Hello Machine Bros!
Do you know the Creality Ender-3 V2? Probably yes, as it is the upgrade to the legendary Ender-3. The Ender-3 V2 has proven to be highly versatile and produces high-quality 3D prints. But did you know that you can still get better results? Today we will tell you how to update the firmware of this amazing 3D printer.
By upgrading the firmware of the Creality Ender-3 V2, we can get better options and functionalities apart from what the Creality firmware (stock firmware) brings.
With firmware manufactured by third parties, we can improve the performance of the 3D printer and in this article, we will mention some of them.
Creality Ender-3 V2 Motherboards
You should know that the Ender-3 V2 was assembled with two types of motherboards, version 4.2.2 and version 4.2.7.
Initially, all Ender-3 V2 came with the motherboard version 4.2.2, but some 3D printers had problems with this board.
The most common fault was layer mismatch for no apparent reason. We were one of those affected by this problem, so we had to replace the board with version 4.2.7. If you are one of those who have this fault, layer displacement for no apparent reason, you can try to replace and update the board with version 4.2.7.
Then, over time, Creality started assembling their newer Ender-3 V2s with the 4.2.7 board.
Knowing that there are two types of motherboards, now let’s start with the firmware.
Most Popular Firmware for Creality Ender-3 V2
The first thing you should know is that these firmware can be found without compiling or precompiled.
Firmware without compiling, we must compile it ourselves, which makes the work a little more difficult, since we must download other additional software.
Precompiled firmware is the simplest to work with, as it is usually a binary file that we place on a microSD memory and then insert this memory into our 3D printer.
On the contrary, for the uncompiled firmware, we are the ones who will generate that binary file (We show you how to do it later in this article).
Creality’s Firmware
This is the firmware provided by Creality and is based on Marlin.
The advantage is that it is very easy to update, but the main disadvantage is that this firmware does not fully exploit the functionalities of the Ender-3 V2.
The firmware offered by Creality is precompiled.
Marlin’s Firmware
Marlin is an open-source firmware that is probably the most popular.
There is a huge community behind this firmware, and other firmware that we will talk about below are derivatives and modifications of this one.
Generally, with Marlin, we have to compile the firmware.
TH3D’s Firmware
TH3D is a company that sells 3D printer kits, spare parts, accessories, and motherboards, among other things.
TH3D also offers free firmware. These firmware are derived from Marlin, but from our point of view, upgrading with TH3D firmware is a bit easier than upgrading with Marlin.
With TH3D we will also be the ones to compile the firmware, which is a bit easier to configure than Marlin.
For this article we will give you the binary file already compiled, so, you won’t have to be the one to compile it. But we will only provide the firmware for the stock Ender-3 V2, with the V4.2.7 board, that is, without BLtouch or any other accessories that require firmware editing.
Jyers’s Firmware
Jyers firmware is very interesting and the best of all. It’s already precompiled, so, it is a matter of downloading and transferring the binary file to the microSD.
The Jyers firmware has received good feedback from the Ender-3 v2 user community.
It is important to highlight that Jyers is also another derivative of Marlin.
Klipper’s Firmware
Klipper is an alternative to Marlin. It is the only firmware that we name in this article that is not based on Marlin.
The motherboards that are usually used in 3D printers have processing limitations. And here is where Klipper arises. A firmware that considerably increases 3D printing times without sacrificing its quality.
Using the Klipper firmware it’s required the implementation of additional hardware, mainly a Raspberry Pi, which reads and interprets the Gcode and then controls the motherboard that the printer has from the factory.
The Klipper firmware is very interesting, with some amazing features, but a little more technical knowledge is required to install and configure this firmware. Also, additional hardware is required, therefore, we catalog this firmware for advanced users.
Easily Update Ender-3 V2 Creality Firmware
Step 1: Download the Firmware
Keep in mind that we must download two firmware, one for the motherboard and one for the LCD screen.
Creality Firmware for the Ender-3 V2 can be downloaded here.
Here you must choose the firmware that corresponds to your 3D printer, depending on which motherboard you have (You will know this by removing the main cover that covers your board. If you do not know how to do it, we leave you a video in the following link).
Also, you must choose the firmware taking into account if you have any accessories, for example, the BLTouch.
