This guide will go over the steps for updating your FileWave server for macOS, Linux, and Windows.

For best results, upgrade the FileWave components in the following order: 


Before going any farther with the process the first step that you need to do before upgrading the server is to backup your FileWave server. The first thing you need to do if you have macOS or Windows Clients is to Lock your devices.

1.Lock Desktop and iOS Clients

It's always a good idea to lock all your client devices before upgrading your FileWave components. That way you can verify that the server is running correctly and not worry about your macOS and Windows clients getting any of the changes.

  1. Highlight all of your Desktop devices → right click on them → select "Lock". 
  2. Change the filter to mobile, highlight all iOS devices → right click → select "Lock"

See Locking Devices

2. Backup your FileWave server

There are two ways to do so depending on your server. If you are running a physical macOS, Linux, or Windows server you need to use the backup script that we provide to backup your server. Please always run a manual backup with the script we offer before starting the upgrade. We offer this knowledge base article for this process and the commands you will need to run as well as a way to check the backup file. 

If you are running a virtual machine for your FileWave server you are still able to use the backup script we offer but are also able to take a snap shot of the server in your virtual environment as a backup. Before taking the snap shot of the server please turn off the virtual machine so that FileWave server services are not running when you are backing up the Virtual Machine. This will prevent any issues with fragmented information in the backup. If you do not want to stop the VM you are able to use the below commands to stop the FileWave services and then take the backup. 

Stop the FileWave Server Services

sudo fwcontrol server stop


Please open Command Prompt running as administrator and run the below command: 

fwcontrol server stop


After the backup is complete, please start the services again using the following command

sudo fwcontrol server start



fwcontrol server start


3. Upgrading the FileWave Server software

Once you have a backup of your FileWave server created you will first Upgrade the FileWave server software before upgrading your FileWave Admin app, FileWave boosters, or FileWave clients. If you upgrade your FileWave clients software first before upgrading the server for example it is possible that you clients will break connection to the server. Upgrading the FileWave server is not as intimidating as it may seem as it is an in-place upgrade and you do not need to uninstall anything first or stop the FileWave server services. Below you will find sections for macOS, Linux, and Windows Server.

Please expand the section that relates to your server OS: 


3.1 macOS Server Upgrade

The macOS server upgrade is similar to installing any other pkg software on a macOS machine. 

  1. On your macOS FileWave server go to the FileWave website → Support → Software Downloads → FileWave Management Suite → select "Release notes and Download". (You will select the newest release of FileWave that you are upgrading to and not necessarily 12.3) FileWave Management Suite Downloads Page
  2. You will then scroll down on the page until you see "macOS Installers" and select it. This will download the FileWave Installers for the version of FileWave you are wanting to upgrade to in a .dmg file. (You will receive a popup when selecting macOS installers telling you to run a backup of your FileWave server first. This should have already been done but if you have not already please review the document it links and backup your server before proceeding.) 
  3. Next you will find the FileWave dmg file that was downloaded in step 2 and double click on the file to open it. 
  4. You will be presented with a similar window on the server and will be looking for the "FileWave Server.pkg" in the top right above "Server Installer" 
  5. To run the install you just need to double click on the "FileWave Server.pkg" and go through the steps as prompted on the machine. 
  6. The installer can take a few mins to run but when it is finished you will be presented with the window below and you are finished with upgrading the server. (If the upgrade reports a failure please contact our support team immediately and they will assist you with it) 
  7. You are now done upgrading the server and will then move to upgrading your FileWave admin. 


3.2 Linux Server Upgrade

The Linux server upgrade can be intimidating since it will all be done in terminal but we try to make it as simple as possible for you. 

  1. On your workstation go to the FileWave website → Support → Software Downloads → FileWave Management Suite → select "Release notes and Download". (You will select the newest release of FileWave that you are upgrading to and not necessarily 12.3) FileWave Management Suite Downloads Page
  2. You will then scroll down on the page until you see "Linux Installers". You do not need to select this as you will not be running them on your machine but it will show you the commands that you can use on your Linux server. 
  3. Next step would be to connect to your FileWave Linux server. For this there are a few options you are able to use depending on if you are running a macOS or Windows computer as your workstation. Two options you are able to do is to use  ssh to the server using terminal on macOS or use "putty" on a windows machine.  
  4. This step is optional but, is something that will help with organization of your installers on your server. I will make a directory for the FileWave Installers and a folder for the version I am upgrading to. If you do not want to do this you can skip to step 5. 
    1. Move to the "/" level


      1. cd /


    2. Make a Directory named "FileWaveInstallers"


      1. mkdir FileWaveInstallers


    3. Go in to the "FileWaveInstallers" directory. 


      1. cd /FileWaveInstallers


    4. Make a folder for the version you are upgrading to, I will be using "v12.3" 


      1. mkdir v12.3


    5. Go in to the folder you created in step d. For me that is "v12.3"


      1. cd v12.3


  5. We will now start to download the installers needed for upgrading the FileWave server. For this we offer the command to grab the installers for the version of FileWave you are upgrading to that you are able to copy and paste in to your terminal window connected to the server. This command is found on the software downloads page and was shown in step 2 and I highlighted below. 
  6. Once the installers are downloaded they will be zipped so you will need to run the unzip command. This command is found on the software downloads page and was shown in step 2 and I highlighted below. 
  7. Once the installers are unzipped you will need to run the command to upgrade the server found on the software downloads page. This command is found on the software downloads page and was shown in step 2 and I highlighted below. 
  8. Once you have run the command on your server it can take a little while to finish and you will be presented with a similar message as below. If you see that the install failed please contact our support team immediately and they can assist you with this. You will see more information on your session but this will show at the end of the messages. In the example I installed FileWave 12.3 but your messages would match the version of FileWave you are upgrading to. 
  9. You are now done upgrading the server and will then move to upgrading your FileWave admin. 


