Olympus OM-D Firmware Updates: not using Windows or Mac

We love our 3 Olympus OM-D cameras.

 

But I was less happy recently when I wanted to update the firmware.

However, I've now found away around my problem.

Our most recent camera is an Olympus OM-D E-M5 mk3 which was purchased from HDEW Cameras just a few months ago. It was the cheapest deal on this model, but all seems to be fine with the camera.

 

The only slightly strange thing was that the body firmware version was 1.0. I would have expected it to be more recent, given the date of purchase. So anyway, we needed to get the body firmware upgraded from v1.0 to v1.4.

I found the Olympus support page where I expected to be able to download a file that I could load onto an SD card, then boot and let the camera work its magic. This is basically how its done on all the modern cameras that I've upgraded over recent years.

However, the Olympus support page makes it clear that you need to download Olympus Workspace to perform the upgrade. And guess what? This software is only available for Windows or Mac computers...get real Olympus!

After a lot of mumbling and cursing, someone directed me to: LightSnowDev

This guy started out creating his own upgrade tool, but now has a download page of BIN files for various Olympus cameras.

Having downloaded the required firmware file, this is what I did;

1. reformatted an old 4GB SD card in the camera
2. put 4GB SD card in laptop and created a folder called "DCOLYMP"
3. renamed the downloaded BIN file to: E1379999.BIN
4. copied this file to DCOLYMP on the SD card
5. with the camera turned "OFF" and the battery well charged, inserted 4GB card into camera
6. press and hold the camera "OK" button and then turn on the camera
7. release the "OK" button and the camera front light comes on
8. when the camera light starts flashing, switch off the camera and remove the SD card
9. refit the normal SD card and turn the camera back "ON"
10. reset language, time/date and any other settings
11. check software version is now correct
12. test camera

I don't know were this guy got the firmware files, but Olympus should make them available on their support pages for anyone that either does not have access to a Windows or Mac computer (and there must be lots of us out there) or anyone that just doesn't want to install and use it!