ICOM IC-F43GS firmware update issue

I recently bought a lot of these icom IC-F43GS radios and purchased the firmware update for them but when I try to run the update loader there is a message that says “Error cannot make boot mode” I have checked the operators manual and the service manual and nothing tells me what I need to do and the firmware did not come with any instructions. The COM port is correct, it does connect and read the radio. Any help would be greatly appreciated as most of these units have a version 1.x firmware installed and have a lot of features missing.

I think you need to talk to your radio dealer who sold them to you. These radios were not designed to be programmed by the end user, and even with my experience with Icom, I still cannot find any firmware upgrade available for them.

It is rare that the firmware can be upgraded on analog handheld radios. Most of the time, you have to live with the version that they shipped with. Some identical radios will come with different versions of firmware depending on when they were manufactured, but analog radios usually have the firmware “baked in.”

If you bought these used or as a lot on eBay, then you are on your own. I suspect because Icom charges money for their programming software, there are a lot of bootleg or fake copies of software out there. There certainly is no official Icom software for upgrading the firmware. It would surprise me if this was even possible on analog radios like this one.

I’ve looked on my lists and I can’t see any firmware update options? What have you bought? Are you sure you’ve not just bought the CPS?