Neato Botvac D3 – D7 Firmware Update 4.5.3_189

Created 2022-11-13, updated 2023-06-03

Instructions for manually updating the firmware of Neato Botvac robots (D3, D4, D5, D6, D7).

The following instructions are intended for vacuum robots D3, D4, D5, D6, D7 from the manufacturer Neato.

Note in advance: The procedure is performed at your own risk without any guarantee of success. In the worst case, the device may stop working.

Why this article and why a manual update when the manufacturer offers this conveniently via app? An update (4.5.3_189) has been available for more than a year and a corresponding message is displayed in the Neato app. However, the update has failed again and again for a long time with the same error message “Server or file configuration error” and the message to please contact support. Corresponding tickets have been open since the beginning of the year (2022) without any progress being apparent. Several unsuccessful phone calls with neato. The guys on the phone are friendly, but they can only forward the requests to he HQ in US…

Why Neato does not solve what is actually a very simple problem, the reader may speculate. The contributions about the same problems with the update accumulate in the forums …

Finally, there was time and plenty of bad weather and so I pursued the idea that a manual update process, as with the predecessor models, could possibly be possible. The result you can read below…

Important! Following instructions without guarantee that it works everywhere. It can happen in the worst case that the vacuum cleaner does not survive the update. Any interruption of the update process can mean the destruction of the vacuum cleaner. 

If you are not familiar with IT and update processes then you should keep their hands off the update process described below!

Anyone who does not understand the values and information displayed in Neatocontrol or Toolino should also keep their hands off the update process.

Everything happens on your own responsibility. Be warned! 

Requirements / Notes:

• suitable usb otg adapter needed to connect the USB stick to the Botvac. Does not have to be from Neato, I used a cheap adapter purchased from Samsung via ebay.
• suitable USB cable to connect the vacuum to the PC
• USB stick, Fat32 formatted, more than 4 GB
• IT knowledge
• Botvac must be fully charged
• Neato app is installed on the cell phone and connected to the vacuum cleaner
• Update process must not be interrupted!

If everything is available and prepared accordingly, the update process can be started.

1. Search for firmware in the network and load it (Neato_4.5.3_189.tgz).
2. Create the RobotData directory on the USB stick.
3. Copy the tgz file into the directory.
4. Download Toolino from github and install on PC, if necessary.
5. Start Toolino.
6. connect to the switched on Botvac via USB.
7. Clean logs (run both options one after the other).
8. Disconnect from Toolino and remove USB cable from Botvac.
9. Connect USB stick via OTG adapter to the switched-on Botvac.
10. The update process now starts automatically.
11. Botvac boots after the update process is complete.
12. Call up the corresponding Botvac in the Neato app and check for the update message.
13. The new version should now be displayed in the vacuum’s info.
14. Remove the USB stick if points 11 to 13 are OK.

Tip: If you have several vacuum cleaners

• check the content of the stick after each update
• move the logs directory to the PC, if necessary
• if necessary copy the tgz file to the stick…

Hint:If this update process fails, have a look at the validity of the included cert and if necessary get and include a new valid…