Firmware
Whistler WS1080 CPU firmware updater U4.8, Boot 2.0 (legacy-upgraded radios)
Recommended version Verified — manufacturer file
Download zip (1.0 MB) Manufacturer's page ↗
Whistler's CPU U4.8 updater for GRE PSR-800, RadioShack PRO-18 and PRO-668 radios that have been through the Whistler Official Upgrade (Boot 2.0 loader). Goliad's 'CPU Updater WS1080 (Boot 2.0)' file is byte-identical to the file Whistler published as CPUUpdater_Legacy_U4.8_BOOT2.0.exe on its Legacy Scanner Downloads page.
Read before installing. Legacy-upgraded (Boot 2.0) radios ONLY. Whistler: installing it on a radio that has not been upgraded, or on a native Whistler scanner, 'will cause the scanner to stop functioning'. It does not upgrade an un-upgraded PSR-800.
Contents
| File | Size | SHA-256 |
|---|---|---|
| CPUUpdater_WS1080_U4.8_BOOT2.0.exe | 1.1 MB | 564064d96270bc05106026c05dbf1e3c13842ffb72060d47c84d6aa493ff1ea0 |
| README.txt | These instructions | |
| SHA256SUMS | Checksums of the files above | |
Instructions
The complete README.txt included in the zip:
Whistler WS1080 CPU firmware updater U4.8, Boot 2.0 (legacy-upgraded radios)
============================================================================
WHAT THIS IS
------------
Whistler's standalone Windows CPU firmware updater, CPU U4.8, for radios
carrying Whistler's Boot 2.0 loader: GRE PSR-800, RadioShack PRO-18 and
RadioShack PRO-668 units that went through the Whistler Official Upgrade (the
mail-in "legacy upgrade" that turns them into WS1080s). Build timestamp
2017-06-30, the same day as the native WS1080 U4.8 updater.
Goliad's 2026 downloads page lists this file as "CPU Updater WS1080 (Boot
2.0)". Whistler's own Legacy Scanner Downloads page (archived 2024) listed
"CPU Firmware Installer - Legacy upgraded only (CPUUpdater_Legacy_U4.8_
BOOT2.0)". The two files have the same SHA-256, so they are one file under two
names. This settles a point the site's volumes left as an inference: the Boot
2.0 updater IS the legacy-upgrade updater.
Whistler's legacy page: "Firmware updates should be applied via the EZ Scan
software application. This firmware installer is intended as a backup in the
event you are having issues updating your CPU firmware via the EZ Scan
software application. DSP firmware must be updated via the EZ Scan app."
APPLIES TO
----------
Only a GRE PSR-800, RadioShack PRO-18 or RadioShack PRO-668 that has been
through the Whistler Official Upgrade (boot 2.0 shown when MENU is held at
power-on, per a 2026 owner report).
Must NOT be used on:
- an un-upgraded PSR-800, PRO-18 or PRO-668. Whistler's page: "Attempting to
install these updates to a scanner that has not been upgraded will cause the
scanner to stop functioning." This file does not perform the upgrade and
does not add DMR to an un-upgraded radio.
- a native Whistler WS1080 or WS1088: "Do not attempt to install these updates
on a native Whistler scanner." Those use the plain U4.8 updater.
- any WS1095/WS1098 or TRX radio.
BEFORE STARTING
---------------
- Confirm the radio really is legacy-upgraded (boot 2.0). A seller's "DMR
upgraded" does not distinguish the official upgrade from the unofficial
WS1080-derived firmware that circulated in 2016-17; see the PSR-800 Upgrades
& Firmware volume.
- A Windows PC with the WS1080 driver installed (the WS1080 EZ-Scan installs
it; it is also its own entry in this archive). An upgraded radio needs the
WS1080 driver and WS1080 EZ-Scan, not GRE's software: a June 2026 owner of a
freshly upgraded PSR-800 saw "no removable drives found" until switching to
WS1080 EZ-Scan.
- The mini-USB data cable, fresh AA cells, a copy of the microSD card, and a
note of the current CPU and DSP versions.
- On a PSR-800 or PRO-18, GREFwTool's notes say those radios have a different
charging circuit from the WS1080; they give that as a reason to turn
in-radio charging off when WS1080 firmware runs on them.
CONTENTS OF THIS ZIP
--------------------
The zip published on fubsypoly.com wraps the vendor file(s)
byte-for-byte, unmodified.
CPUUpdater_WS1080_U4.8_BOOT2.0.exe
1,167,360 bytes
SHA-256 564064d96270bc05106026c05dbf1e3c13842ffb72060d47c84d6aa493ff1ea0
Whistler CPU Update Utility, CPU U4.8, for radios with the Boot 2.0
loader (legacy-upgraded PSR-800, PRO-18, PRO-668). PE build timestamp
2017-06-30. Identical (same SHA-256) to Whistler's
CPUUpdater_Legacy_U4.8_BOOT2.0.exe.
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." Holding MENU
at power-on displays the boot (loader) version, which should read 2.0 on an
upgraded radio (2026 owner report). WS1080 EZ-Scan reports the firmware
versions when it connects.
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.
- If this file was run on an un-upgraded radio (loader not 2.0), the radio
will sit in CPU update mode. Its own firmware must be reloaded in that mode;
for a PSR-800 no manufacturer distributes that firmware any more (see the
GRE PSR-800 CPU firmware U2.0 entry and GREFwTool in this archive).
- Units that ran unofficial WS1080-derived firmware before being upgraded:
Whistler charged more to upgrade them ($99.99 instead of $69.99) and warned
that DMR could be permanently disabled, with the loader, CPU and DSP locked.
No file can undo that.
- The date lockout in the unofficial 2016-17 builds (clock set past 2017-05-31
with CPU 3.1/DSP 4.6, or past 2017-07-01 with a late-June DSP 3.1 build)
leaves units locked or at "Waiting for USB". Official Boot 2.0 firmware is
not reported to carry it.
DOWNGRADING
-----------
U4.8 is the only Boot 2.0 CPU image Whistler ever published; there is no older
Boot 2.0 file to go back to. Loading a native WS1080 image, or GRE's original
PSR-800 firmware, onto a Boot 2.0 radio would be a loader mismatch of the kind
that, per GREFwTool's notes, makes the bootloader erase the application
firmware. No path back from the upgrade to stock GRE or RadioShack firmware
was documented by Whistler.
PROVENANCE
----------
- File: CPUUpdater_WS1080_U4.8_BOOT2.0.exe
- Retrieved from:
https://twg-software-downloads.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ws1080/CPUUpdater_WS1080_U4.8_BOOT2.0.exe
- Date retrieved: 2026-09-18
- Official page: https://whistlergroup.com/pages/downloads
- Status: verified (from the vendor's own host or a Wayback copy of it)
- Same bytes (SHA-256 identical) as Whistler's own
CPUUpdater_Legacy_U4.8_BOOT2.0.exe, listed on
https://web.archive.org/web/20240512011303/https://whistlergroup.com/pages/legacy-downloads
and served from
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5hobq1hafa7frpieeduo0/CPUUpdater_Legacy_U4.8_BOOT2.0.exe?rlkey=ne8qd7gu362bqwyk4omc5iggi&dl=1
(uploaded 2021-10-20).
MORE INFORMATION
----------------
- https://scanners.fubsypoly.com/whistler-ws1080/vol-4/
- https://scanners.fubsypoly.com/gre-psr800/vol-5/
- 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/
- Reference Library manual:
https://scanners.fubsypoly.com/library/gre-psr-800-owners-manual/