Baby Lock Machines Update & Upgrade Procedure
In this post we are going to show you how to update and upgrade your Baby Lock Solaris machine. But first let’s define what update and upgrade mean.
Update: An update are bug fixes or fine tuning a product to make it the best it can be, these are small frequent improvements.
Upgrade: An upgrade is a software enhancement that allows your machine to do more then it used to do. In order to acquire these they must be purchased.
Now that we have defined out terms we can continue! To start you’re going to click on the page or document icon and scroll over to page 12. You should see the ability to turn on auto download if you’re connected to Wi-Fi. This can be done via USB which can be applied to a lot of the Baby Lock machines. To get these documents and updates on our website you can find them below. Make sure your USB can hold up to 400mb of data or more.
Updates for all Baby Lock Machines
If you don’t see any version type on the 12th screen navigate to the 7th screen and at the bottom it will list the No. and version.
On this page we can determine near the top of the screen what kit number we have the ability to use. In our case we only have kit 1 and our version is 2.05. At the writing of this blog the most recent Baby Lock Solaris #2 update is 3.04. Unless your machine is updated to this version you will not be able to have kit 2. We will be showing you how to download the update onto a USB using a computer later in the blog.
To update your Baby Lock Solaris #2 via USB be sure to use the top USB port behind the screen. If you do not use this port then the update will not work as the lower port is for a mouse. Picture included below on the proper USB port.
Using the Computer via USB
First of course make sure you have a USB drive, then head to the machine support page on the Baby Lock website. On this page we have multiple downloads for different machines but we are going to scroll until we find the Solaris download button and click into that. On the left hand side of the Solaris download popup are the most current updates available you can download. On the right hand side are helpful PDF’s that can assist in this process such as manuals, design guides, and relevant information to each specific machine.
For the Solaris there is a video update that updates the video tutorials that are in the machine. We however will not be updating these today, but wanted to make you aware in case you become confused.
If you only want the update then you’ve finished our little tutorial. Otherwise if you want to upgrade continue reading.
If you want to upgrade your machine then you can do so by going to the link here. And you’ll be brought to a page like the image below. Go ahead and click the button that says “Start Your Upgrade Now”
Now we have been transported to an Introduction page. Here we can start the process by clicking on “Certification Procedure.” If you would like to learn more about this process you can click on “Download Manual” to get more details. Go ahead and click on “Certification Procedure.” You’ll be brought to another page you’ll need to confirm whether you are working with wi-fi. For this blog post we are not going to be using wi-fi so click on the blue button that says “Wireless LAN is Unavailable.” In the next section we are going to confirm the software environment if you are connected to wi-fi it may have already updated to the latest version if you don’t however you can click on the blue button that says “Not Latest.” In the next section you’ll click on the blue button that says download.
A new window will pop up whether it’s on PC or Mac. Go ahead and plugin your USB into a USB port and wait for it to show up in the window on the left hand side. Ours is inserted in the F Drive and called Baby Lock.
Now before we put the update on the USB we need to format it first because otherwise your Baby Lock Solaris #2 will not update correctly. Go to your FIle Explorer (on PC) or Finder (on Mac) and the the USB drive on the left hand side. If you have anything on the drive that you want to keep go ahead and move it off of your drive by highlighting the contents and dragging them onto another folder on the left hand side such as the Desktop for example.
Once completed now we are going to format our USB drive. Find the drive on the left hand side and right click it and in the new window click on format. Leave the options as they are and click “Start” a warning will pop up, but go ahead and click ok. However if you are using a new USB drive you do not need to do this.
If you drive is cleared then go ahead and click the blue “Download” button. A familiar window should pop up and then you’ll click on your USB drive on the left hand side window and click save. This may take a minute or two depending on your internet connection. When the download has finished then to safely remove your USB drive right click on the USB drive one more time in a File Explorer window (or Finder window on Mac) and click Eject. This helps your USB drive have a longer life if you use this method. The computer will then give you a notification that the USB is safe to remove from your computer. Once removed let’s take it back to our Baby Lock Solaris #2.
Before we begin make sure that your Baby Lock Solaris #2 is turned off. Then go ahead and plug the USB drive into the top USB port, when inserted turn your machine on and hold down the needle threader button at the same time until you see a much different screen than usual.
For most Baby Lock machines other than the Solaris, Altair, Meridian, and Venture you’ll click on the left most USB icon button. Once that button is pressed we will have a new screen and we can press load. Once the update has uploaded completely you’ll get a notification that it’s complete, you can then turn off your machine to take out your USB drive.
If you want to make sure that the update has been applied turn your Baby Lock Solaris #2 back on and click on the page icon to go into the settings. Then scroll to page 7 and you can check to see if the update was taken.
At the top of this screen you can check for upgrades as well and if you purchased the kit II upgrade you’ll see that we need to certify it which can be done on the computer. In order to be certified make sure to right down the No. at the bottom of this screen. This is individual to your machine and you will need it for certification. Now we will go through the certification process like we did before, but it will be a little different. In case you lost the link here it is again.
Since our machine is fully updated we can now upgrade our Baby Lock Solaris #2, and can go to stage 3 of the certification process. In the first box you’ll put in the No. we got from the machine. In the second row of boxes you’ll input the activation code which comes on a scratch card that comes inside the purchased upgrades. With these numbers typed in we can then click on the “Get the Key” button. You’ll then find a new screen with your Certification Key and we can take it over to your Baby Lock Solaris #2.
Back on page 7 we can click the button that states “Certification” then the “Kit II” button and then “Normal Certification.” If you are on wi-fi then you could do “Online Machine Certification” but we are not for this example. With Normal Certification you’ll be led to a pin pad page where you’ll enter the certification number you got from the website and you’ll tap “Save” when done. If the certification is successful a screen will show up stating so and you’ll restart your machine.
Of course we will want to confirm that the upgrade took hold, so we will go into settings again by clicking the page icon and go to page 7 to verify that Kit II has been installed via a check mark.
Julia on