Update: Allworx now requires a valid subscription with a reseller to obtain the latest firmware. We are on 7.4.16.6 presently and it is much more reliable than prior versions. So if you are on the fence, we recommend you bite the bullet and get this firmware by paying for a 1 year renewal period.
Update 2: We still recommend purchasing a valid subscription but find that the current download links for the firmware are located below as of July, 2013. The link with pre is the pre-production version while the link with pro is the current stable release.
http://upgrade.inscitek.net/allworx6x/pre/upgrade.auf http://upgrade.inscitek.net/allworx6x/pro/upgrade.auf
Another Allworx phone problem here. I still intend to put up a comprehensive review in the future but for the moment I am only going to cover the firmware issue. In the summer of 2008, I upgraded our Allworx 6x box to version 6.9.3.3 firmware. After this version, every time I went to the web interface and chose Maintenance -> Update -> “download from the web” or “check the web” I would get the error (listed receptive to the errors above):
There was an error downloading the files from the web. Please check your network connection, then try again.
OR
Unable to obtain the information about the latest version of the software from the web.
Ok, so this is another instance where Allworx screwed something up and they are certainly not going to help resolve the issue. I look in the logs and see the following:
7 01/23/2009 09:28:37am tWebT0055: Install: Downloading (/releases/allworx6x/upgrade.dat) from upgrade server
7 01/23/2009 09:28:37am tWebT0055: Web Client: Problem fetching URL (upgrade.inscitek.net:80) (/releases/allworx6x/upgrade.dat)
7 01/23/2009 09:29:35am tWebT0055: Install: Downloading (/releases/allworx6x/upgrade.dat) from upgrade server
7 01/23/2009 09:29:35am tWebT0055: Web Client: Problem fetching URL (upgrade.inscitek.net:80) (/releases/allworx6x/upgrade.dat)
Once I see this, I quickly realize the solution which is to simply download the necessary files from this location:
http://upgrade.inscitek.net/releases/allworx6x/filename
BUT you need to know the file names, so here they are:
installFiles.arc
installFiles.ini
newFlash.sre
oisapp
upgrade.dat
Here are the actual links for those who just want to right click and save:
http://upgrade.inscitek.net/releases/allworx6x/installFiles.arc
http://upgrade.inscitek.net/releases/allworx6x/installFiles.ini
http://upgrade.inscitek.net/releases/allworx6x/newFlash.sre
http://upgrade.inscitek.net/releases/allworx6x/oisapp
http://upgrade.inscitek.net/releases/allworx6x/upgrade.dat
Of course it seems that the actual Allworx software should work and perform this action already when telling it to upgrade but hoping for Allworx support or hoping for their software to work in all cases increasingly seems to be a lost cause. We recently upgraded from 6.9.3.3 to 6.9.6.1 because we purchased a new 9224 phone (which is still NOT DUPLEX SPEAKERPHONE, does not have an actual rj11 port (its a handset rj22 port) for the headset and still suffers from poor audio quality compared to other phones we have on the same system but is better than the 9212 phones we have). I really wish Allworx would stop falsely advertising that they have DUPLEX SPEAKERPHONES among the other falsely advertised features.
After our upgrade to 6.9.6.1, we cannot add speed dial numbers anymore… great.
We have the Allworx 6x in our office and it is nothing but trouble.
We can no longer browse to the administration page and configure it. We have to uplug the WAN and the LAN power cycle then plugin a laptop to the LAN port then we can get to the admin page. However then certain functions like Business->Users hangs when we click on it. I am hoping an upgrade to the Firmware will help but I could not see the button to get the files in the admin pages and after reading your post I doubt it would even work.
Does the router keep the configuration if we upgrade the firmware or does it drop everything? I am still not sure where to even see the Firmware Version.
The knowledge base on http://www.allworx.com states that you should have one available VPN connection even if you didnt not purchase that feater key so that you can VPN in and configure it.
“To access an Allworx System remotely you need to use Virtual Private Networking (VPN). All Allworx systems support one active VPN session. If you need up to 15 simultaneous VPN sessions, then you will need to purchase a feature key that allows this.
Your network MUST connect to the internet with a STATIC IP address. If your network connects to the internet with a dynamic (DHCP) address, then your WAN IP address will continually change and you may not know what it is to have remote access.
This document is based on the Allworx system being in Router or one of the Firewall modes.”
http://na1.salesforce.com/_ui/selfservice/pkb/PublicKnowledgeSolution/d?orgId=00D3000000018Wp&id=50130000000NcV3&retURL=%2Fsol%2Fpublic%2Fsolutionbrowser.jsp%3Fsearch%3Dvpn%26cid%3D000000000000000%26orgId%3D00D3000000018Wp%26t%3D4&ps=1
I cant even do the following
“Verify that you can reach the generic Allworx system webpage by opening another browser window and browsing to the WAN IP address. You should get the generic Allworx webpage with the client’s BUSINESS > CONTACT INFORMATION displayed on it. ”
http://na1.salesforce.com/_ui/selfservice/pkb/PublicKnowledgeSolution/d?orgId=00D3000000018Wp&id=50130000000NcV8&retURL=%2Fsol%2Fpublic%2Fsolutionbrowser.jsp%3Fsearch%3Dvpn%26cid%3D000000000000000%26orgId%3D00D3000000018Wp%26t%3D4&ps=1
Any Ideas?
