How to Upgrade MikroTik Software

How to Upgrade MikroTik Software

 

It is suggested to always keep your RouterOS installation up to date, MikroTik always keeps adding new functionality and improving performance and stability by releasing updates.

RouterOS versions are numbered sequentially, when a period is used to separate sequences, it does not represent a decimal point, and the sequences do not have positional significance. An identifier of 2.5, for instance, is not "two and a half" or "half way to version three", it is the fifth second-level revision of the second first-level revision. Therefore v5.2 is older than v5.18, which is newer.

Requirements and suggestions

In this article we assume that your license allows upgrading. When using a RouterBOARD device, it is always suggested to upgrade it's RouterBOOT bootloader after RouterOS is upgraded. To do this, issue the command " /system routerboard upgrade "

Automatic upgrade

In RouterOS v5.21, Automatic Upgrade was added. To upgrade your RouterOS version, all you need to do is click a button. This feature is available in command line, Winbox GUI, Webfig GUI and QuickSet.

The automatic upgrade feature connects to the MikroTik download servers, and checks if there is a new RouterOS version for your device. If yes, a Changelog is displayed, and Upgrade button is shown. Clicking the Upgrade button, software packages are automatically downloaded, and device will be rebooted.

Even if you have a custom set of packages installed, only the correct packages will be downloaded. The process is easy and fast, and will save you trips to our download page, and use of FTP utilities.

Upgrade button in QuickSet :

800px-Quickset-upgrade.jpg

 

Upgrade button in the Packages menu:

Package-upgrade.png

 

After clicking the Upgrade button, Changelog is shown:

Changelog-upgrade.png

 

By clicking "Download & Upgrade", downloads will start, and router will reboot. After the reboot, your router will be running the latest RouterOS version. You can then click the Upgrade button again, to confirm that your router is running the latest RouterOS.

Manual upgrade methods

You can upgrade RouterOS in the following ways:

  • Winbox drag and drop files to the Files menu
  • FTP - upload files to root directory
  • The Dude 
 

Note: RouterOS cannot be upgraded through serial cable. Using this method only RouterBOOT can be upgraded .

 

Upgrade process

  • First step - visit www.mikrotik.com and head to the download page, there choose the type of system you have the RouterOS installed on.
  • Download the Combined package , it will include all the functionality of RouterOS:

Using Winbox

Choose your system type, and download the upgrade package:

Downloadpage.jpg

 

Connect to your router with Winbox, Select the downloaded file with your mouse, and drag it to the Files menu. If there are some files already present, make sure to put the package in the root menu, not inside the hotspot folder! :

Winbox1.jpg

The upload will start:

Winb2.jpg

 

After it finishes - REBOOT and that's all! The New version number will be seen in the Winbox Title and in the Packages menu

Using FTP

  • Open your favourite FTP program (in this case it is Filezilla ), select the package and upload it to your router (demo2.mt.lv is the address of my router in this example). note that in the image I'm uploading many packages, but in your case - you will have one file that contains them all

Up4.jpg



  • if you wish, you can check if the file is successfully transferred onto the router (optional):

 

      [normis@Demo_v2.9] > file print
 # NAME                   TYPE                  SIZE       CREATION-TIME
 0 supout.rif             .rif file             285942     nov/24/2005 15:21:54
 1 dhcp-2.9.8.npk         package               138846     nov/29/2005 09:55:42
 2 ppp-2.9.8.npk          package               328636     nov/29/2005 09:55:43
 3 advanced-tools-2.9.... package               142820     nov/29/2005 09:55:42
 4 web-proxy-2.9.8.npk    package               377837     nov/29/2005 09:55:43
 5 wireless-2.9.8.npk     package               534052     nov/29/2005 09:55:43
 6 routerboard-2.9.8.npk  package               192628     nov/29/2005 09:55:45
 7 system-2.9.8.npk       package               5826498    nov/29/2005 09:55:54

    
  • and reboot your router for the upgrade process to begin:
      [normis@Demo_v2.9] > system reboot
Reboot, yes? [y/N]: y

    
  • after the reboot, your router will be up to date, you can check it in this menu:
      /system package print

    
  • if your router did not upgrade correctly, make sure you check the log
      /log print without-paging

    

RouterOS massive auto-upgrade

You can upgrade multiple MikroTik routers within few clicks. Let's have a look on simple network with 3 routers (the same method works on networks with infinite numbers of routers),