{"id":1778995,"date":"2023-08-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=1778995"},"modified":"2025-10-17T11:04:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T15:04:54","slug":"boss-gm-800-firmware-update","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/articles\/boss-gm-800-firmware-update\/","title":{"rendered":"BOSS GM-800 Firmware Update"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>From time to time, BOSS will release a new version of the GM-800 firmware in order to fix bugs and add additional features. BOSS refers to the firmware as the <strong>System Program<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;The firmware version works in tandem with the version of the <strong>BOSS Tone Studio for GM-800 <\/strong>app. If you install the newest version of the app and it cannot recognize your GM-800, you likely need to update the firmware on the GM-800.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol type=\"1\"><li><a href=\"#Check-to-See-If-You-Need-to-Update-the-Firmware\"><strong>Check to See If You Need to Update the Firmware<\/strong><\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#How-to-Find-the-Version-Number-of-the-System-Program-on-Your-GM-800\"><strong>How to Find the Version Number of the System Program on Your GM-800<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#How-to-Find-the-Version-Number-of-the-Newest-GM-800-System-Program-Update\"><strong>How to Find the Version Number of the Newest GM-800 System Program Update<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#Overview-of-the-GM-800-Firmware-Update-Process\"><strong>Overview of the GM-800 Firmware Update Process<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Procedure-for-Updating-the-Firmware\"><strong>Procedure for Updating the Firmware<\/strong><\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#Format-the-Flash-Drive\"><strong>Format the Flash Drive<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Download-the-System-Program-Updater\"><strong>Download the System Program Updater<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"#Download-the-System-Program-Updater\">Perform the Update on the GM-800<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"Check-to-See-If-You-Need-to-Update-the-Firmware\">Check to See If You Need to Update the Firmware<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"How-to-Find-the-Version-Number-of-the-System-Program-on-Your-GM-800\">How to Find the Version Number of the System Program on Your GM-800<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol type=\"1\"><li>Unplug the power adapter on the GM-800 to shut it down.<\/li><li>While holding down the <strong>Exit<\/strong> button, plug the power in to turn it on. Continue to hold the <strong>Exit<\/strong> button until the GM-800 logo appears on the display.<\/li><li>The version information will appear on the display. Take note of it.<\/li><li>Unplug the adapter to power down the unit.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"How-to-Find-the-Version-Number-of-the-Newest-GM-800-System-Program-Update\">How to Find the Version Number of the Newest GM-800 System Program Update<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>On your computer, go to the BOSS GM-800 Downloads page. Find the newest GM-800 System Program file, such as \u201cGM-800 System Program (Ver.1.0.3).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the version number of the System Program file on the website is higher than the version number on your GM-800, then you need to update the firmware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"Overview-of-the-GM-800-Firmware-Update-Process\">Overview of the GM-800 Firmware Update Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To perform the update, you will need a USB flash drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The procedure is to plug the flash drive into the GM-800 and format it there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On your computer, download the System Program updater file from the BOSS website. Connect your flash drive to your computer, then copy the updater file to the flash drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You then plug the updated flash drive into the GM-800 to start the update process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"Procedure-for-Updating-the-Firmware\">Procedure for Updating the Firmware<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"Format-the-Flash-Drive\">Format the Flash Drive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Important: Formatting the flash drive will erase all data on it, so before you format it, connect it to your computer to find out whether it contains any data you need. If it does, make a copy of that data on your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol type=\"1\"><li>Connect the USB flash drive to the <strong>USB Memory<\/strong> port on the back of the unit.<\/li><li>Choose <strong>Menu<\/strong> &gt; <strong>USB Memory<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Press the <strong>Page<\/strong> buttons to show <strong>Format<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Press the <strong>1 knob<\/strong>. A message appears: <strong>Clear the USB Memory Content. Are you sure?