Firmware updates carry risks. If you are not comfortable opening your device and working with low-level programmer tools, consider whether the benefits outweigh the potential for bricking your oscilloscope.

If you purchase a new HDS242 today, it will likely ship with a recent firmware version (e.g., V8.x or V12.x). In many cases, if your unit is functioning well, there may be no urgent need to update.

OWON does not publish an official, public changelog for the HDS242. The most detailed information comes from community research, especially on the EEVblog electronics forum and other online resources. Below is a summary of known firmware versions and what has been observed about each.

To unlock the full bandwidth, one would need to or change an internal configuration flag . As of early 2026, no publicly documented procedure exists for this specific hack, but it remains an active topic of discussion.

Verify the file extension is strictly .bin and has not been accidentally renamed or corrupted during download. Screen Blank After Update (Bricked Device)