To Upgrade or Not

[Genesis]

Hello,
I've had the Allworx phone system for almost 4 years, my contract with the installing company is almost up. This contract included updates, although I have never been advised to update. When I call and ask them I am told that IF I update it could break the phones and ruin the way the system works. Also if I update the box I CANNOT go back to a previous/prior software version. So basically if it's not broke don't fix it. My paging system has not worked since the install, maybe an update would fix this? I don't want to be missing features or enhancements that could make my life/job easier. Do I risk updating?

[jsmith]

Run a backup on the server. This will create an image containing your configuration and the
old software version.

Run the new software updated, if it works great! If it fails you can always restore your old backup.

[wshrader]

Whoever suckered you into that contract is suspect. The Allworx PBX and the phones are computers. They have software that needs patching when bugs and security vulnerabilities are discovered. The biggest force currently driving the frequency of Allworx updates is Apple constantly changing it's push services and breaking Reach. The company holding your service contract should have been collecting regular backups of your Allworx. If they haven't AND they haven't been updating your system I might suggest breaking the contract and demanding reparation. Read the contract very carefully.
Anyway, if you are already at version 8.0 or above, go to Maintenance>Backup and it should say when the last good backup was. It is best practice to create a backup before updating. Upating must be done in steps. For example 8.0>8.1 and not 8.0>8.2.
Of course, your mileage may vary but in 5 years doing countless updates on about 200 different servers, I can only remember once when an attempted update failed catastrophically and required restoring from a backup. Very old versions (early 7.x) may fail to obey a scheduled update and need done manually but other than than updating Allworx has been very stable and solid in my experience.

If you go to Maintenance>Update the release notes for the version you select should also be available for you to read. I suggest you save these. Personally I find I reference them often.

[Genesis]

I appreciate the help and information. My distributor is no help as our system is very extensive and most of the help desk people can't figure out how we're setup... We helped them to install and program this system (I don't think they like that we are very knowledgeable). I decided to buy a back up box just in case the one running fails or the update fails.... How do I go about getting the software v8.2?? Everywhere I read, even on Allworx site, says no feature key is needed to install v8.4 or lower. I was able to update to 8.1.22.15 but now the box tells me I need a feature key to get further updates. UGH!

[wshrader]

It is true that no Feature Key is needed to update to v8.4 but it must be done manually. If you select update from web it will fail if you have no key. You need to download it from the partner portal and upload it. Your distributor or whoever holds your service contract should be an authorized Allworx partner and can, if they cooperate with you, provide you the update files.