To get Crossfire support on the latest Taranis X9D+ 2019 radio, you need to flash OpenTX 2.3 Nightly firmware – a beta unstable release. The firmware update process is non-standard so I am writing this post to explain how to do it.
Update Feb 2020 – OpenTX 2.3 stable release is now out, so you can disregard this post, and flash your Taranis the normal way through OpenTX Companion as shown here. Make sure you select X9D PLUS 2019 in the Radio Type though!
As usual, Frsky has no documentation on their new products, I have to spend a whole day trying to figure things out myself.
For some reason you cannot flash the Taranis X9D+ 2019 radio in the OpenTX Companion out of the box. You will get a warning saying “firmware does not support radio”. You have to flash inside the radio. Here I will show you how.
Download OpenTX Firmware
Download 2.3 Nightlies here: https://downloads.open-tx.org/2.3/nightlies/companion/windows/
This is the Companion installer that you will use to download the firmware. If the installer doesn’t respond, try to run it as administrator. Still nothing? Try right clicking and select “Troubleshoot compatibility”.
Download Firmware
Once the OpenTX Companion 2.3 is installed, run it. Click on the Setting button.
In the pop up window, go to Radio Profile tab, under Radio Type, select “Frsky Taranis X9D+ 2019”. Do not select “Taranis X9D+” without “2019”, you will brick your new Taranis. That’s because they have different hardware. Though you can unbrick it if it happens.
And then check the options you want to have. All these options are explained in my OpenTX Flashing tutorial. (There was a check box for Crossfire too which they recently removed. Crossfire is now integrated into the firmware you don’t need to select it anymore)
In Application settings, change Release Control to Nightly builds (unstable) in order to download the beta firmware.
Click OK to close the pop up, and click the download button
In the new pop up, download both firmware and SD card contents (sdcard-taranis-x9-2.3).
Erase your SD card and put the SD card contents on it.
Then put the firmware file you just downloaded in the “FIRMMWARE” folder on the SD card.
Firmware Flashing
You can’t use Companion to flash your radio, you have to flash the radio with the firmware on the SD card.
Enter bootloader mode on radio: push both trim buttons inwards then press the power button.
You will get to a screen that looks like this.
Select “Write Firmware”, in the next screen, you should see the firmware that you just downloaded and placed in the “FIRMWARE” folder. Select it and the flashing process will begin.
Use Companion to Flash OpenTX After
After you flashed the OpenTX 2.3 firmware for the first time, you should be able to use the Companion for any future firmware updating. (seems to work in my case)
Nightly Builds Startup Warning
Problem with running Nightly built firmware is that you always get a warning at startup saying “version not safe to fly”. I don’t think there is a way to remove it until you flash a stable release firmware. So you just have to live with that for now.
13 comments
Hi,
not sure this the place to ask. （little bite lost here, my first time using open tx). I just flashed my Taranis x9d plus (pre 2019, built on 2016) with open tx 2.3.15 and it seems to work but am i suppose to use 2.3.15 for pre 2019 Tranis x9d plus radio?
Hi Oscar,
Taranis X9D 2019 can be flashed using the Companion, just need to fix DFU driver on Windows installing the STM32 Bootloader driver correctly. The driver it should appear on Windows Device Manager like a Universal Serial Bus device and not like a Universal Serial Bus controller, the right way to do that is download the driver and restart the Windows in Advanced Mode to Disable Driver Signature Enforcement, after reboot the Windows plug the USB on Taranis and the power button will show green light and Windows will try to install the usb driver, now just update the driver on Windows Device Manager with STM Bootloader driver file and the Companion works to flash the radio.
You can now disrequard the nightly build. Just flashed my x9d plus 2019 with 2.3.4 (it released a few months ago. Just follow this tutorial but don’t download the nightly software, and leave it on stable releases. MAKE SURE YOU DO SELECT THE X9D PLUS 2019 VERSION THOUGH!!! Appreciate this tutorial Oscar, I’ve never had to flash a transmitter before. I fried my QX7 doing the little crossfire mod chip install, guess I didn’t do it right… Its the only reason why I got this radio. I’m sure transmitters now will be shipped with this new version so people don’t have to go this route. At least until a newer version comes out…. Thanks again!
Thanks for the feedback, i will get this article updated asap.
Is there anyway to do this if I’m using a mac? The Nightly builds only seem to be for Windows. Thanks!
Dear Oscar,
by mistake I deleted the bootloader from my taranis xd9 +. Now when I try to turn on the bootloader, the radio vibrates, hums, the screen is white.
The installed version is opentx 2.1.9 and the EEPR 217. I downloaded opentx 2.1.9 on SD and also the other SD files. The radio reads all files except opentx 2.1.9 which is not detected. Connecting the radio to the PC with Window 10, it detects it only as Joistick.
Connecting it to liftoff, it doesn’t even work as a joystick. Can you help me ?
Thanks so much .
Russian Michele.
Please join intofpv.com so we can help you troubleshoot.
Please start a thread, and state why are you using 2.1.9? there is a newer version. And if it’s the 2019 version
did you find the problem and the fix ?
I think to wait a little while and hopefully???
Have installed the sd card the radio said it’s the wrong version. I have 2.3V0021 from the downloads page the radio said it needs 2.3V0019 and that version is not on the download page what’s up?
Seems my problem from the 8th Sept comment – was the SBUS from the FC was plugged into “SBUS In” and not “SBUS out” on the receiver. Ugh. Thanks FrSky!
Thanks for this.
The radio I got from FrSky was flashed with opentx-x9d+ 2.3.0 2019-07-22. It was missing CRSF from the external module, and didn’t give the ‘version not safe to fly’
When I upgraded the firmware from the OpenTX site I now see CSRF available in the external module but I lost the spectrum analyser tool that was present before the flash.
And also what is not working is the Modules/RX Version is always showing “No information” for both my R9M and Crossfire modules.
I am having problems with my R9M module where it binds to my R9 receiver but I have no telemetry or RC control. i was hoping this firmware would have fixed that but it didn’t.
And I am 100% in agreement that FrSky has no documentation and like you have to spend all day doing research – which is why I decided to give Crossfire a try.
Try to flash the latest Nightly, I am using the N82 and it’s got Crossfire as well as the Spectrum Analyser.