Firmware
Whistler WS1080/WS1088 CPU firmware updater U4.5
Verified — manufacturer file
Download zip (446 KB) Manufacturer's page ↗
Whistler's standalone Windows CPU firmware updater for the WS1080/WS1088, containing CPU firmware U4.5. The updater executable was built 2017-01-20. The firmware image inside this updater is byte-identical (apart from a 4-byte header) to the community copy 'WS1080e_U4.5.bin' kept in the GREFwTool repository, which confirms both the version and that the community images are unmodified vendor images..
Read before installing. Native WS1080/WS1088 only; legacy-upgraded PSR-800/PRO-18/PRO-668 need the Boot 2.0 updater.
Contents
| File | Size | SHA-256 |
|---|---|---|
| CPUUpdater_WS1080_U4.5.exe | 680 KB | 641b091f356055e86272af2c857f3f88aceba54ebf0afe462c176c8cc460a4d9 |
| README.txt | These instructions | |
| SHA256SUMS | Checksums of the files above | |
Instructions
The complete README.txt included in the zip:
Whistler WS1080/WS1088 CPU firmware updater U4.5
================================================
WHAT THIS IS
------------
Whistler's standalone Windows CPU firmware updater for the WS1080/WS1088,
version U4.5 ("CPUUpdater" = Whistler's CPU Update Utility, file version
0.0.1.4, with the firmware image built in). The executable's build timestamp
is 2017-01-20.
The firmware image inside this updater is byte-identical (apart from a 4-byte
header) to the community copy 'WS1080e_U4.5.bin' kept in the GREFwTool
repository, which confirms both the version and that the community images are
unmodified vendor images.
Whistler's normal update route is EZ-Scan's update check, which downloads and
installs CPU and DSP firmware. Whistler's legacy-upgrade download page
described its standalone updater as a backup "in the event you are having
issues updating your CPU firmware via the EZ Scan software application"; DSP
firmware goes through EZ-Scan (or the separate Whistler DSP Updater).
This is not the newest WS1080/WS1088 CPU updater; keep it for downgrading or
to reproduce an older configuration.
APPLIES TO
----------
Whistler WS1080 and WS1088 handheld scanners (factory Whistler radios; the
WS1088 is the WS1080 with a 23-key keypad and uses the same firmware line).
Must NOT be used on: a GRE PSR-800, RadioShack PRO-18 or RadioShack PRO-668
that has been through the Whistler Official Upgrade (those radios carry the
Boot 2.0 loader and need the separate "Boot 2.0" / "Legacy" updater, also in
this archive); a PSR-800, PRO-18 or PRO-668 that has NOT been upgraded (this
is how unofficial WS1080 firmware ended up on those radios, with the date
lockout and loss of DMR described in the PSR-800 Upgrades & Firmware volume);
the WS1095/WS1098 or TRX series, which have their own updaters.
BEFORE STARTING
---------------
- A Windows PC. The updater is a 32-bit Windows program; the Windows versions
it supports were not stated by Whistler.
- The USB cable supplied with the radio.
- The Whistler USB serial driver installed, so that the scanner appears as a
COM port. It is installed by EZ-Scan, and is also available as its own entry
in this archive (id whistler-ws1080-usb-driver-2018-08-20).
- Fresh or fully charged AA cells in the scanner, set to match the ALK/NiMH
switch.
- A backup of the SD/microSD card (copy the whole card to the PC) and of the
programming, made in EZ-Scan.
- Note the current CPU and DSP versions before starting (see VERIFYING).
CONTENTS OF THIS ZIP
--------------------
The zip published on fubsypoly.com wraps the vendor file(s)
byte-for-byte, unmodified.
CPUUpdater_WS1080_U4.5.exe
696,320 bytes
SHA-256 641b091f356055e86272af2c857f3f88aceba54ebf0afe462c176c8cc460a4d9
Whistler CPU Update Utility for the WS1080/WS1088, CPU U4.5; PE build
timestamp 2017-01-20.
README.txt
This file.
SHA256SUMS
SHA-256 checksums of the files above.
INSTALLATION
------------
1. Close EZ-Scan and any other program that uses the scanner's COM port.
2. Run the updater (a standalone Windows program; nothing is installed). Its
first screen is a licence text with a checkbox, "I acknowledge that I have
read and agree to the above terms", and a Continue button.
