I will describe my odyssey here - maybe it will be of help to someone else on a similar mission (and according to comments on the Apple store and around this and other forums, there's a lot of frustration in this topic).
The reason I wanted to upgrade the firmware is that I don't want the iRig BlueBoard app running in the background all the time. It was created in a time when no MIDI standard was available in iOS, but this changed years ago. And while basic usage of the BlueBoard was perfectly possible with the BlueBoard app running in the background, I wanted to make use of more advanced MIDI tweaking, like the Blue Velvet library for MidiFire (and the free StreamByter) which adds double/triple taps, combinations, holding, etc. (see https://discchord.com/appnews/2018/11/2 ... -blueboard and https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/2990 ... -blueboard). And according to Blue Velvet's README, the BlueBoard needs the firmware upgrade to work with it.
So my odyssey started...
First: My BlueBoard has a mini USB connector in the battery case, so it can be connected to a computer using an appropriate USB cable. Some (probably newer?) BlueBoards do not have such a connector available. Read here how to determine what your BlueBoard version you have: https://www.ikmultimedia.com/firmware/blueboard/
But before all that, I had tried the iOS BlueBoard Updater app (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/irig-blue ... 1478647297), but it did NOT work for me at all. It could never see my device, although I started it in update mode (which means holding down D while turning it on, see https://download.ikmultimedia.com/plugi ... _Guide.pdf). Maybe it will work only for the non-USB version (see https://www.ikmultimedia.com/firmware/b ... no_usb.php)?
So I used the official instructions for the USB version: https://www.ikmultimedia.com/firmware/b ... ex_usb.php
And although it tells me to register my BlueBoard using my serial number to get access to the firmware updater ("Registration provides you with access to the Firmware updater."), this IS NOT NECESSARY! I don't own a serial (due to it was 2nd hand and the seller didn't provide me with one), but I could easily download the software from https://www.ikmultimedia.com/userarea/firmware/ (I needed to register as a user to access this area, but it didn't depend on any serial number or similar).
To my big surprise the software "iRig BlueBoard Firmware Updater 1.1" is only available for Windows! How absurd, because AFAIK the BlueBoard even lacks of supporting Windows, and it's advertised solely to be used with iOS and macOS! I first tried on a Windows 10 virtual machine on my Mac, but it told me that I don't have the required privileges (even when right clicking on the file and starting it as Administrator). I then tried on a native Windows laptop, but with the same result.
I finally found an old laptop at a friend's place, running Windows 8. And there I could start the software. Yay!
But still, after starting, I got a red warning text: "Waiting for search indexing... please wait...". I waited for some hours, but nothing seemed to happen. But suddenly, Windows needed to restart because of system updates.
And see: after a restart the "Waiting for search indexing..." message did not appear anymore! If it had, I would have tried to stop Windows Search as described here: https://lookeen.com/blog/how-to-disable ... s-8-and-10.
But luckily, I was able now to search for a device, find it, and update it. It took 2-3mins, and I was really afraid that some failure would happen, but the % counter slowly reached 100%.
I could verify that some upgrade happened because the BlueBoard now has its default name again in the BlueBoard app. But while I could see it as a Bluetooth device in iOS settings, I couldn't connect.
I then restarted it in "MIDI over Bluetooth mode 1" (by holding B while turning it on) - and that did the trick! It connects successfully now in iOS' Bluetooth settings, and thus is shown in 3rd party apps like AUM (as "iRig BlueBoard Bluetooth - HARDWARE").
Remember:
- If you want to use the "BlueBoard mode" (which you start by holding A and turning the device on), you seem to need the BlueBoard app running and connect the device from there (although I didn't look closely into this any further).
- To use "MIDI over Bluetooth mode 1" or "MIDI over Bluetooth mode 2", (hold down B or C while turning on) you don't need the app running. Simply connect it in the iOS Bluetooth settings and you're good to go!
And if you're curious: the iOS updater app still doesn't see my BlueBoard (started in update mode -> holding D while turning it on). I really have no idea what's this app useful for - probably it's only meant to be used with the non-USB BlueBoard version, but then it could at least give an error message or something when trying with the USB-version (or state the limitation clearly in the app). But hey, what can you expect from a firmware updating app that is promoted as "frimware updater" (typo!) on the screenshots in the Apple store! https://apps.apple.com/us/app/irig-blue ... 1478647297
So, FINALLY, after hours of fooling around: aaaah, the taste of success...!
I hope this will be useful for someone else. Please buy me a beer if you succeed thanks to my extensive explanations!
And if I can assist you with anything else regarding this topic, please tell me.Cheers and happy foot-pedaling!
