought this was a testimony of reliability, but he also explained that Philips prefers a return-and-replace procedure for in-warrantee machines, and I figure unlike mine there are many 2.xx machines are still within their two years).

I was expecting my machine to be upgraded to v. 2.50 but it turns out v. 2.55 is the newest firmware, so that's what I got.

I'm happy with the way things were handled. I'm glad I was using another machine while my CPAP was away or I might not have taken the snags with good humor and patience, but I really commend all the people at the company for being so friendly and willing to answer my questions and make things right. They threw in a couple extra items in the box and shipped it back super fast, calling me to let me know, and checking to see if there was any other question I might have.

My guess is no one else is going to hit these snags.

It came back clean (they even got the tape marks off the filter area, where I'd once put a frame of tape to guard against any filter pop-out). It came (both times) with printouts showing the calibration checks all passed. As promised as part of this firmware service, it came with new filters. I notice the disposable fine filter has "Respironics" printed in a pattern across the white background. I'd never seen that before.

So, now I have a machine with all the best features of that model year, and the added Auto-Trial capacity, for $65 plus shipping.

I'm eager to get to bed and try it tonight so I'll quit typing for tonight. Let me know what you'd like me to share in this thread about the upgrade, and I'll get back to it tomorrow.

P.S. to any BiPAP model 650 users: it looks like this firmware refers to AutoIQ for your machines too. I have not confirmed it, but it appears in one of the text files on my SD card.

--SleepyCPAP

First night went well. Tonight I'll try the Auto-Trial.

Here are the tech's test report sheets which come with the firmware upgrade process. They used their own humidifier since I hadn't send my own.

Thanks for posting this. It really is a great option for people on older firmwares that would like the new features without paying for an entirely new machine.

Sounds like you hit a few snags in the process but also was taken care of in a above and beyond fashion. Thats great. My experience had no snags at all and it just went perfectly.

Its been about 9 months or so since I got my firmware flashed and I am still satisfied and happy with the whole thing. It was certainly worth it for me.

Nice job on the review Sleepy. People like you help pave the way for others who might be on the fence or worried about it. Sounds like they will take care of you even if things go catastrophically wrong when updating the thing.

Thanks blakepro!

And yes, Accurate Biomed Systems folks handled everything beyond expectation. When everything goes smoothly I might not know how good the folks are at a company, but when things don't go as planned I see how excellent the people are who care about their work and their customers. They were excellent.

I'm enjoying the upgrade, and glad to hear you are still pleased with yours after a long time of use.

I used the humidifier pre-heat the last two nights, and here is a photo of me switching from straight CPAP to AutoIQ for the first time: