# Software Release Notes {% hint style="info" %} * Always check to make sure you're running the newest firmware on your Alta X. Firmware can include bug fixes both big and small as well as new features. [Click Here](https://freeflysystems.com/knowledge-base/how-will-i-be-notified-about-service-bulletins) to sign up for notifications about Service Bulletins. * Firmware can be downloaded from the [support website](https://freeflysystems.com/support/alta-x-support) * Update instructions are [here](/products/products/alta-x/untitled-4.md#updating-firmware) {% endhint %} ## v2.2 Beta {% hint style="danger" %} **This is a major software release**. We do not recommend updating your Alta X right before a job, as it contains significant changes that may impact your workflow and/or payload integration. This software also changes the expected behavior of Alta in some situations. **We recommend a thorough review of the release notes below before updating your aircraft.** There are many **Operational / Behavioral Changes. Here are the ones we think are critical:** * Alta X boots in Position mode * FF\_INPUT\_TYPE must be set for control input * Hold mode before RTL will not respond to stick input * Compassless flight mode * Re-arm after kill switch Release Notes below cover these changes. {% endhint %} {% hint style="success" %} This software brings an updated version of PX4 to Alta X, along with Position mode tuning improvements, smooth turns in Mission mode, multi-staged RTL, Compassless, Position Slow mode, and more. With this software update, Auterion Mission Control (AMC) replaces AltaGroundControl/QGroundControl for the recommended GCS software. {% endhint %} {% hint style="warning" %} It is recommended to delete QGC from your ground station after the update {% endhint %} * **Summary:** PX4 version change with major flight updates * **Release Date:** May 2026 * **Versions in this package:** * FMU: v2.2.8 * AMC: v1.37.20 * **Update Guide:** [Alta X v2.2 Beta Quick Start](/products/products/alta-x/untitled-4/alta-x-v2.2-beta-quick-start.md) **Known issues:** * When updating Pilot Pro firmware, ensure the paired Alta X is powered off for Pilot Pro firmware to update successfully. * RAM usage is extremely high. Alta X v2 software brings a lot of small improvements, but approaches the limit of the hardware in the aircraft. As a result, turning on *multiple* external MAVLink instances is currently not possible. {% hint style="info" %} Due to RAM limitations, only a single extra MAVLink instance is permitted. Either AUX UART -or- TELEM2 is allowed, not both. To enable the use of TELEM2 for full MAVLink usage, you must change a parameter to configure AUX UART to a lightweight RID-only mode. * **FF\_AUXTYPE** set to 1 will enable AUX UART as a lightweight RID-only MAVLink sender, which will allow the use of TELEM2 to be used as an external MAVLink instance. Failing to set FF\_AUXTYPE to 1 before enabling TELEM2 may block connection to the drone via USB. * **FF\_AUXTYPE** set to 0 (default) is fixed at 57600 baud (baud cannot be changed) * As always, TELEM2 still requires WiFi to be disabled in order to function. {% endhint %} * uXRCE-DDS bridge is **not** supported due to RAM and hardware limitations. * Legacy sensor temperature calibration data may not migrate smoothly. {% hint style="info" %} If you encounter errors such as: * Temperature calibration is not enabled * Temperature calibration is corrupted * sensor IDs incorrect please contact to help migrate your calibration data. {% endhint %} #### **Release Notes** * **Operational Change:** Alta QGroundControl is replaced by [Auterion Mission Control (AMC)](https://docs.auterion.com/vehicle-operation/auterion-mission-control) {% hint style="warning" %} AltaGroundControl/QGroundControl is no longer recommended with Alta X Software v2 and above {% endhint %} * **New:** Added FF\_INPUT\_TYPE parameter * This parameter simplifies the controller parameter setup. * **It MUST be selected manually the first time after installing Alta X firmware v2.** * It can be set in AMC > Vehicle Menu (top left, to the right of the app icon) > Select Controller
{% hint style="success" %} This parameter needs to be set properly for your GCS to connect to Alta X. If you are having issues, reach out to {% endhint %} * **Improvement:** Smoother Position mode control * All new smooth acceleration based position mode, while maintaining a responsive feel. It will feel significantly different compared to Alta X v1 firmware. * **New:** Position Slow mode * Position Slow mode allows precise and real-time adjustable rate control of aircraft translational speed, vertical speed, and yaw rate, using the knobs on Pilot Pro * Pilots can set the velocity and vertical maximum speeds as low as 0.1 m/s. At this setting, a full stick command results in the drone moving at the specified maximum speed and climb rate. * Setting the knobs to full rates in Position Slow mode is equivalent to the same rates as Position Mode * Simply switch back to position mode to quickly return to normal speeds. * **Operational Change:** Alta X now boots in Position mode * In previous versions of Alta X firmware, the aircraft would boot up in 'Pending' flight mode while waiting for the required GPS satellites and position accuracy metrics. With v2 firmware, the aircraft now boots up in Position mode, but the status indicator will be RED until it meets all the requirements to be able to fly in Position mode. For instance it may indicate 'No valid position estimate' until the satellite count and position accuracy metrics are met.

Position mode, but not ready to arm yet

* **New:** Compassless mode * Alta X now uses compassless logic for heading and is less dependent on magnetometers. This advanced feature was originally developed by Freefly in 2015, the algorithm leverages a single GPS to accurately determine aircraft heading * Compassless flight mode is enabled on Alta X software v2 by default. The information from the compass is only used on the ground to determine the initial heading, and is not used in flight. {% hint style="success" %} In a situation where there is a magnetic interference that is preventing the aircraft to figure out its heading before takeoff, you are presented with options: * **Simply take off in altitude mode.** Shortly after flying in altitude mode, GPS heading will be locked and you can then switch to position mode. * **Move away from any magnetic interferences.** In most cases, moving the Astro few feet away will allow it to get a better magnetic reading to figure out the heading and position mode will become available for takeoff {% endhint %} * **Improvement:** General aircraft tuning * Small adjustments have been made to the tuning of the aircraft in all flight modes. * **Improvement:** Smoother mission trajectories * Smooth turns is here! With v2 software, Alta X is now capable to follow smoother mission trajectories around corners than previous software versions. * The default is optimized for more tightly controlled trajectories. For missions that require very smooth turns, such as some lidar missions, we recommend changing the following parameters: * NAV\_ACC\_RAD = 20m * Track width is recommended to be ≥ 40m * Mission speed between 5-15 m/s, ideally \~10m/s {% hint style="info" %} Alta will "cut corners" around waypoints and bank aggressively to keep the translational speed of the aircraft closer to the set mission speed. This can cause high acceleration loads on payloads {% endhint %} * **Improvement:** Terrain following * Terrain following has been improved in v2 software. For the best results, changing the following parameters and mission settings are recommended: * Terrain following tolerance = 5m * Max terrain following climb/descend speed > 4.0m/s. Alta will be limited to the max climb and descend rates in position mode. * Turnaround = 0m * Setting NAV\_MC\_ALT\_RAD = 5.0m will smooth out altitude changes while following waypoints or during missions with terrain following. {% hint style="warning" %} This will increase the altitude acceptable radius, so during RTL or other waypoint missions, Alta may being translating horizontally slightly before the desired altitude is reached. **When using this feature, use caution and ensure this behavior will not cause a collision with obstacles** {% endhint %} * **Improvement:** Multi-stage RTL * During RTL, Alta X will descend using a 3 stage mechanism for softer landings. When the aircraft reaches the home point lat/lon position and begins descending, it will slow down at the following speeds and altitudes: * Above 15m - 3.0 m/s * From 15m to 8m - Slow down to 0.7 m/s * From 8m to ground - 0.7 m/s * **Operational Change:** Hold before RTL * When the RTL failsafe is triggered, either via low battery or RC loss, Alta will enter hold mode for 5s before transitioning to RTL mode. This gives operators time to react and select a different flight mode if desired. {% hint style="warning" %} Alta X will **NOT respond to RC stick inputs in hold mode**. Pilot must initiate a mode change if they wish to gain stick control, such as by switching to Position flight mode. {% endhint %} * **Improvement:** Improved battery % estimator * The estimated battery percentage remaining while flying has been improved with additional data from the motor drives. {% hint style="warning" %} With default parameters, Alta X assumes 2x 16Ah batteries. Other battery setups may add some amount of error and in that case pelase pay attention to the pack voltages as well. {% endhint %} * **New:** Alta X can re-arm after using the kill switch * With the v2 firmware release, it is now possible to reset the kill switch position and then re-arm the aircraft without a reboot of the aircraft. {% hint style="success" %} Make sure to update your pilot pro firmware to the latest version {% endhint %} * **Improvement:** Alta X's base [PX4 version](https://docs.px4.io/main/en/releases/) has been upgraded from v1.9 to v1.15 * This brings several improvements, updated parameters, and changes to how the aircraft operates. We recommend reading the PX4 documentation sections that relate to any parameters you wish to change * **Change:** Remote ID serial number can now be found through the text file in the onboard storage. * This can be accessed via the USB-C port on the aircraft. * The Remote ID serial number is no longer displayed through QGC. * **Fix:** Updated X9 ESC Firmware * Alta X v2 software includes updated firmware for X9 motor ESCs which prevents repeated motor overcurrent faults from shutting down the ESC. * **Change:** Increased motor beeping on boot up * Alta X will beep the ESCs for slightly longer on each bootup. This is normal. * **Change**: Alta X now logs from boot. When you are looking for logs, there will be one per boot instead of one per flight. * **Change**: The third IMU is not longer in the backup set. This sensor was noisy, and removing it from backups optimized RAM usage. * **Change**: During missions, Alta will now follow the straight line between waypoint altitudes. * **Change:** Dozens of other small changes, fixes, and updates! {% hint style="success" %} This is a major software update. We recommend conducting test flights and building experience gradually after the update. If you have specific questions about changes in the update, reach out to {% endhint %} *** ## v1.4.1 {% hint style="warning" %} Known Bug: High System Memory Utilization If multiple MAVLink streams are enabled (such as FRX and WIFI connectivity) simultaneously, there may not be enough free system memory for flight logs to record successfully. See [Service Bulletin SB006](https://freeflysystems.com/knowledge-base/sb006-alta-x-out-of-ram) for more details. {% endhint %} {% hint style="info" %} Known Bug: Unknown Flight Mode Unknown 1:655360 After updating the Alta X's firmware to v1.4.0+, non-Pilot Pro users will notice an "Unknown 1:655360" flight mode in Alta QGC preventing them from arming. This is a bug that can be worked around by swapping off of whatever fight mode you are on and swapping back. We are working to have a more permanent fix for this issue released as quickly as possible. {% endhint %} * **Summary:** Alta X NDAA * **Release Date:** January 2025 * **Versions in this package:** * FMU: v1.4.13 * **Notes** (Going from Package v1.4.0 to v1.4.1, and FMU v1.4.12 to 1.4.13) * New: Added the RFD900 configuration option to the default Alta X firmware (SYS\_AUTOSTART 4512). This was previously only available for Alta X Blue * Bugfix: Previously, if the Remote ID serial number began with a zero, the leading zero was not displayed. This resulted in confusion and issues when users attempted to register their aircraft, as the displayed serial number was not the complete, 8-character value. This has been corrected, and the serial number will now always display as the full 8-character string, including any leading zeros. * Bugfix: Included latest iESC firmware to prevent bad version strings ## v1.3.114 {% hint style="info" %} This release is for Blue aircraft only. Additionally, aircraft on v1.3.111 don't need to update to this. {% endhint %} * **Summary:** Pilot Pro support for Alta X Blue * **Release Date:** October 2024 * **Versions in this package:** * FMU: v1.3.114 * QGroundControl: v1.3.16 * **Notes** * **New:** Pilot Pro RFD900 support ## v1.4.0 {% hint style="warning" %} Known Bug: High System Memory Utilization If multiple MAVLink streams are enabled (such as FRX and WIFI connectivity) simultaneously, there may not be enough free system memory for flight logs to record successfully. See [Service Bulletin SB006](https://freeflysystems.com/knowledge-base/sb006-alta-x-out-of-ram) for more details. {% endhint %} {% hint style="info" %} Known Bug: Unknown Flight Mode Unknown 1:655360 After updating the Alta X's firmware to v1.4.0+, non-Pilot Pro users will notice an "Unknown 1:655360" flight mode in Alta QGC preventing them from arming. This is a bug that can be worked around by swapping off of whatever fight mode you are on and swapping back. We are working to have a more permanent fix for this issue released as quickly as possible. {% endhint %} * **Summary:** Remote ID integration * **Release Date:** March 2024 * **Versions in this package:** * FMU: v1.4.12 * QGroundControl: * v1.3.12 for Pilot Pro Android * v1.3.13 for Windows, macOS * v1.3.14 for UXV Android * **Notes** * **New:** Remote ID integration * **Bugfix:** QGC Terrain altitude in missions is fixed. Service provider was EOL. Now it uses another service provider. ## v1.3.7 {% hint style="warning" %} Known Bug: High System Memory Utilization If multiple MAVLink streams are enabled (such as FRX and WIFI connectivity) simultaneously, there may not be enough free system memory for flight logs to record successfully. See [Service Bulletin SB006](https://freeflysystems.com/knowledge-base/sb006-alta-x-out-of-ram) for more details. {% endhint %} * **Summary:** Pilot Pro integration * **Release Date:** February 2024 * **Versions in this package:** * FMU: v1.3.31 * QGroundControl: v1.3.10 for Pilot Pro Android * **Notes** * **New:** Added momentary button multi-channel flight mode changing feature for Pilot Pro support * **New:** Added "Pending" flight mode, which is present until position mode is available on boot * **New:** Added a command to load default parameters from firmware, rather than using a parameter file. * **Important note**: First you need to first select your controller model. Go to Parameters, then search for SYS\_AUTOSTART. Set this to 4510 for Futaba, or 4511 for Pilot Pro. Then clicking on "Tools > Load parameter defaults" will apply the correct defaults. * Defaulting parameters have F9P rotation by default. HERE2 needs modification by user. * Defaulting parameters require a