The AxeOS update on a Bitaxe: how to flash firmware safely and cleanly

AxeOS – the firmware based on ESP-Miner – gets a release every few weeks: new chips, better fan control, bug fixes in the stratum code, new readouts in the dashboard. An update takes five minutes and is harmless as long as you follow two rules: do not cut the power while it is writing, and in the dashboard respect the order of the two files. This article shows both routes and what to check before and after.

When an update is worth it – and when not

A miner that runs stably does not need an update just because one exists. It is worth it when the changelog names something that affects you: support for your device (new boards like the Gaia need current builds), a fix for a behaviour you observe (reconnects, wrong fan control, a hanging dashboard), or a feature you want to use (target temperature, Swarm view, new pool options). The changelogs are with every release in the ESP-Miner repository; the web flasher lists the available versions per device.

Which version is running is shown in AxeOS under Settings (“Firmware version”, e.g. v2.6.1). A click on Check compares with the latest release.

Preparation: three minutes

1. Note or screenshot the current values: average hash rate, ASIC temperature, frequency, voltage. That is how you tell after the update whether anything changed.
2. Note pool host, port and Bitcoin address – a normal update keeps them, a clean flash does not.
3. Reset overclocked values to factory settings (Gamma: 525 MHz / 1150 mV). A new release occasionally shifts the frequency steps; on factory values the miner is guaranteed to start.
4. Change nothing else on the miner during the update – one change per step.

Route 1: web flasher over USB-C (recommended)

The web flasher pulls the firmware straight from the official releases and only offers the image that belongs to your model – the question of the right file never comes up. It runs in the browser over Web Serial, so you need Chrome, Edge or Opera on desktop (Firefox, Safari and all phone browsers cannot do that).

1. Bitaxe via a USB-C data cable directly to the computer – a charge-only cable carries no data, a USB hub likes to cause trouble. The miner can keep running.
2. Open flasher.bitaxe.de, click your device tile. “AxeOS original” is preselected; switch at the top if you want the optimized OSM-OS builds.
3. Leave “Keep configuration” ticked. Then only firmware and web interface are written; the settings area (Wi-Fi, pool, address, clock) stays untouched.
4. Click “Install firmware” and pick the miner’s serial port in the browser dialog (USB JTAG/serial, CP210x or CH340, depending on the board).
5. Wait until the bar reaches 100 %. The miner reboots and is back on the network after about 30 seconds – under the same IP.

If the flasher finds no device: different cable, different USB port, no hub. On Windows the driver for the serial bridge (CP210x or CH340, depending on the board) is occasionally missing – install it and restart the browser.

Route 2: update in the AxeOS dashboard

No cable, straight through the web interface – works in any browser, even on a phone. You need two files from your model’s release: www.bin (web interface) and esp-miner.bin (firmware; on Nerd devices the file is named after the model, e.g. esp-miner-NerdAxeGamma.bin or esp-miner-NerdQAxe++.bin).

1. Open AxeOS at the miner’s IP, Settings. Under “Firmware version” click Check; if a new version is offered, the links lead to the release with both files.
2. Web interface first: “Update Website” section → +Browse → www.bin → confirm. AxeOS reloads the page once.
3. Then the firmware: “Update Firmware” section → +Browse → esp-miner.bin → confirm. Wait about 60 seconds, the miner reboots automatically.
4. Open the IP again and check the new version number under Settings.

After the update: three values

Open the dashboard and let it run for an hour. Then compare: average hash rate within 10 % of the previous value, ASIC temperature under 65 °C, hash rate error under 5 %. If those three are fine, the update is done. After that you can set overclocked values again step by step – with the steps from the overclocking guide.

If the dashboard shows different fan values or a different frequency list after the update, that is not a fault: new releases occasionally change the automation defaults. Compare with your notes, not with memory.

If the miner does not answer after the update

• Dashboard unreachable: wait two minutes, then reload the IP. If the display shows a different IP, the router assigned a new one – use the new one.
• Empty fields in the dashboard: www.bin is missing or older than the firmware – push www.bin via “Update Website”.
• Miner boot-loops: overclocked values do not suit the new firmware. Clean flash via the web flasher (untick “Keep configuration”), then enter Wi-Fi, pool and address again – using the notes from the preparation.
• Update aborts: check the file (right model, fully downloaded) and try again; via the flasher the file is always the right one.
• Hash rate lower after the update: set factory values, measure for an hour, only then overclock again.

If that does not resolve it, the troubleshooter walks through the remaining cases and hands your click path to support.