For the Ender-3 V2 with a V4.2.7 board without accessories, the firmware is Ender-3 V2-4.2.7.bin.
The downloaded file is .bin like the one shown below:
Now we are going to download the firmware for the LCD screen.
This firmware is located at the same link.
You can find the firmware of the LCD screen in the folder for the V4.2.2 board (This file does not exist in the folder for the 4.2.7 board, but it does not matter, because for the screen the firmware is the same regardless of the version of the board), the file to download is as follows:
NOTE: It is important that you choose the correct firmware for your 3D printer.
Step 2: Flash the LCD
Unzip the last downloaded file, the one containing the LCD firmware (DWIN_SET.zip).
Decompress this file in the root of a microSD no larger than 8GB, in FAT32 format, with an allocation unit size of 4K.
If you don’t know how to format the microSD, we leave you this video.
Once the folder is unzipped, we have something like this:
Now we proceed to insert the memory into the LCD screen board. For this, you have to remove the screen from the printer and disassemble it. But it’s very easy, just need to remove 4 screws.
In this video we show you how to execute this step.
Once the microSD is inserted, and the cables are connected, we turn on the Ender-3 V2. Wait for the screen to turn orange and that’s it.
We continue to turn off the 3D printer again, remove the microSD and reassemble everything.
We recommend assembling everything only after verifying that the screen works well with the new firmware, but for this, we must first update the firmware of the 3D printer motherboard.
NOTE: It is important that you flash the display first before attempting to update the 3D printer firmware.
Step 3: Flash the Creality Ender-3 V2 Motherboard Firmware
You should already have a .bin file extension which we downloaded at the beginning.
This is the firmware, which we must place on a microSD no larger than 8GB, which is in FAT32 format, with an allocation unit size of 4K.
If you don’t know how to format the microSD, we leave you this video.
We will have something similar to what is shown below.
Finally, we must insert the microSD into our 3D printer, to later turn it on.
The 3D printer will take a little longer than normal to turn on.
Check on your printer that the firmware version corresponds to the update you applied, so you will know that everything went correctly. Anyway, here we leave you a video explaining this step.
There are certain things that you should consider:
Considerations When Updating the Firmware of the Creality Ender-3 V2:
- The 3D printer will take a little longer to turn on during the firmware update.
- You must be careful not to interrupt the process, as you could brick the motherboard. Be careful not to turn it off or unplug it prematurely.
- The process could take up to 1 minute.
- The motherboard will not be updated if the .bin file has the same name as any firmware you have previously used. for example, if your firmware is called “ender”, and you have never updated with a firmware called “ender”, your 3D printer will be updated. But if you update again with a firmware called “ender”, in this case, the printer won’t take it into account the upgrade. In short, if you are aware that you have done everything right, including correctly formatting the microSD, and still your 3D printer does not recognize the firmware, try renaming the file.
- In the beginning, the language will be in Chinese.
At the end we will have a screen like this:
How to Change the Language of the Creality Ender-3 V2 After Updating the Firmware
To change language, go to the next icon
Now we click on the following option
Now, go back to the main screen and select “Info”.
We verify that the version is actually the one we want.
Once this step is finished, we only have one thing left to do, reset the EEPROM.
Step 4: Reset the Eeprom Memory of the Ender-3 V2
On the main screen, we select “Control”.
And finally, we select “Reset Configuration”
With this we should hear a beep, making sure we reset the EEPROM.
Here is a video showing this step.
Easily Update Ender-3 V2 Jyers Firmware
As this procedure is quite similar to the one done to update the Creality firmware, we will not go as deep into some steps.
Keep in mind that the procedure is practically the same, only that we are using different firmware.
Step 1: Download the Firmware
Jyers Firmware for the Ender-3 V2 can be downloaded here.
Just as we did with the Creality firmware, you must choose the firmware that corresponds to your 3D printer, depending on the motherboard you have (You will know this by removing the main cover that covers the board. If you do not know how to do it, we leave you a video in the following link).
You must also choose the firmware taking into account if you have any accessories, for example, the BLTouch.
For the Ender-3 V2 with V4.2.7 board, without accessories, the firmware should be E3V2-Default-v4.2.7-v2.0.1.bin.
