Gateware Updates#

Here are the files and instructions to update the Open Ephys FPGA module inside the Acquisition Board Gen 2 and 3. See Identify Your Acquisition Board to identify what generation board you have.

Note

This is only for newer generation acquisition boards that use the Open Ephys FPGA module. We always ship the boards with the latest version of the gateware and we don’t make changes to the gateware often, so you will typically not need to update it. Generations 0 and 1 of the Acquisition Board, which use the Opal Kelly FPGA, do not require this.

Latest version#

The latest gateware releases for 2nd and 3rd Generation Acquisition Boards are available below. Download the updater for your operating system.

Operating System

Version

Release Date

Windows

version 2.0.0

2026.07.16

Linux

version 2.0.0

2026.07.16

MacOS

version 2.0.0

2026.07.16

Important

  • Gateware v2.0.0+ and its updater require FTD3XXDriver v1.4.0.1 or greater on Windows. Instructions to install the latest drivers are available on the driver installation page.

  • Gateware v2.0.0+ requires Acquisition Board plugin v2.0.0 or greater for the Open Ephys GUI. Instructions on how to install and update plugins are available on the Open Ephys GUI documentation site.

Determining current gateware version#

In the Open Ephys GUI#

After dragging the OE FPGA Acquisition Board plugin to the signal chain, a message in the console will appear, with the current running gateware.

../_images/GUI-message.png

In Bonsai#

After creating the Source/OpenEphys/AcquisitionBoard node, the properties at the right of the window will contain a GatewareVersion field.

../_images/Bonsai-version.png

If the version does not appear or appears as N/A when creating the node, it will be properly updated after acquisition starts.

Updating gateware#

Warning

Do not attempt to update the board gateware while the GUI or any other software using the board is in use. Do not open any software that uses the board while an update is in process.

  1. Make sure that the correct and latest device drivers are installed.

  2. Connect the acquisition board to the computer via USB 3.0 and connect it to power using the power supply provided.

  3. Confirm that the device is recognized by the operating system. If not, follow the Troubleshooting Guide.

  4. Download the Latest version of the gateware update utility for your operating system and extract the contents of the file.

  5. Run the updater:

    • On Windows: Double click on the file UpdateFPGA.bat

    • On Linux or Mac: Execute the file UpdateFPGA.sh

  6. Wait a couple of minutes for the process to finish.

Note

The programmer might appear frozen at some percentages, but it is working. In the rare case that something went wrong and it got stuck for more than 5 minutes it is safe to try again, just by unplugging the board from power and usb, plugging it again and executing the updater.

Notes on Mac#

Some security features on mac might prevent the updater from running. A message indicating that libftd3xx.dylib is not signed might appear. The steps to solve this are:

  1. Go to system settings.

  2. Go to the Security and Privacy section.

  3. Unlock the page by clicking on the lower-left padlock icon. It will ask for your password.

  4. Near the bottom of the page, the library error will appear, click on allow.

  5. Run the updater again, if a window appears, it will have an open option now.