TP700 Comfort Panel Reset to Factory and V13 to V15 Runtime

1. Problem Definition

A SIMATIC HMI TP700 Comfort panel in the field is reported by the customer as "slowing down" for no obvious reason. The integrator who originally engineered the HMI project is no longer available, and the original engineering project archive is missing. Only the runtime image currently on the panel is available. The integrator needs to:

1. Recover the running application (HMI tags, screens, alarms, scripts) so the process is not lost.
2. Perform a controlled reset to factory settings to clear the slowdown and any accumulated corruption.
3. Bring the runtime from WinCC Comfort V13 to V15 so the panel is on a current, supported runtime.

The naive sequence — upload via TIA Portal, factory reset, update the image to V15, then download again — silently fails: the V13 application re-appears and the runtime reports itself as V13 again. This article documents the working procedure and the underlying reasons.

2. Architecture: Image, Application, and Project

A Siemens Comfort panel stores three distinct layers. Conflating them is the source of most recovery mistakes.

The runtime image version is stamped in the panel's "Start Center → System → System Information" or via HMIRuntime / RT-Info tags. The application version is set inside the engineering project and is independent of the runtime image version — but the application must be compatible with the runtime image that hosts it.

3. Root Cause: Why a V13 Application Does Not Run on a V15 Image

WinCC Comfort / Advanced applications are version-bound to the TIA Portal that produced them. A project compiled in TIA Portal V13 is bound to the WinCC Runtime V13 binary format. The V15 runtime image loads only V15-format projects. The panel will refuse to start a V13 binary or, in some firmware combinations, fall back to a "screensaver" start screen with a system error.

When you upload a V13 project from the panel, transfer it to a PC with TIA V15, and try to download it back, TIA will not silently re-compile the application. The project must be explicitly upgraded in the engineering system using Project → Migrate project (or Upgrade project in older releases). Until the project itself is migrated to V15, the panel will always re-apply the V13 binary regardless of how many times you wipe the runtime image.

The reported behavior — "after the reset and V15 update the panel reports V13 again" — is the symptom of the V13 application being re-deployed onto the freshly installed V15 image.

4. Compatibility Reference

Every Comfort panel project upgrade follows a multi-step migration. The matrix below shows the minimum TIA Portal versions required to compile a project for a given runtime image. Values are the supported upgrade paths published by Siemens for WinCC Comfort / Advanced; verify against the live Siemens Industry Online Support portal for the exact service packs required for your build.

Siemens publishes a consolidated TIA compatibility tool at support.industry.siemens.com under the article ID PIA65401693 (TIA Version Overview). Always cross-check the precise SP level; "V15" without an SP designation is rarely buildable for production use.

5. Prerequisites

Before any of the procedures below, gather the following:

• Engineering PC with TIA Portal V13 SP2 (or the version matching the source project) and TIA Portal V15 (or V15.1) installed. The two versions must coexist on the same PC, which TIA supports via separate user accounts or via the TIA Multiuser / TIA Administrator approach. Each major version requires its own license.
• Ethernet cable (or PROFIBUS / MPI cable matching the active transfer channel of the panel) to connect PC ↔ TP700.
• ProSave (shipped with every TIA Portal installation; also bundled in SIMATIC Automation Tool). ProSave is required for image-level operations, because the TIA Portal "HMI software update" wizard is a thin shell over ProSave.
• Boot stick / SD card: a 4 GB or larger SD card formatted as FAT32 if you intend to perform a USB / SD-based image update. The panel will refuse to boot from a non-FAT32 card.
• Service / admin password for the panel's Control Panel. If the password is unknown, the only way in is a factory reset that does not require a password (it does require physical access to the panel).
• Original firmware files for TP700 Comfort V15 / V15.1. Download from Siemens Industry Online Support under article ID 109751706 (HMI firmware downloads) and store the .fwf file locally.
• Backup folder on the engineering PC with at least 1 GB free; a full panel backup including recipe DB and alarm logs can exceed 200 MB.

6. Step-by-Step — Option A: Recover the Project First, Then Reset

This is the recommended path when the customer process must keep running, because the application can be re-deployed before the factory reset window.

6.1 Bring the panel into Transfer mode

1. On the panel, tap the center of the screen to call the Start Center, then Settings → Transfer → Enable Transfer.
2. Confirm the IP address is reachable from the engineering PC. If the panel is set to PROFINET device name only, assign a static IP from the Control Panel first.

6.2 Upload the running project with TIA V13

1. Open the TIA V13 instance. Do not open the V15 instance for this step; only the V13 runtime can upload a V13 project.
2. Project → Retrieve from device (HMI upload). Select the TP700 device. Wait for the dialog to complete. A successful upload yields a project tree with screens, tags, scripts, and the HMI configuration.
3. Save the project to disk immediately as TP700_Recovered_V13.zap13. Make a copy into a version-controlled folder. This file is now your engineering source.

6.3 Migrate the recovered project to V15

1. Close the project in TIA V13. Open TIA V15.
2. Project → Open → select the V13 archive. TIA V15 will detect the older format and prompt for migration. Accept; the toolchain is re-issued under a new project ID.
3. Run Project → Compile → Software (rebuild all). Resolve any compiler warnings about deprecated VBScript functions (e.g. HMIRuntime.Screens vs Screen.Items in newer Comfort runtimes). Comfort V15 deprecates the older scripting surface and replaces it with the HMI Runtime namespace.
4. Save the migrated project as TP700_Migrated_V15.zap15.

