Installing SIMATIC HMI Panel Images for TIA Portal V19

Overview

Beginning with TIA Portal V17, Siemens removed the HMI device image files for all SIMATIC HMI operator panels from the standard WinCC installation media. The images were relocated to a separate downloadable DVD titled SIMATIC WinCC Panel Images for TIA Portal in order to reduce the size of the standard install footprint. This change applies to Basic Panels, Comfort Panels, Mobile Panels, and the related WinCC Runtime Advanced targets.

When a developer attempts to transfer a configured HMI device to a target panel under TIA Portal V17, V18, or V19 without first installing the matching device image, WinCC issues the following installer/runtime warning:

"In order to optimize the size of the standard installation, as of TIA Portal V17 the HMI device images of all SIMATIC HMI devices have been moved to an additional DVD. If you want to transfer HMI devices, install the respective image files from the DVD 'SIMATIC WinCC Panel Images for TIA Portal V19'."

The same message is logged from the device transfer dialog (ES - Load to device) and also when generating ProSave image files. The image files are mandatory because they contain the firmware blob, ProSave transfer configuration, and license-relevant component metadata required to flash a panel.

This guide documents two field-proven methods to recover the missing Comfort and Basic panel images for TIA Portal V19:

1. Manual copy of the image folder tree from a V17 (or older) install to the V19 tree.
2. Use of the Siemens Panel Image Updater (PIU) installer (Support entry 109825750) which integrates images for V17/V18/V19 from a single download.

Prerequisites

Understanding the Image Folder Layout

Panel image files are stored under a strictly versioned path inside the TIA Portal installation root. The default root on a 64-bit Windows system is:

C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\Portal V<Major>\Data\Hmi\Transfer\<MajorMinor>

For TIA Portal V19 the expected path is:

C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\Portal V19\Data\Hmi\Transfer\19.0\

For TIA Portal V17 the equivalent path is:

C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\Portal V17\Data\Hmi\Transfer\17.0\

Inside each <MajorMinor> directory the images are further organized by panel family. Typical subfolders include:

• KTP_Basic - KTP400 Basic, KTP700 Basic, KTP900 Basic, KTP1200 Basic (6AV2123-2xxx series)
• TP_Comfort - TP700 Comfort, TP900 Comfort, TP1200 Comfort, TP1500 Comfort, TP1900 Comfort, TP2200 Comfort (6AV2124-1xxx series)
• KP_Comfort - KP400 Comfort, KP700 Comfort, KP900 Comfort, KP1200 Comfort, KP1500 Comfort (6AV2125-1xxx series)
• Mobile - Mobile Panel 2nd generation (wired and wireless, KTP900F Mobile, KTP1200F Mobile)
• RT_Advanced - WinCC Runtime Advanced images for PC-based visualization

When the V19 install was performed without the separate image DVD, the Data\Hmi\Transfer\19.0 directory is either missing or empty - this is the root cause of the transfer failure.

Method A - Manual Folder Copy from an Existing TIA V17 Install

This method is the fastest workaround if a TIA Portal V15.1, V16, V17, or V18 installation is already present on the engineering station. The image binary format is compatible across V15 through V19 for the legacy panel families (Basic / Comfort / Mobile / RT Advanced).

Procedure

1. Open File Explorer as Administrator.
2. Navigate to the source image tree. For V17:

C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\Portal V17\Data\Hmi\Transfer\17.0

3. Right-click the 17.0 folder and select Copy.
4. Navigate to the destination tree:

C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\Portal V19\Data\Hmi\Transfer\

5. If the 19.0 subfolder does not exist, create it: Right-click > New > Folder > name it 19.0.
6. Right-click inside Transfer and select Paste.
7. If Windows prompts to overwrite files that already exist (because some Unified Comfort image stubs may already be present), choose Skip for those files. Do not overwrite existing files - keep the V19 originals where present.
8. Verify the result. The path C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\Portal V19\Data\Hmi\Transfer\19.0 must now contain the KTP_Basic, TP_Comfort, KP_Comfort, Mobile, and RT_Advanced subfolders.

What if the V19 install writes into 17.0?

Observed in some patch combinations: the PIU installer (Method B) drops images into C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\Portal V19\Data\Hmi\Transfer\17.0 rather than the expected 19.0 subfolder, because the source image is a V17 firmware build. In that case manually move the subfolders one level up:

Move-Item 'C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\Portal V19\Data\Hmi\Transfer\17.0\*' 'C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\Portal V19\Data\Hmi\Transfer\19.0\'

This moves KTP_Basic, TP_Comfort, etc., from the 17.0 folder into the 19.0 folder where TIA Portal V19 looks for them first.