Step 2: Flash the Ender-3 V2 LCD
If you already have the Creality display firmware, this step is not necessary, otherwise, if you have a different display firmware, you need to flash the LCD with the Creality firmware.
We explain this step, in the section “Easily update the Creality firmware”.
NOTE: It is important that you flash the display first before attempting to update the 3D printer firmware. If your printer already has the screen flashed with Creality firmware, skip this step.
Step 3: Flash the Motherboard Firmware
Place the downloaded binary file on a microSD card no larger than 8GB, formatted as FAT32, with an allocation unit size of 4K.
If you don’t know how to format the microSD, check out this video.
The file should be located in the root folder of the memory, and looks like this:
We only have to insert the microSD into our 3D printer and then turn it on.
The 3D printer will take a little longer than normal to turn on, finally check on your printer that the firmware version corresponds to the update you applied, so you will know that everything went correctly.
There are there are some considerations that you should have when updating the firmware:
Considerations When Updating the Jyers Firmware on Your Creality Ender-3 V2
- The 3D printer will take a little longer to power up during the firmware update.
- You must be careful not to interrupt the process, as you could brick the motherboard. Be careful not to turn it off or unplug it prematurely.
- The process could take up to 1 minute.
- The board will not update if the .bin file has the same name as any firmware you have previously used. For example, if your firmware is called “ender”, and you have never updated with a firmware called “ender”, your printer will be updated, but if you update again with a firmware called “ender”, in this case, the printer won’t take it into account the upgrade. In short, if you know you’ve done everything right, including correctly formatting the microSD, and your printer still doesn’t recognize the firmware, try renaming the file.
In the “Info” option you will see a screen like the one shown below, so you will know that you have actually updated the firmware.
Step 4: Reset the EEPROM Memory
It’s recommended that after installing a new firmware, a reset is made to the EEPROM memory.
We do this in the “Control” option and then select “Reset to Defaults”.
Easily Update the TH3D Firmware on Creality Ender-3 V2
As this procedure is quite similar to the one done to update with the Creality firmware, we will not go as deep into some steps. Keep in mind that the procedure is practically the same, only that we are using a different firmware.
TH3D does not offer precompiled firmware, it is the user who must compile it.
At The Machine Bros, we have a version that we compiled, and we are going to share it with you so that you can easily update your 3D printer.
This version that we compile is for an Ender-3 V2, with a V4.2.7 motherboard, without any accessory such as BLTouch or filament sensor. Just the 3D printer without any modification.
Step 1: Download the Firmware
The TH3D Firmware compiled by us for the Creality Ender-3 V2 can be downloaded here.
Once downloaded you should have two folders similar to these
Step 2: Flash the Ender-3 V2 LCD
Inside the “LCD Screen” folder we will have a compressed file, which we must decompress in the root folder of the microSD no larger than 8GB, which is in FAT32 format, with an allocation unit size of 4K.
If you don’t know how to format the microSD, we leave you this video.
Once the folder is decompressed in the microSD we should have something like this:
Now, insert the microSD into the LCD screen.
For this, we must remove the 4 screws that cover the screen, insert the microSD, and finally turn on the 3D printer.
The screen will turn blue first, then orange, so you know the LCD screen flashing is done.
We explain this step in more detail in the “Easily update the Creality firmware” section.
If you have doubts, here we leave you a video that explains this procedure.
NOTE: It is important that you flash the LCD screen first before updating the 3D printer firmware.
Step 3: Flash the Motherboard Firmware
Inside the “Firmware” folder you will find a binary file, which you must place on a microSD card no larger than 8GB, which is in FAT32 format, with an allocation unit size of 4K.
If you don’t know how to format the microSD, we leave you this video.
The file must be in the root folder of the SD memory, as shown below:
We insert the microSD into our 3D printer, to later turn it on.
The 3D printer will take a little longer than normal to turn on, finally check on your printer that the firmware version corresponds to the update you applied, so you will know that everything went correctly.
There are certain things that you should consider when flashing the motherboard with the new firmware:
Considerations When Updating the Firmware of the Creality Ender-3 V2:
- The 3D printer will take a little longer to power up during the firmware update.
