[XavierItzmann]

A short while ago (a couple of weeks?), the B&O app on my screen always-on remote controls —an iPad and a Fire Tablet— alerted me that there was a software update for my Beoplay A6. I ignored it, until this weekend.

Since the Fire is the one closest to my reading armchair, I tried to update from there, using the Product settings > Software update option. I stayed at the Updating … 0% phase for several minutes, then reported the update was complete (it wasn’t), and kept on pointing out an update was available. The Android version is 5.3.0.230901-49921 and it is the most recent available on the Google Play Store. Fire OS 8.3.1.9.

I brute-force unplugged the A6 and re-plugged it.

I then tried with my other remote, an iPad 6 with iPadOS 17 encased in a Beoplay A3, always on with the latest B&O: 5.3.1.23092740039. Same behaviour. Just for kicks I then tried with one of our real iPads, a 6th generation iPad Pro (released 2023), and with a late-model iPhone Pro Max. Same, of course.

Both the iPad and the Fire are set to YES – Automatic updates in the A6 settings, by the way, not that it does any good.

Fortunately, I suspected what the solution would be.

As you know, if in the B&O app you select your product (the A6 in this case), you get a host of options controlled from your Android/iOS device, including the aforementioned and useless “Software update”… but if you select “Configure” you are presented with the old-style, original web page being served by the device —which one can also access from any web browser. It is a funny-looking page, because its old interface no longer quite matches the current B&O app looks.

But it does have a native UPDATE PRODUCT SOFTWARE section, which works very well indeed, I can happily report, despite the modern app completely failing at it.

[NQVHNWI]

Pro tip:

a lot of network enabled B&O products can be accessed by typifying in their home network IP address without going through the App. Some ASE products like Essence and A6 have the old style configuration pages like you said. Mozart products are even more rudimentary but do allow updating and some network configuration. BL90, you can configure most of the product from there.

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