6.4 Verify the migrated project offline

Before touching the panel, simulate the migrated project using the TIA V15 simulator (Start → Simulation → Start). Tag the runtime with a test PLC, or use the internal tag simulation. Check that all screens, alarms, and scripts behave as expected. A V13-to-V15 migration that fails offline will fail on the panel — but on the panel it is much more expensive to debug.

7. Step-by-Step — Option B: Reset First, Then Deploy a V15 Project

If the panel is so degraded that it cannot enter Transfer, you must perform the factory reset before recovering anything. The reset procedure is documented in detail in Siemens FAQ 19701610 (Reset Comfort panels to factory defaults). The condensed procedure for a TP700 Comfort is below.

1. Power-cycle the panel. During the boot phase, the panel briefly displays "Connect to the Configuration Center" or a similar prompt.
2. If the Service Center appears (TP700 hardware button combination: hold the lower-right of the screen during power-up for ~5 s), select Factory reset. Confirm the warning.
3. If the Service Center is not available, enter the Control Panel → Service → Factory reset path. This requires the service password.
4. After reset, the panel reboots into a clean state with default IP (the static IP is wiped; DHCP is enabled by default on most Comfort panels).

7.1 Update the runtime image to V15

1. Start ProSave on the engineering PC. Select the target device type (TP700 Comfort) and the connection type (Ethernet / PROFINET). Enter the panel's current IP address.
2. On the panel side, open Control Panel → Service → Commissioning → Load firmware and operating system (or trigger Transfer mode).
3. In ProSave, navigate to Update OS. Point to the .fwf file you downloaded earlier. Confirm the partition selection (TP700 has a single OS partition; some larger Comfort panels have A/B partitions — confirm before clicking Update).
4. Wait for the transfer. The panel will reboot twice. Do not interrupt the 24 V supply during the update — the second reboot is when the new kernel is written to the non-active partition and the bootloader swaps the active flag.
5. After the panel returns, verify the runtime version in Start Center → System → System Information. The runtime must now report V15 (or V15.1) and the panel will report a clean image with no application.

7.2 Deploy the V15 project

1. Open the migrated V15 project in TIA V15.
2. Right-click the TP700 device → Download to device → Software (all). Use the same Ethernet / PROFINET path used for the image update.
3. After the download, the panel will start the new application. If the panel reports "Project not compatible" or refuses to start, recompile the project (Project → Compile → Software (rebuild all)) and re-download; stale .bin files from the migration cache are a common cause.

8. Step-by-Step — Option C: Restore a Full Backup File

If the customer (or a previous integrator) used ProSave to create a full panel backup, restoring it preserves recipes and logs as well as the application. This is the fastest path when the backup is available.

1. In ProSave, select Restore → from file and point to the .psb or .brf backup.
2. Confirm the device type matches. A backup taken from a TP900 will refuse to restore onto a TP700, even though both are 7" widescreen Comfort panels, because the panel ID and resolution family differ.
3. After restore, the runtime image version of the backup becomes the panel's image version. If the backup image is V13, the panel will report V13 even if a V15 image was previously installed. Run the OS update in step 7.1 afterward if a runtime upgrade is required.

9. Performance Tuning After the Recovery

The customer complaint is "the panel is slow". A factory reset is necessary but not sufficient. After the new V15 project is deployed, address the common Comfort panel slowdowns:

10. Verification

After every step in the procedure, perform a verification check. Never assume success.

1. Image version: Start Center → System → System Information → Runtime version. Must read "V15.x" matching the .fwf file used.
2. Application version: Right-click the HMI device in TIA V15 → Device diagnostics → Online → Project version. Must match the migrated project's compilation timestamp.
3. Tag subscription: In TIA V15, open Online → Monitor all tags. Confirm at least one cyclic and one acyclic tag is updating against the live PLC.
4. Alarm subsystem: Trigger a test alarm from the PLC. Confirm it appears on the active alarm screen, is acknowledged correctly, and clears on reset.
5. Recipe round-trip: Write a recipe, perform a power-cycle, read it back. Recipes must survive the reset cycle.
6. Boot repeat: Power-cycle the panel three consecutive times. The application must start every time. A V13 image reverting to V13 on a V15 panel is the failure mode this article was written to prevent; if it still happens, the deployed project is not the migrated V15 project — re-check step 6.3.

11. Field-Proven Pitfalls

• Mixing TIA versions in the same engineering session. A V13 license cannot open a V15 archive and a V15 license cannot compile a V13 project. Plan the migration on a clean PC or accept the dual-license overhead.
• Forgetting to detach the SD card from the previous project. Comfort panels look for a project file at /Storage Card SD/Project first. If the SD card still holds the V13 project, the panel boots from the card and ignores the internal flash project. Pull the SD card before reset and reformat it on the PC before re-inserting.
• Reinstalling the customer-supplied images on the new V15 panel. Many sites store .bmp, .emf, or .pdf files on the panel for the project. These assets are part of the engineering project, not the runtime image; they are recovered by re-downloading the V15-migrated project, not by a runtime update.
• User administration reset. A factory reset wipes the user DB. If the customer manages users from a corporate IAM, re-import the UAD (user administration) file from a backup or re-create the accounts in the migrated V15 project.
• "Customer slow down" caused by the PLC, not the HMI. A panel showing stale values can be a PLC-side update rate problem masquerading as a panel slowdown. Monitor a single fast tag in TIA Online → Monitor at 100 ms before declaring the HMI at fault.

12. Decision Matrix

FAQ