Method B - Use the SIEMENS Panel Image Updater (PIU)

The official, supported method is the Panel Image Updater (PIU), available as a free download from Siemens Industry Online Support entry 109825750. The PIU integrates image packages for V17, V18, and V19 in a single, menu-driven operation.

Procedure

1. Download the PIU installer archive from entry 109825750. Extract the ZIP to a local folder (do not run from a network share).
2. Right-click PIU_Start.exe (or the equivalent launcher) and select Run as administrator.
3. From the Target TIA Portal version dropdown select V19.
4. From the Image version dropdown select the matching panel firmware version, typically V17.00.00.00 and the latest maintenance update (e.g. V17.00.00.08). Selecting both major and latest update is recommended so that ProSave can pick the correct build.
5. Click Install. The PIU copies the images into the appropriate folder, which on most systems is:

C:\Program Files\Siemens\Automation\Portal V19\Data\Hmi\Transfer\<image-version-folder>

6. If the PIU installed into the 17.0 subfolder (common when image firmware is V17.x) and TIA Portal V19 cannot find the files, follow the Move-Item step in Method A to relocate them into 19.0.
7. Close the PIU. Restart TIA Portal V19 so that the transfer plugin re-enumerates the image tree.

Compatibility Matrix - TIA Portal vs Panel Image Version

Siemens publishes the authoritative pairing table at entry 109746530 - Image Downloads for HMI Operator Panels. The matrix lists every HMI target (Basic, Comfort, Mobile, Unified Comfort, RT Advanced, RT Professional) against every TIA Portal version and every available image file.

Adjusting the Device Version inside a TIA Portal Project

When an existing TIA Portal project was created under V15.1 and is opened in V19, the device version of each HMI target must be migrated to a version for which images exist. Failure to do this causes ProSave to request a firmware blob that is not on disk.

Procedure

1. In the TIA Portal project tree, right-click the HMI device (e.g. KTP1200 Basic > 6AV2123-2MB03-0AX0) and select Properties.
2. Switch to the General > Device version tab (or Catalog > Device version depending on the TIA version).
3. From the Version dropdown select a firmware version that has an installed image, typically the highest V17 maintenance update available (for example V17.00.00.08).
4. Confirm with OK. TIA will re-compile the device and may prompt to upgrade internal tags - accept the prompt.
5. Repeat for every HMI target in the project.

Unified Comfort Panels vs Comfort Panels

The Unified Comfort Panel line (MTP/MTP Unified, TP Unified Comfort, ET 200 SP HMI) is a separate image set with its own download stream and firmware cadence. The image set is published at 109825605, where V19 Update 4 is the current recommendation for TIA Portal V19.

Installing Unified images does not install Comfort / Basic / Mobile images and vice versa. When configuring a legacy KTP1200 Basic 6AV2123-2MB03-0AX0, always select the Basic Panel branch in the TIA Portal device catalog - the Unified branch will reject the part number and report 0xFFFE7000 device-not-found.

Verification - Confirm the Images Are Recognized

1. Open TIA Portal V19.
2. Open or create a project containing one Comfort and one Basic panel.
3. Right-click each HMI and select Compile > Software (rebuild all). The compile must complete without warning W:13000 ("Image file for HMI device ... not found").
4. Right-click the HMI and select Download to device > Software (all).
5. Confirm the Load preview dialog lists the panel firmware version (e.g. KTP1200 Basic - Image V17.00.00.08) without the missing-image warning.
6. Click Load. ProSave should flash the panel and report success 0x00000000.
7. If the dialog still references the missing DVD, re-check the folder layout under Transfer\<MajorMinor> and ensure the image file (typically *.img) is present.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Edge Cases and Field-Proven Caveats

• End-of-life perception. The lack of new Basic/Comfort/Mobile image releases since V17 can look like end-of-life, but Siemens continues maintenance updates (e.g. V17.00.00.08) for security and bug fixes. The Unified Comfort line is the forward-looking product family, while the legacy line remains supported.
• Multiple TIA versions on one PG. The same Data\Hmi\Transfer tree is duplicated per TIA major version. Copying images into V19 does not affect V17 or V18 installations.
• WinCC Comfort vs Professional. The Panel Images DVD is the same for both - only the engineering license differs.
• RT Advanced on PC. PC-based Runtime Advanced uses images from the same RT_Advanced subfolder; copying V17 RT Advanced images to V19 is supported.
• Virtual commissioning. When using PLCSIM Advanced with a simulated HMI in TIA Portal V19, the images are still required locally - the simulation does not bypass the on-disk image check.
• Network shares. Do not host the Transfer\<MajorMinor> tree on a network share - TIA Portal expects a local path with NTFS write permission.

FAQ