Updating the Cortex and Controller

It is important to stay up to date of firmware updates for both the VEX 2.0 Cortex and Controller. Firmware updates often fix bugs and can sometimes add new features that are only available in newer versions of ROBOTC. Updating these devices is easy.

Updating the Cortex

  1. Plug one end of the orange cable into the USB port on the Cortex and the other end into the computer.

Note

If this is your first time plugging in the Cortex, an icon may appear in the system tray or a window that says it is installing the necessary drivers for the Cortex. Simply wait for it to finish before continuing.

  1. Click on Robot in the menu bar, then Download Firmware, and then Automatically Update VEX Cortex.

Warning

Occasionally the Cortex, will get stuck while flashing the update, if this happens try updating it manually. First update the Master CPU Firmware by going to the Download Firmware drop down and then Manually Update Firmware and then Master CPU Firmware and select Standard File. Next update the ROBOTC Firmware by going to the same Manually Update Firmware drop down and then ROBOTC Firmware and then selecting Standard File.

Updating the Controller

  1. Plug one end of the orange cable into the USB port on the Controller and the other end into the computer.
  2. Click on Robot in the menu bar, then Download Firmware, and then Automatically Update VEXnet Joystick.

Troubleshooting

Sometimes the updater will fail to find the Cortex or Controller, when this happens, try the following.

  1. Unplug the device from the orange cable and the plug it back in.
  2. If that doesn’t solve the issue, try restarting the device (which requires you to unplug it first).
  3. If that still doesn’t work, try restarting the computer.