- You must be careful not to interrupt the process, as you could brick the motherboard. Be careful not to turn it off or unplug it prematurely.
- The process could take up to 1 minute.
- The board will not be updated if the .bin file contains the same name as some firmware that you have previously used. For example, if your firmware is called “ender”, and you have never updated with a firmware called “ender”, your printer will be updated. But if you update again with a firmware called “ender”, in this case the printer will no longer take into account the current update. In short, if you know you’ve done everything right, including correctly formatting the microSD, and your printer still doesn’t recognize the firmware, try renaming the file.
Step 4: Reset the Eeprom Memory
To reset the EEPROM memory, press the rotary knob, and select “Configuration”.
Now we select “Reset EEPROM”
And finally, we click on “Init”
Now we should hear a beep, making sure we reset the EEPROM.
Creality Ender-3 V2 Advanced Update With TH3D Firmware
Using this way of updating the Ender-3 V2 firmware, we are the ones that have to compile it, which makes it a little bit difficult, but we will show you how it’s done.
Our advice is that, if you want to do it in an easy way, the Jyers firmware is a very good option, since it has received very good feedback from users and has precompiled firmware for the Ender-3 V2 with different accessories.
If you want the TH3D firmware and you have an Ender-3 V2 without accessories, and with a V4.2.7 board, you can try the firmware that we precompile.
But if you want the TH3D firmware, and you want to learn how to compile the firmware yourself, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Download TH3D Firmware
The TH3D Firmware for the Ender-3 V2 can be found at the following link: download.
The file shown in the image above is the one we must download.
Within the TH3D website itself, you will find a simplified guide on how to configure and compile the firmware.
Once the file is downloaded, we recommend that you unzip it to a folder on your desktop and you should have something similar to this:
We can now move on to the next step, we are going to download the needed software to compile the firmware.
Step 2: Download the Visual Studio Code Software (VSCode)
Downloading and installing VSCode requires another series of steps, but luckily, TH3D explains very well how to install it.
In order not to extend this tutorial further, we will leave you the link to TH3D’s own guide on how to download and install VSCode.
Step 3: Open the Firmware in Vscode
The first thing we must do is open the “firmware” folder in the VSCode software, for this we select “File” and then “Open Folder”. In the same way, here we leave you a video with steps 3, 4 and 5.
Now we select the “Firmware” folder:
Following this, VSCode will ask us if we trust the author of the folder, to which we indicate yes.
Once opened, we must expand “Firmware” and then “Marlin”. To later select the file “Configuration.h”.
At this point you should have a screen similar to the following:
Step 4: Configure the File
The first thing you should know is that the file contains parts with the symbol “//” (double slash). This symbol indicates that this part of the code is a comment.
If both slashes “//” are eliminated, the line stops being a comment and becomes part of the code.
Here we leave you a video with steps 3, 4, and 5.
Let’s start by selecting our 3D printer. Search within the code for the Ender-3 V2 with V4.2.7 board
As you may have noticed there are other 3D printers, but in this case, we are working with an Ender-3 V2 with a V4.2.7 board.
To select that and activate it, we must remove the comment of the printer. We do this by deleting the two slash symbols (//), having the following:
With this, you could compile the firmware in case you have an Ender-3 V2 without accessories like BLTouch.
The code has many more options for modifications, and we are going to show you four examples:
Example 1: Reversing the Ender-3 V2 Rotary Knob.
If you would like to reverse the direction of rotation, you should remove “//” from #define REVERSE_KNOB_DIRECTION.
Example 2: Change the name displayed on your 3D printer.
If you want to change the name of the 3D printer, you must remove the “//” from both lines, both #define CUSTOM_PRINTER_NAME and #define USER_PRINTER_NAME “CHANGE ME”.
Then, change “CHANGE ME” to whatever name you want.
Example 3: Activate the power loss recovery of the Ender-3 V2.
If you would like to enable power loss recovery, you must remove the “//” from #define POWER_LOSS_RECOVERY.
We personally do not like this function very much, since it tends to generate excessive wear on the microSD, and may causes problems.
Example 4: Activate the PID temperature control of the Ender-3 V2 bed.
If you would like to enable PID control of bed temperature, you must remove the “//” from #define ENABLE_PIDBED.
