How to flash firmware onto your XJT module using a Taranis

As we are an EU based shop, all of our Frsky gear ships with the EU LBT firmware. However many of the non-official frsky compatible receivers are not compatible with the EU LBT firmware. So from time to time, you might prefer to switch over to the international radio firmware. This guide will show you how to do it using only your Taranis radio.

Not sure what EU LBT firmware is, check our Taranis EU LBT firmware guide.

Because EU LBT firmware is not compatible with the international firmware it can be a real pain to switch over, as you need to use the same firmware on both your radio and all of your receivers. One easy solution is to simply use EU LBT firmware on the internal Taranis module, and then add an external XJT module that has international firmware on it to use with your international or third-party Frsky compatible receivers.

If you want to flash firmware onto your XJT module but do not have a Taranis, then check out our smart-port flashing guide

Download the Radio Firmware

The first thing you need to do is download the XJT module firmware form the Frsky website. This file includes the latest EU LBT firmware and international firmware.

One thing to note, is that your Taranis uses OpenTX firmware (to control the menu’s etc…) and then the XJT radio module uses different firmware, so updating the openTX firmware will not update the radio firmware.

Now you simply need to move the .FRK firmware files to the FIRMWARES folder on the Taranis micro SD card. You can do with an SD card reader.

Or you can boot your Taranis into bootloader mode (by holding the two trim buttons inwards while powering it on) and connecting a USB cable to the USB port on the back of the Taranis. A short video showing how to boot the Taranis into bootloader mode is shown below.

Flash the Firmware

Now that the firmware files are on the Taranis SD card, the flashing process is actually quite easy. At this point, you should connect the XJT module to the back of your Taranis if you have not done so already.

Turn on your Taranis and at the main menu, press and hold the menu button for a second or so until the screen changes to the Radio Setup screen.

Once on the Radio Setup screen, press the page button to navigate to the SD card browser.

Within the SD card browser menu, navigate to the [FIRMWARES] folder. Inside this folder, you should see the two .FRK firmware files you put onto the SD card.

Select XJT_build161214.frk file, and long press the Enter button, a small sub menu will open up asking you where to flash the file.

On the sub-menu select Flash External Device to write the firmware onto the external XJT module we have connected to the Taranis. A progress bar will appear showing you the status.

After a few minutes, the process is complete! Now you have an XJT module with the international firmware. If you ever want to go back and flash the LBT firmware, you follow the same procedure, but rather select the LBT firmware file.

Once done you should also remove the EU LBT sticker on your XJT module so you know what firmware it has on it!

If you have any questions or suggestions add them in the comments section below!