We have four access point Motorola AP7131 back in 2013 and the firmware version is 4.1.5.0-004R. Now in 2015 I want to upgrade the firmware version to 5.3.1.0-009R so that this access point can be a virtual controller.
By having a virtual controller I can manage other AP very easy from this virtual controller. We can add new access point easily without doing any configuration just plug it into the same network where virtual controller exist and it will adopt the configuration from for AP7131 that act as a virtual controller.
Symbol was acquired by Motorola, later Motorola was acquired by Zebra, so if you are looking for product of Symbol or Motorola you will end up at Zebra website and this is normal.
Upgrade Motorola AP7131 Firmware Update
I realize that there are much newer version than 5.3.1.0-009R for AP7131 but since I have access point Motorola 6521 that have firmware version 5.3.1.0-009R, I will feel more friendly with the way interface works. I use CLI command to upgrade the firmware because I cannot login via a web browser at that time. Please bear in mind when you successfully upgrade the firmware, all configuration will gone except the IP address.
I did everything I write here successfully, however, I held no responsibility if there is any problem arise from following steps.
Download the firmware file for AP7131 from here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0d9kckw2ntjsd4k/ap7131-5.3.1.0-009r.bin?dl=0
Download and setup TFTP server service from here:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/tftp-server/
Edit file OpenTFTPServerMT.ini in folder C:OpenTFTPServer on the section [Home] make sure you add the location of firmware file (ap7131-5.3.1.0-009r.bin)
example:
[HOME]
C:OpenTFTPServerImage
Make sure the service called OpenTFTPServer is running in you computer.
Using telnet program ( I use hyper terminal in win 7) login as admin, default password is motorola
Admin>system
admin(system)>fw-update
admin(system.fw-update)>
admin(system.fw-update)>set file ap7131-5.3.1.0-009r.bin
admin(system.fw-update)>set server 10.130.5.74 is the ip address of computer where TFTP server is installed}
use command show to see the changes you just did}
admin(system.fw-update)>show
automatic firmware upgrade : enable
automatic config upgrade : enable
firmware filename : ap7131-5.3.1.0-009r.bin
firmware filepath :
ftp/sftp/tftp server ip address : 10.130.5.74
ftp/sftp user name :
ftp/sftp password : ********
everything looks good, follow below steps}
admin(system.fw-update)>
admin(system.fw-update)>update tftp
**************************************************************************
System will now download firmware then reset for upgrade. Do not
power off the AP during the firmware upgrade process (5-6 minutes).
***************************************************************************
Start DOWNLOAD script…
After 5-6 minutes you will see this}
Successfully downloaded 38122636 bytes
Load complete. System will now reset to update
wait about 5 minutes and your AP7131 is now using firmware 5.3.1.0-009R}