Usual disclaimer before i start.
NEITHER I NOR MK5GOLFGTI.CO.UK WILL BE RESPONSIBLE IF YOU UNDERTAKE THE PROCESS DETAILED BELOW AND SOMETHING GOES WRONG. YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISKI have seen a few times recently that people are asking how to upgrade firmware. So here is a quick tutorial on what to do.
Firstly you need to download the firmware.
Here are some links (i will update these periodically as and when needed however i will only put in here reliable firmware that works and not Beta's etc)
276X Firmware (For all A/B/C Units)
Click Me 130X Firmware - newer than 276X however does not support Voice Control (for all A/B/C Units)
Click Me 381X Firmware (latest for all A/B/C Units)
Click Me There is a later 398X firmware but as it only works on B units and higher i haven't listed it.
For those who may suffer battery drain the 100% working Can-Gateway you need is L Revision however a lot of K Revision ones will not suffer battery drain either. I haven't been able to tie this down to month of manufacture (of the gateway not the car). If you are unsure i haven't seen a Car older than June 2007 with an L Revision gateway. If someone has one older please let me know so i can update. But If your car was registered in June 2007 onwards you *should* have an L Revision gateway or higher.
Old Can-Gateway fix (this works in about 95% of cases) This will only update the VUCI part of the RNS to stop battery drain. Works with firmware 1200 onwards
Click Me All the above Firmware will leave the Maps and HDD data intact.
So that's the firmware sorted. All you have to do is download the file. Open the .Rar file and when it extracts you will be left with a .NRG file. Burn this file to disc ensuring you create a disc from the image and not a data disc. Best programs to use are Windows - Nero or IMGBurn and Mac - Toast. If you have any of those installed right click on the .NRG, select open with and then click the burning program. This will put it all ready for you to put a disc in and burn away.
Now some people will say use DVD, some will say Use CD. It really does depend on how fussy your drive is. I have done this for a few cars that will only accept DVD and some that will only accept CD. Most will be happy with either. The things to remember are.
Where possible use a decent disc - Verbatim, TDK, Sony etc.
Burn the disc as slow as possible - Usually 2x speed
Ensure you verify the disc afterwards
DVD+R/DVD-R & CD-R are fine don't use RW discs as most RNS i have seen are fussy about them.
So you now have your Firmware disc. Now it's time to update. Please follow the instructions below to ensure it runs smoothly.
1 - Get in the car and turn on the nav - DO NOT PUT THE KEYS IN THE IGNITION
2 - Insert the disc into the Nav.
3 - It will cycle through a few checks and then you will be presented with a screen that tells you about the software and asks you to press OK or Cancel. Press OK. You will then get another screen saying the firmware will be updated are you sure. Select OK again. This process can take around 2-3mins.
4 - The nav will now update. It takes around 50 mins but afterwards you should be presented with this screen
Voila all done.
Pointers/Tips
If you get a message referring to Invalid Clamp state - Remove the disc, change the clock on the dash from 12h to 24hr (or vice versa) Press Setup, i and Eject and then try again.
Few other tools.
If you are having problems updating the maps, deleting MP3's etc then below are some tools that can help. (ENSURE YOU HAVE A MAP DISC AND MEANS TO LOAD MP3'S AS THE DATA WILL BE DELETED)
Map Partition erase (will delete the maps but leave MP3's intact)
Click Me HDD Format (Delete's everything)
Click Me SWL Recovery disc. If you get Gateway error 202 or other problems and you can not boot up run this disc and it will restore the Nav. It's based on latest 398x software but can be used to recover RNS-510 running any software version. It will try to restore basic coding (including TestMode) and finish SWL. It will not work if the Nav is completely fooked.
To use - insert the disc, press Setup, i and Eject and it will work away.
Click Me A few other points.
I will only upload here firmware that i know 100% to be working. In that i have tested it myself or have done it for other people. If other later firmware comes out that i haven't tested i will put a new thread up in the forum and point out that i haven't used it (as i have done with 380X firmware)
I
do not modify the firmware myself. Credit and a big thanks to Josi over on VWNavi for doing so. All the links provided in this guide are his software
Comments good/bad welcome and any queries feel free to ask/pm me
Edit - The link to Josi thread on VWNavi is here
http://vwnavi.com/showthread.php/13672-Unofficial-272x-software-and-SWL-recovery-CDPart of the reason i made this post is because you need to register on VWNavi to see it. So it saves people having to register just to download a firmware update.