This option is exciting, so we will activate it.
Once we have activated the desired options, we move on to the next step.
Step 5: Compile the TH3D Firmware
To test and compile the software we must click on the following icon.
Here, we leave you a video with steps 3, 4 and 5.
If all went well, you should see a message like this.
Now we look for the location of the compiled file. Go to .pio -> build -> STM32F103RCT6_creality.
Right click on STM32F103RCT6_creality, and select “Reveal in File Explorer”.
It should show us something similar to this in our file explorer:
Inside the STM32F103RCT6_creality folder, we will find the firmware, remember that it will be a binary file (.bin).
Step 6: Flash the Ender-3 V2 LCD
Here the procedure is the same that we have already explained throughout this article, you can find it here.
You will find the file to update the screen inside the compressed file that we downloaded at the beginning, just before we start compiling the firmware.
Find here a video where we explain the procedure.
NOTE: It is important that you flash the display first before attempting to update the 3D printer firmware. A microSD card no larger than 8GB is required, in FAT32 format, with an allocation unit size of 4K.
Find here a video on how to format a microSD.
Step 6: Flash the Ender-3 V2 Motherboard
We explain this step in the section “Easily update the TH3D Firmware”, it is exactly the same, only in this case you would be using the firmware that you compiled yourself.
Considerations for flashing the motherboard with the TH3D firmware
- The 3D printer will take a little longer to power up during the firmware update.
- You must be careful not to interrupt the process, as you could brick the card. Be careful not to turn it off or unplug it prematurely.
- The process could take up to 1 minute.
- The card will not be updated if the .bin file contains the same name as a firmware that you have previously used. For example, if your firmware is called “ender”, and you have never updated with a firmware called “ender”, then your 3D printer will update correctly. But if you previously updated with a firmware called “ender”, in this case, the printer won’t take into account the current update. In summary, if you know you’ve done everything right, including correctly formatting the microSD, and your printer still doesn’t recognize the firmware, try renaming the file.
- It is important that you flash the LCD display first before attempting to update the printer firmware.
- A microSD card no larger than 8GB is required, in FAT32 format, with an allocation unit size of 4K.
Step 7: Reset the EEPROM
This step is also explained in detail in the section “Easily update the TH3D Firmware”. With this, we will have finished updating the firmware of our Ender-3 V2.
Conclusions on How to Update the Firmware of Your Creality Ender-3 V2
The advice we can give you is, if you prefer the easy and fast way, the Jyers firmware is the best option, it’s very complete, and has received very good feedback from users. Also, Jyers offers pre-compiled firmware for the Ender-3 V2 with different accessories.
If you want the TH3D firmware and you have an Ender-3 V2 without accessories, and with a V4.2.7 card, you can try the firmware that we precompile.
But if you want the TH3D firmware, and you want to learn how to compile the firmware by yourself, you should follow the steps we show you in this article.
If we had to list from 1 to 3 which firmware we prefer, we would do it in the following way, although remember that this is very subjective and personal.
- Jyers: It’s easy to update since it’s precompiled, plus it’s very complete.
- TH3D: It’s very complete and customizable. Also, TH3D was in charge of trying to simplify the task of compiling the firmware as much as possible. Another advantage is that within their own website they have a very complete guide to installing VSCode.
- Creality: Among functionalities, the Creality firmware is the one that we liked the least. Although the firmware is precompiled, it is also very easy to update it.
Hey Machine Bro! By the way, have you seen our new 3D printer comparator? We invite you to take a look at it, in it you will find a lot of useful information, tech specs, stores, and interesting accessories for some 3D printers.
If you are just starting out with 3D printing, or are already familiar with it, these three articles can be very useful:
- Most used 3D printing terms: In this article, you will learn about the terminology used in 3D printing.
- Beginner’s Guide of Simplify3D is designed for all those who are starting in this world.
- Advanced Guide of Simplify3D for all those who are looking to overcome the barriers and limitations that slicers can offer and print spectacular 3D models.
Leave any questions in our comments section, as well as any contribution or suggestion you wish to make, we are here to grow together in this wonderful world of 3D printing.
Greetings. See you soon Machine Bros!
