Page Contents
Intro
- As this process is not documented by Cisco this guide covers upgrading from a phone using the universal application loader (i believe any >6.x, 7.x).
- If you need to upgrade another combination of current/new firmware refer to the “See also” and “External links” section.
What you need
- Some tftp/dhcp server (e.g. tftpd32 for windows, or whatever you like/use on *nix)
- The firmware files from Cisco (we are assuming SIP):
- cmterm-79xx_79xx-sip.8-3-x.zip -> unzip to your tftp folder
- XMLDefault.cnf.xml (or SEP<Macaddress>.cnf.xml), aswell goes into your tftp folder
Minimal contents for the XMLDefault.cnf.xml are:
<loadInformation><here comes your .loads filename without the “.loads” extension, eg: “SIP41.8-3-5S”></loadInformation>
</device>
Or alternatively the full configuration as detailed here: Asterisk phone cisco 79×1 xml configuration files for SIP
After rebooting the phone it should asks for the <SEP<Macaddress>.cnf.xml> file or if not present for the <XMLDefault.cnf.xml> and should then upgrade to the specified image.
Tested successfully with 7941 & 7961 upgrading from SCCP 7.0.3 to SIP 8.3.4SR1
See also
Asterisk phone cisco 79×1 xml configuration files for SIP
Asterisk phone cisco 79xx
Setup SiP on 7940 – 7960
Cisco 7940-7960 upgrade to version 7.x
Cisco 7940 7960 Single Step Upgrade
External links
Cisco.com, 8.3.5 Release Notes
Cisco.com, 7960-7940 Firmware upgrade matrix
Cisco.com, Converting a Cisco 7940/7960 CallManager Phone to a SIP Phone and the Reverse Process
Phone System 