Firmware
Whistler WS1080 CPU firmware image U4.6 (raw, GREFwTool format)
Community copy
Download zip (359 KB) Manufacturer's page ↗
A raw WS1080 CPU image, U4.6, preserved in the GREFwTool repository (commit 9399d08, 2019-12-10). No official standalone updater for U4.6 survives; the images are the encrypted files Whistler's update server delivered to EZ-Scan. The same repository's U4.5 image matches the official U4.5 updater byte-for-byte apart from a 4-byte header.
Read before installing. Native WS1080/WS1088 only. Needs GREFwTool; not usable with Whistler's updaters. Never 'transcode' it onto a PSR-800, PRO-18 or PRO-668: that is the unofficial DMR route Whistler penalises.
Contents
| File | Size | SHA-256 |
|---|---|---|
| WS1080e_U4.6.bin_.7z | 356 KB | 630800ba40f7c17c920c9795221c520d9e6514a1794cbd48d189d38e24d38bd2 |
| README.txt | These instructions | |
| SHA256SUMS | Checksums of the files above | |
Instructions
The complete README.txt included in the zip:
Whistler WS1080 CPU firmware image U4.6 (raw, GREFwTool format)
===============================================================
WHAT THIS IS
------------
A raw CPU firmware image for the Whistler WS1080/WS1088, version U4.6, as kept
in the community GREFwTool repository (firmware/WS1080e_U4.6.bin_.7z, added
2019-12-10). The "e" file is the encrypted image in the form Whistler's update
server (scanner-update.com) delivered to EZ-Scan; it is not a Windows program
and is not usable with Whistler's CPU updaters.
No official standalone updater for U4.6 was found on Whistler's file hosts, so
this image is the only surviving copy. It is marked "community" because it
survives only as a user upload. Evidence that it is unmodified: the same
repository's U4.5 image matches the image inside Whistler's own U4.5 updater
byte-for-byte apart from a 4-byte header.
The final WS1080 firmware, U4.8, is available in this archive as Whistler's
official updater, which is the recommended way to update a WS1080.
APPLIES TO
----------
Whistler WS1080 and WS1088 (factory Whistler radios).
Must NOT be used on a GRE PSR-800, RadioShack PRO-18 or PRO-668, whether or
not upgraded. GREFwTool has an "experimental transcode" that makes WS1080
images load on those radios; that is the unofficial way DMR was added in
2016-17, it is not supported by Whistler, and Whistler charged more to upgrade
such radios and warned DMR could be permanently disabled on them.
BEFORE STARTING
---------------
- GREFwTool, which must be built from source with Qt 5.7 (see the GREFwTool
entry in this archive). No prebuilt Windows binary was found.
- 7-Zip to extract WS1080e_U4.6.bin from the .7z.
- The WS1080 USB driver, the mini-USB data cable, fresh batteries, a copy of
the microSD card and a note of the current CPU and DSP versions.
- An understanding that this is outside any manufacturer support.
CONTENTS OF THIS ZIP
--------------------
The zip published on fubsypoly.com wraps the vendor file(s)
byte-for-byte, unmodified.
WS1080e_U4.6.bin_.7z
364,208 bytes
SHA-256 630800ba40f7c17c920c9795221c520d9e6514a1794cbd48d189d38e24d38bd2
7-Zip archive as stored in the GREFwTool repository. Contains
WS1080e_U4.6.bin (368,340 bytes, SHA-256
25a19e63ba579e6b8f07b1c6678bd1e65aad6bf098340b44fcea74d1a65d3bfc), the
encrypted WS1080 CPU image in the form Whistler's update server
delivered it.
README.txt
This file.
SHA256SUMS
SHA-256 checksums of the files above.
INSTALLATION
------------
The steps are GREFwTool's, from its README; they could not be tested.
1. Extract WS1080e_U4.6.bin from the .7z.
2. In GREFwTool's Settings (only available while disconnected), set Scanner
Type to WS-1080 and choose the COM port. Leave Firmware at WS-1080.
3. With the scanner powered off and unplugged, hold MENU and plug the USB
cable in; release MENU once the PC detects the scanner. The scanner is now
in CPU Update Mode.
4. Click Connect. The display should show the firmware version and that the
scanner is in CPU Update Mode.
5. Click Firmware Update, select the .bin file, and wait for the progress
dialog to finish. The tool disconnects when done.
VERIFYING
---------
Press '3' while the power-up Welcome Message is displayed (the check
Whistler's updaters describe), or connect WS1080 EZ-Scan, which reports the
firmware versions.
IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
-----------------------
- GREFwTool's README: "Failed updates will put the scanner into CPU Update
Mode when powered on. Retry the Firmware Update from step 3. The scanner can
only be powered off in CPU Update Mode by disconnecting the usb connection
and removing one of the battery cells in the scanner."
- The official U4.8 updater in this archive can always reload a native WS1080
in CPU SW Upgrade mode.
- Do not use EZ-Scan's CPU update to load mismatched firmware; GREFwTool warns
it erases the CPU firmware and leaves the radio in CPU update mode.
DOWNGRADING
-----------
This file IS a downgrade path: loading an older image through GREFwTool is
what the tool was written for ("go back to an earlier firmware version by
starting at step 2"). DSP/CPU pairing for older versions was not documented by
Whistler; if trouble follows, return to the official U4.8 updater.
PROVENANCE
----------
- File: WS1080e_U4.6.bin_.7z
- Retrieved from:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/philcovington/GREFwTool/9399d083314da854adb45a5039a64d37f9b2cae6/firmware/WS1080e_U4.6.bin_.7z
- Date retrieved: 2026-09-18
- Official page: https://github.com/philcovington/GREFwTool
- Status: community (survives only as a user/community upload; see
PROVENANCE.md)
- Cross-check: the repository's WS1080e_U4.5.bin is byte-identical, apart from
its first 4 bytes, to the image embedded in Whistler's official
CPUUpdater_WS1080_U4.5.exe, so the repository's images are unmodified vendor
images rather than patched builds.
MORE INFORMATION
----------------
- https://scanners.fubsypoly.com/whistler-ws1080/vol-4/
- Vendor downloads page (Goliad Products, 2026):
https://whistlergroup.com/pages/downloads
- Reference Library manual:
https://scanners.fubsypoly.com/library/whistler-ws1080-ws1088-ez-scan-digital-handheld-scanner-owners-manual-part-1/