FrustratedWithAllworx6x,
If you can’t browse the device it seems there may be larger issues. I would first try to take the 6x out of its working environment on a weekend and only hook it up to power and via lan to a laptop to see if you are still having the same problems. Next, I would backup my data (we backup weekly here to a remote server). Then I would restart and restore factory defaults and see if you have the same issues. After this I would try adding features back one at a time until you encounter the issue.
To see what version you have you merely need to log into the box at http://xx.yy.zz.aa:8080 then go to the maintenance-> update and you can see the firmware version. You will need to login to the same ip using ftp to put the files up there manually. The most current build appears to be:
The Allworx 6x box keeps the settings every time you do a firmware update although I do recommend doing a backup before any firmware updates.
VPN has nothing to do with your ability to login to your Allworx box locally. This is for remote users where the Allworx box is acting as the router and vpn router for your remote employees.
As far as getting into the Allworx box, you shouldn’t need to worry about remote access for the purpose of local administration and you should only be focusing on accessing and working with the Allworx box locally to bring the firmware up to the newest version and see if there is some setting that has been put in place that is creating a problem.
Hi James, we recently got an allworx 6x system and phones. The sys software is the latest. Interestingly the system crashed today – phones on the network lost calls, and registration and the 6x became ‘unavailable’ or un ping-able.
We powercycled the unit and it started working again – called allworx and they said its a network problem – ‘no kidding’ they’re network phones. Something seems to be able to take the 6x off line… ?
Have you ever come across anything like that?
Don W,
About 1-2 times a month we reboot our phone system because something goes horribly awry. Our Allworx 6x commonly enters into some of the following situations:
1. Calls come in and ring at the stations but when a receiver tries to pick up the call, nothing happens. We have to reboot the Allworx 6x to recover
2. The Allworx 6x freezes and stops responding to calls entirely. Reboot required.
3. We have random failures either pushing or pulling voicemail emails. The email system doesn’t work very well with modern email clients and/or services. Reboot Required.
4. Many other odd or new situations in which a reboot is required for system recovery
I keep hoping that new firmware will fix the problems we continue to have and they do not. This coupled with marketing material that has directly false information (duplex speakerphones you say? What? Oh, I couldn’t hear you speaking at the same time because the speakerphone is in fact not duplex) is pushing us to look for something that is more reliable for the future.
We have been selling allworx for over 5 years and has worked very well! If not properly implemented you will have problems with at VoIP phone system.
Glad to hear it has been working for you and your customers. We have been using our 6x for about the same period of time that you have been selling Allworx and overall there are some things we really like and some things we don’t. The problems that remain at this point are largely intermittent failures rather than setup issues. The system is clearly evolving and is much better now than at the time of our last post. Firmware version 7.3.11.3 has been much more reliable and we plan to move to version 7.5 soon to support some new phones (which are too expensive and generics don’t probably handle pfks) as well as some new features including Allworx Reach (Android / iOS integration).
I am looking for a method to update my current system to a 7.5 or newer so that I can test the ios features before purchasing additional licenses. Allworx has been unable to do anything and is telling me I have to pay for a year of upgrades so that I can TEST their system. Do you have any suggestions for a current version of that method you posted way back then?
The old links still allow you to download files, though I am not sure what revision they are at this point. If you download them and try to upgrade manually, it should inform you.
Allworx has locked down the download process. It is possible that you could look at the network statistics and see where allworx is going to get the update information. If that didn’t work, you can sniff the information out at your router upstream of the allworx.
Otherwise, it is simpler to pay for the updates with your local rep and you can get the current revision of the firmware. To try the iOS features, you may end up having to purchase the additional features as well.
You could purchase the items using a credit card with purchase protection. If you aren’t happy with the items after 30 days, you could tell the vendor and if they fail to cooperate perform a chargeback with your credit card.
Allworx can be very difficult to work with and having a trial system seems to be in their best interests but not all companies offer trial software/firmware.
On another note and as an update, our Allworx box has been far more reliable with 7.5.11.7 since 2013. From 2008 – 2010, the system was highly unreliable. From 2011 – 2013, the reliability was slowly improving. From 2013 to now, it is more reliable still. We still do need to reboot the entire unit and/or the entire set of phones every few months.
7.5.19.1 is available with our current revision though we haven’t upgraded yet. 8.0 is out now and some new hardware is available. We will probably wait until 8.0 is out for some time and perform an upgrade. Still the feature we most need is the ability to set the “Public IP Address” setting in Network configuration to an FQDN to move with a web pointer / srv record.