<\/strong> Choosing <strong>OK<\/strong> will erase all data on the flash drive. To execute the format operation, press the<strong> 4 knob<\/strong>. When formatting is complete, the message <strong>Completed<\/strong> appears.<\/li><li>Unplug the power adapter to shut the GM-800 down.<\/li><li>Remove the flash drive from the GM-800.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more in the <a href=\"https:\/\/static.roland.com\/assets\/media\/pdf\/GM-800_ReferenceManual_eng01_W.pdf#page=16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GM-800 Reference Manual, Connecting external devices &gt; Connecting a USB flash drive (USB Memory port) &gt; Formatting a USB flash drive<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"Download-the-System-Program-Updater\">Download the System Program Updater<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>On your computer, go to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boss.info\/us\/products\/gm-800\/downloads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GM-800 Downloads page<\/a> under <strong>Updates &amp; Drivers. <\/strong>Download the newest <strong>GM-800 driver<\/strong> for your version of macOS or Windows. Double-click the downloaded driver, then follow the instructions to complete the installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Go back to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boss.info\/us\/products\/gm-800\/downloads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GM-800 Downloads page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol type=\"1\"><li>Click on the GM-800 System Program update. This will take you to a BOSS page with detailed instructions. Please review them. Now scroll down to the bottom of the page, check <strong>I agree and wish to proceed with download<\/strong>, and click the <strong>Download File<\/strong> button.<\/li><li>The file will download to your computer. It will be in compressed .zip format. Locate the file.<\/li><li>If necessary, extract it. The resulting folder has a name in the form of <strong>gm800_sys_v103<\/strong>, depending on the version number. Inside the folder is a file with the name <strong>GM-800_UPA_up.bin<\/strong> or similar. Do not rename this file. This is the file you will copy to the flash drive.<\/li><li>Connect the USB flash drive to your computer.<\/li><li>Copy the file <strong>GM-800_UPA_up.bin <\/strong>to the root of the USB drive.<\/li><li>Perform the <strong>Eject<\/strong> command on the flash drive in macOS or Windows to make sure it is safe to remove. Unplug the flash drive.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"Perform-the-Update-on-the-GM-800\">Perform the Update on the GM-800<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffcfd3\"><strong>IMPORTANT:<\/strong> Do not disconnect or turn off the power to your GM-800 while the update is in progress. You could \u201cbrick\u201d your unit, requiring you to send it to BOSS for non-warranty repair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol type=\"1\"><li>Unplug the power adapter from the GM-800 to turn it off.<\/li><li>Connect the USB flash drive.<\/li><li>Hold down the <strong>Write<\/strong> button while you connect the power adapter to power up the unit. Continue to hold the <strong>Write<\/strong> button down until <strong>GM-800 Updater<\/strong> appears on the display. The update will begin automatically. Wait patiently while the GM-800 goes through the update procedure.<\/li><li>When the display indicates <strong>Update Succeeded<\/strong>, unplug the power adapter to turn the power off.<\/li><li>Disconnect the USB flash drive from the GM-800.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Verify that the new version was successfully installed by the procedure outlined in the <strong>How to Find the Version Number of the System Program on Your GM-800<\/strong> section above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re done. Now head over to the SweetCare BOSS GM-800 Quickstart Guide to continue working with your guitar synthesizer system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/articles\/boss-gm-800-guitar-synthesizer-quickstart-guide\/\" class=\"relatedcontent_link\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-related-content\"><div class=\"relatedcontent_block\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/media\/2023\/08\/BOSS-GM-800-Guitar-Synthesizer-Quickstart-Guide.jpg);background-size:cover;background-position:center\"><div class=\"relatedcontent_overlay_content\"><\/div><div class=\"relatedcontent-text relatedcontent_content\"><p class=\"relatedcontent_title\" style=\"color:#fff\">BOSS GM-800 Guitar Synthesizer Quickstart Guide<\/p><p class=\"relatedcontent_subhead\" style=\"color:#fff;border:none\"><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/a>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1779000,"template":"","categories":[142726],"tags":[565420,565424,565421,592974,565422],"storecat":[],"itemids":[461904],"manufacturers":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Install the newest firmware for the BOSS GM-800 for the latest bug fixes and compatibility with BOSS Tone Studio. 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