Understanding Firmware Updates

How do I get notified about a payment terminal firmware update?

You receive a notification one week and one day before the release through our notification system. If you are not receiving notifications, send an email to the appropriate group as follows:

Global Industry Unit (GIU) Product Contact Information
Oracle Restaurants Oracle Simphony fbgbucloudcomms_ww@oracle.com
Oracle Hospitality OPERA Cloud Slack channel hlgiu-payment-updates

What happens during an update?

When updated firmware is released, the terminal automatically installs the new software after rebooting at the restart hour.

What happens if I am transacting at the reboot restart hour?

For the nightly reboot, five minutes prior to the payment terminal reboot (also known as the low layer PCI reboot), Oracle receives an internal message from the terminal timer. If the terminal state is IDLE, the terminal reboots. If a transaction is in progress, Oracle waits for it to complete and then the terminal reboots when the state changes to IDLE.

There is a 5-minute grace period. After the grace period, the terminal reboots regardless of the terminal state. To meet PCI compliance regulations, Oracle must reboot the terminal every 24 hours. For example, when a terminal is running for 23 hours and 55 minutes, the terminal does a hard reboot regardless of the terminal state. If you have terminals in a transacting state (because you have 24-hour operations or your business is running during the update hour), the terminal reboots after the 24 hour timer.

The above applies only for reboot of the terminal. Updates are installed only when the payment terminal is IDLE and not when a transaction is in progress. This can be at the reboot time if the terminal was deemed IDLE or after a reboot when it is determined to be idle.

When do the payment terminals update?

They update at the restart hour, configured to be 4:00 a.m. local to the payment terminal location time zone by default for all customers of Oracle Payments.

How long does an update take?

An update can take up to 10 minutes if the terminal is operational and it has consistently received previous updates.

A payment terminal that has not been used for a while or has not received updates for more than 6 months can take up to 30 minutes to update. As a best practice, prepare these terminals for an update 24 hours ahead of time to the extent possible.

Do you update over regular weekends, long weekends, or holidays?

Terminals are not updated on Friday or Saturday nights or during busy periods.

What do I need to do to ensure a successful update?

Make sure the terminal stays turned on and connected to your network for at least 3 hours before the restart hour. Oracle recommends keeping the terminals turned on and connected to the network overnight.

Can an update fail? What will the terminal do if an update fails?

If the update fails, the terminal operates as before on the previous software version. Oracle is aware of the failure and schedules an update for the next night.

It is highly recommended that you wait for the terminal to automatically update the next night. However, if in extreme cases the terminal can be manually updated.

  1. On terminals with a keypad, press 9, press the Confirm key (green circle), and then press Config.

  2. Enter the terminal passcode and then click Confirm. Contact your Payment Administrator in your organization for the passcode.

  3. Press Update.

Do I have the option to defer a firmware version?

Payment terminal firmware versions contain critical security updates, performance updates, bug fixes for any issues found across the customer suite, and new features. It is critical to always be on the latest firmware version.

Can an update be paused while it is trying to install, in the case of needing to take a payment?

No, updates cannot be paused if the reboot has already started on the payment terminal. The next payment transaction on the terminal can be taken after the update completes.

How does Oracle handle unexpected issues to a scheduled rollout?

Oracle can pause the update or revert to a previous release at any time. This is done in the best interest of customers to make sure they have a stable firmware version always running.

How do I know an update was successful or check my firmware version?

Check from the Terminal

  • On terminals with a keypad, press 5, press the Confirm key (green circle), and then view the software version to confirm the latest version number appears. This indicates a successful update.

  • On terminals without a keypad:

    1. Press the Menu key and then click Admin.

    2. Under Admin menu, enter the Admin & Settings passcode. Contact your Payment Administrator in your organization for the passcode.

    3. Click Confirm and then view the updated software version.

Check from Oracle Payment Cloud Service Portal
  1. In Oracle Payment Cloud Service, click Terminals.
  2. Search for the terminal and then click View Details.
  3. From here, you can view the software version.

Parent topic: Payment Terminals