Resolving TP177A Image Version Error in WinCC flexible

The Version Handshake Behind the Message

The term image here means the panel's firmware — bootloader plus runtime — that the engineering station compiles its runtime files against. Every transfer opens with a handshake: the panel reports the image version it runs for the selected transfer type, and WinCC flexible compares that number against the newest image generation its runtime builder can serve. WinCC flexible 2005 tops out at image version 1.0. A TP177A (order number 6AV6642-0AA11-0AX1) that answers with version 14 is running a later firmware generation, so the engineering station aborts before it opens a data channel.

Read the message as proof that the physical link is good. The panel answered, which means framing, baud and addressing worked. Swapping MPI for an RS-485-to-RS-232 converter changes the transport but not the two version numbers, and both attempts land on the same RS-485 port of the panel. A broken link produces a timeout or a "no connection to the device" dialog, never a version comparison.

Check 1: Read the Image Version on the Panel

Do not guess the generation from the delivery date. Start ProSave, select the exact device type TP 177A on the General tab, set the connection (serial COM port and baud, or MPI/PROFIBUS with the panel's station address), then read the device status. Expect a version string for the image and a separate one for the bootloader, plus the flash size.

• Image version above what the ES supports — the branch decision in Check 2 applies.
• Image version 1.0.x and the transfer still fails — this is not a version problem. Re-check transfer mode on the panel, the transfer channel enabled in its Control Panel, and the address/baud pair on both ends.
• ProSave cannot read the device at all — go to Check 3 before touching firmware.

Check 2: Downgrade the Panel or Upgrade the Engineering Station

Two paths close the version gap. They are not equivalent in risk.

Choose by the constraint that cannot move. If the machine's archived project is validated under flexible 2005 and other stations must transfer to the same panel, downgrade the panel and keep every engineering station on 2005. If the panel is one of several already carrying newer firmware, upgrade the software — writing an old image into a fleet of newer panels multiplies the flash-write risk for no gain.

Check 3: Channel Integrity Before Any Flash Write

An OS update erases and rewrites the image partition in stages. A serial break during the download stage does not roll back; it leaves the partition empty. Qualify the channel before starting, not after.

1. Check 3a: transfer an ordinary small project at the intended baud. Expect completion with no retries. A project transfer that drops will drop an OS update.
2. Check 3b: prefer a native RS-232 UART on a desktop over a USB-to-serial converter on a laptop. Virtual COM ports add latency and buffer jitter across a download that runs for minutes.
3. Check 3c: if a converter is unavoidable, disable USB selective suspend, sleep and hibernate, the screensaver, and on-access antivirus scanning. Plug into a port on the machine itself — no hub, no docking station, no COM passthrough into a virtual machine.
4. Check 3d: step the serial rate down one setting at a time if the link is marginal. A slower, completed download beats a fast, aborted one.
5. Check 3e: on MPI, confirm the adapter driver and the Set PG/PC interface entry match the panel's station address and bus baud. A bus parameter mismatch can survive the handshake and fail mid-transfer.
6. Check 3f: feed the panel from a stable DC supply that is not shared with contactor coils or other inductive loads, and bench the panel beside the PC with a short cable for the update.

Recovery Branch: "No File" in the Bootloader

When an OS update disconnects during the file-download stage, the bootloader survives — it lives in a protected area — but the image partition holds nothing valid. The panel powers up, the bootloader finds no runtime image, reports no file, and resets. The loop is the expected behaviour of the device, not further damage.

Re-running a normal OS update from WinCC flexible fails here because the normal path negotiates with the running image, and there is no running image. The recovery is the OS update run with the Reset to factory settings option, which drives the bootloader directly. In that mode ProSave sends its bootstrap sequence and waits for the panel to appear; the bootloader listens for it only in a short window during power-up, so the order of operations is fixed: arm ProSave first, then power-cycle the panel.

Two pitfalls recur on this class of panel. First, the device type selected in ProSave must be the panel in front of you — images are per device type, and picking a neighbouring 170-series model loads firmware the hardware will reject. Second, the reset loop itself can consume the listening window; if ProSave never detects the panel, lower the serial baud rate and repeat the power-cycle rather than raising it.

Procedure and Verification for the Resolving Branch

1. Install or open the ProSave that ships with the WinCC flexible version you intend to keep. That installation determines which images are available to write.
2. On the General tab select device type TP 177A and the connection: serial COM port with a defined baud, or MPI/PROFIBUS with the panel's address.
3. On the OS Update tab accept the image ProSave preselects for that device type. Do not browse to an image belonging to another panel family.
4. Tick Reset to factory settings. Use this option for a panel stuck in the bootloader; use the plain update only when the panel still boots into its loader.
5. Start the update, then remove and reapply panel power when ProSave reports that it is waiting for the device.
6. Leave the PC alone until ProSave reports success — no other applications, no port changes, no display sleep. The download runs several minutes over serial.
7. After success, the panel boots to its loader. Open the Control Panel and set the transfer channel, address and baud, and enable transfer.
8. Transfer the project from WinCC flexible.

Verify in this order, with the reading each check must produce:

1. Check A: ProSave device status — expect an image version matching the engineering station's maximum (1.0.x for WinCC flexible 2005) and a bootloader version returned without error.
2. Check B: power up the panel — expect the loader menu within a few seconds, one time, with no "no file" message and no reset loop.
3. Check C: start the transfer in WinCC flexible — expect the version message to be gone, the progress dialog to reach 100%, and the panel to switch into runtime by itself.
4. Check D: runtime — expect the configured start screen and, where a controller connection is configured, live process values with no communication fault message.
5. Check E: power-cycle the panel and run one more transfer without opening the Control Panel — expect the transfer settings to persist and the second transfer to complete unchanged.

FAQ