compass calibration after. ## v1.3.111 * **Summary:** UXV support for Alta X Blue * **Release Date:** March 2023 * **Versions in this package:** * FMU: v1.3.111 * QGroundControl: v1.3.9 for UXV Android * **Notes** * **New:** Added momentary button multi-channel flight mode changing feature for UXV support * **New:** Added "Pending" flight mode, which is present until position mode is available on boot * **New:** Added a command to load default parameters from firmware, rather than using a parameter file. In the UXV QGC, go to parameters screen, then click on Tools > Load parameter defaults ## v1.3.6 {% hint style="warning" %} Known Bug: High System Memory Utilization If multiple MAVLink streams are enabled (such as FRX and WIFI connectivity) simultaneously, there may not be enough free system memory for flight logs to record successfully. See [Service Bulletin SB006](https://freeflysystems.com/knowledge-base/sb006-alta-x-out-of-ram) for more details. {% endhint %} * **Summary:** X9 motor support and logging bugfix * **Release Date:** June 2022 * **Versions in this package:** * FMU: v1.3.22 * QGroundControl: v1.3.8 (unchanged since previous release) * **Notes** * **Hotfix:** Fixed an issue that prevented logging from behaving as expected. This issue caused logging to cease functioning, particularly during longer flights. * After applying this update, logging the issue that prevented logging at times will no longer exist. * **Features:** Adds support for drones shipping with X9 motors. * **Installation** * Instructions can be found on our [Support page](https://freefly.gitbook.io/freefly-public/products/alta-x/untitled-4#updating-firmware) under "Updating Firmware" section. * This is the minimum supported version for Alta X with X9 motors. ## v1.3.2 * **Summary**: Hotfix for Improper Mission Throttle Command * **Release Date**: January 2022 * **Versions in this package**: * FMU: v1.3.19 * QGroundControl: v1.3.8 (unchanged since previous release) * **Notes** * **Hotfix**: Fixed invalid throttle setpoint error when transitioning from a piloted flight mode to mission mode. See more details in this [service bulletin.](https://freeflysystems.com/knowledge-base/sb005-alta-x-improper-mission-throttle-command-11-05-21) * After applying this update, missions can be safely launched while in flight. * Some microSD cards that read/write below minimum specifications may occasionally fail to begin a mission, with the error *\[mc\_pos\_control] Auto activation failed with error: Activation Failed.* If this occurs, restart the mission. If the issue persists, contact [Freefly Support](https://freeflysystems.com/contact) for assistance. * **Installation** * Instructions can be found on our [Support page](https://freefly.gitbook.io/freefly-public/products/alta-x/untitled-4#updating-firmware) under "Updating Firmware" section. ## v1.3.1 * **Summary**: Added support for motor telemetry board to catch motor no start * **Release Date**: March 2021 * **Versions in this package**: * FMU: v1.3.17 * QGroundControl: v1.3.8 (unchanged since previous release) * **Notes** * **Hotfix**: Added support for motor telemetry board to catch motor no start. This will prevent arming with specific motor faults that were causing tip over. See more details in this [service bulletin](https://freeflysystems.com/knowledge-base/sb002-alta-x-intermittent-motor-start-failure-update-2-17-20). * If an ESC fault is triggered, arming is denied, QGC will pop up a message, LEDs fast flash red lights. * If a telemetry timeout is detected, arming is denied, QGC will pop up a message. * **New Feature**: Added current consumption to battery data. * In QGC, use the Analyze window (Mac/Windows top toolbar > Widgets > Analyze) to look at BATTERY\_STATUS.current\_battery (unit: centi-amps), and BATTERY\_STATUS.current\_consumed * **Improvement**: Alta X is smoother as it transitions through waypoints. New default configurations file reduces NAV\_ACC\_RAD from 10m to 2m. * **Bugfix**: Logging rates were not set properly. Updated telem rates, 20hz for most to match ESC telemetry rate. ## v1.3 * **Summary**: F9P RTK GPS Support and Safety Improvements * **Release Date**: March 2020 * **Versions in this package**: * FMU: v1.3.x * QGroundControl: v1.3.x * **Notes**: * New Feature: [F9P RTK GPS Support](/products/products/rtk-gps.md) * New Feature: Optional [RC disarm toggle](/products/products/alta-x/untitled-7.md#rc-disarm-lockout) to prevent manual disarm in flight * New Feature: Onboard checking of critical parameters * Bugfix: LEDs on ALTA X place a significant load on the 5V EXT bus * Improvement: Check for RTL switch enable before takeoff, warn if no homepoint * Improvement: Don't require reboot when wifi parameters are modified * Improvement: Lockout feature to guide people to only use the ALTA with the Freefly version of the QGroundControl ## v1.2 * **Summary**: Initial ALTA X release * **Release Date**: September 2019 * **Versions in this package**: * FMU: v1.2.x * QGroundControl: v1.1.x --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. 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