3. The next screen, headed "IMPORTANT!!!", asks the user to confirm that data
can already be transferred between the scanner and the PC over the USB
cable, and ends "Are you ready to proceed with this update utility?".
4. With the scanner switched off and the USB cable unplugged from it, hold
down the scanner's MENU key and attach the USB cable to the scanner. The
updater's own text: "While holding down the scanner's MENU key, attach the
USB cable to the [scanner]. The scanner will enter its 'CPU SW Upgrade'
mode."
5. In the list on the right, select the COM port Windows assigned to the
scanner (Device Manager > Ports shows it).
6. Click TEST. The updater reads the scanner and shows "SCANNER VERSION: x.y"
and "UPDATER VERSION: x.y". "SCANNER VERSION: -none-" means the scanner
currently holds no CPU application (for example after a failed update);
the update can still proceed.
7. If the file is the same as or older than what the scanner holds, the
updater asks "Do you really want to upload version x.y?". Answer only if
that is intended.
8. Click UPDATE. A progress bar runs. On success the updater shows "Operation
complete. You may exit this utility by clicking the 'EXIT' button."
9. Disconnect USB, power the scanner on normally and check the version.
The step wording above is taken from the text strings inside the updater
itself; the exact screen layout was not seen and may differ slightly.
VERIFYING
---------
The updater's closing text: "You can check the new version number by pressing
'3' while the scanner's power-up Welcome Message is displayed." RadioReference
owners of the TRX series describe holding MENU at the welcome screen to show
the CPU and DSP versions; the two methods may belong to different firmware
generations, and which one a given radio honours could not be confirmed. EZ-
Scan also reports the model and firmware versions when it connects to the
radio.
IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
-----------------------
- A failed or interrupted update does not normally brick the scanner. The
updater's own text: "Please be assured that you cannot 'destroy' your radio
with this utility - if an update operation fails, the scanner's 'Boot' code
will clean up and prompt you for a CPU load until the operation is
successful." Re-enter CPU SW Upgrade mode (hold MENU while attaching USB)
and run the update again from step 4.
- "No data from the scanner. Please retry from step 1" or "Unable to
communicate with the scanner": the scanner is not in CPU SW Upgrade mode or
the wrong COM port is selected. Unplug, repeat step 4, re-select the port.
- "Unable to open the port COM<n>": another program (EZ-Scan, a terminal
program) has the port open, or the port does not exist. Close the other
program and re-select.
- No COM port appears: the USB driver is not installed or Windows has replaced
it. The Whistler drivers are unsigned; owners report needing to disable
driver signature enforcement on Windows 10/11 before installing them (see
the USB driver entry in this archive). Only the serial half of the scanner's
composite USB device needs the driver; the card-reader half mounts without
one.
- Wrong model: every Whistler updater carries the warning "This software is
intended only for use with a specific Whistler model. Attempting to update
any other brand or model scanner with this software/firmware may cause the
scanner to stop functioning." The community GREFwTool documentation
describes the result: the bootloader erases the application firmware and the
radio powers up only in CPU update mode until correct firmware is loaded.
Recovery is to load the correct updater for the model (and loader) in CPU SW
Upgrade mode.
- To power a handheld off while it is stuck in CPU update mode, GREFwTool's
notes say to disconnect USB and remove one battery cell.
- An upgraded PSR-800, PRO-18 or PRO-668 (Boot 2.0) that was flashed with this
native updater should be recovered with the Boot 2.0 / Legacy updater in CPU
SW Upgrade mode. Whistler's legacy page warned that the Legacy files on a
native Whistler radio, or native files on the wrong radio, stop the scanner
functioning.
DOWNGRADING
-----------
The updater permits loading an older version: after TEST it compares versions
and, if the file is older, asks "Do you really want to upload version x.y?"
before proceeding. This is the vendor's own downgrade path. Whistler did not
publish which DSP versions pair with which older CPU versions; note both
versions before changing either, and keep the newer updater at hand to return.
PROVENANCE
----------
- File: CPUUpdater_WS1080_U4.5.exe
- Retrieved from:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1420/2702/files/CPUUpdater_WS1080_U4.5.exe
- Wayback copy:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210718045554/https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1420/2702/files/CPUUpdater_WS1080_U4.5.exe
- Date retrieved: 2026-09-18
- Official page:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210718042752/https://whistlergroup.com/pages/scanner-firmware-installers-previous-versions
- Status: verified (from the vendor's own host or a Wayback copy of it)
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/