3.3 Windows Server Upgrade (No longer compatible with FileWave Server 14+)


Upgrading your windows server is as easy as running an installer on your server and does not involve uninstalling any software beforehand. 

  1. Log in to your FileWave server with your Local Admin account. It is important to login as the Local Admin on the server and not as a Domain Admin account as there can be issues with Database permissions on the server if you try to use a Domain Admin account to upgrade FileWave. 
  2. On your FileWave Windows server go to the FileWave website → Support → Software Downloads → FileWave Management Suite → select "Release notes and Download". (You will select the newest release of FileWave that you are upgrading to and not necessarily 12.3) FileWave Management Suite Downloads Page
  3. You will then scroll down on the page until you see "Windows Installers" and select it. This will download a folder of Windows installers on your Server. 
  4. Find the folder that was just downloaded and open in Window Explorer.  You will find 4 installers in the folder but only need to pay attention to the "FileWaveServer" installer. Double click to run the installer application and follow along the installer. 
  5. Command prompt will open a few times which is normal and can take a few mins to complete. When it completes you will be presented with the below window. If you see any errors please contact our support team immediately and they will assist you with it. 
  6. You are now done upgrading the server and will then move to upgrading your FileWave admin. 

4. Upgrading the FileWave Admin

Upgrading the FileWave admin on your workstations is more straight forward then updating your FileWave server. When you are updating the FileWave admin you do not need to backup your system and just run the installer that we offer on your machine. The installer does not require the old admin to be uninstalled before being run and is similar to running a pkg or msi for any other software. The FileWave admin is supported on macOS and Windows. 

Please expand the section that relates to your server OS:


4.1 macOS Admin

  1. On your macOS workstation go to the FileWave website → Support → Software Downloads → FileWave Management Suite → select "Release notes and Download". (You will select the newest release of FileWave that you are upgrading to and not necessarily 12.3) FileWave Management Suite Downloads Page
  2. You will then scroll down on the page until you see "macOS Installers" and select it. This will download the FileWave Installers for the version of FileWave you are wanting to upgrade to in a .dmg file. 
  3. Next you will find the FileWave dmg file that was downloaded in step 2 and double click on the file to open it. 
  4. You will be presented with a window similar as below and will be looking for the "FileWave Admin.pkg" in the top right above "Admin Installer" 
  5. You will double click on the "FileWave Admin.pkg" to launch the installer and follow the install instructions on the screen. 
  6. Once the install finishes you are ready to connect to your upgraded FileWave server. 


4.2 Windows Admin

  1. On your Windows workstation go to the FileWave website → Support → Software Downloads → FileWave Management Suite → select "Release notes and Download". (You will select the newest release of FileWave that you are upgrading to and not necessarily 12.3) FileWave Management Suite Downloads Page
  2. You will then scroll down on the page until you see "Windows Installers" and select it. This will download the FileWave Installers folder for the version of FileWave you are wanting to install.  
  3. Next you will find the FileWave folder that was downloaded in step 2 and double click on the file to open it. 
  4. You will be presented with a window similar as below and will be looking for the "FileWaveAdmin" installer.
  5. You will double click on the "FileWaveAdmin" Windows Installer to launch the installer and follow the install instructions on the screen. 
  6. Once the install finishes you are ready to connect to your upgraded FileWave server. 


5. Launch the FileWave Admin to confirm the upgrade

The next step once the FileWave Admin application is upgraded it to launch the Admin application to connect to the newly upgraded server. After an upgrade you always want to connect to the server and verify everything is running and working correct. This will allow you to spot any issues quickly and if necessary contact our FileWave Support Team for assistants. Do not hesitate to contact our Support Team quickly if you think there may be an issue as that will help us get you back up and running as quickly as possible. 

  1. First thing to check once the FileWave admin is open is the warning light in the bottom left hand corner. You are looking for it to say "Everything is OK" as shown below. If you have any warning or errors this may be an issue but is not necessarily depending on what is giving the error. If you see the light as yellow or red please select the message to view the error. I posted the messages and severity below. 

    1. APN, If you are using iOS and this is anything but green contact our Support team
    2. Inventory, if this is anything other then green contact our Support team
    3. GCM, if you are using Android or Chromebooks and this is not green contact our Support team
    4. DEP, if this is yellow or red please open FileWave Admin → Preferences → VPP & DEP tab → OK, to close preferences. If it is still giving an error contact our Support team. 
    5. Engage, if you are using Engage and this is anything other then green contact our support team
  2. Second thing to check is to make sure Filesets are showing. The easiest way to do this is to select the Filesets tab of FileWave admin and make sure you see your Filesets and structure. If you are having issues contact our support team. 
  3. If you have iOS devices, Select "iOS Inventory" to make sure you see rows of iOS device information. Also select "Refresh" from the top menu to make sure this information refreshes. While in this tab as well please select an iOS device you know is on to make sure it is checking in. If you receive any errors or information is not showing please contact our Support team. 
  4. Go to the Clients tab of the FileWave Admin and make sure you see your correct group structure and your Clients showing. If you do not please contact our Support team. Remember your FileWave Clients (macOS and Windows should still be locked so they will not be getting any changes yet) 
  5. Update the Model, If this fails please contact our Support team
  6. Go back to the FileWave client tab and unlock one or two clients that you know are on to make sure they are checking in correctly. We suggest checking a couple machines first before unlocking all of your clients. 
  7. After you make sure the couple of test devices you unlocked first are working correctly you can select all of your devices and unlock them. 
  8. You are now done checking the Admin and can move on to upgrading your boosters and clients if needed. 

6. Upgrading your FileWave Boosters. 

The process of upgrading the booster is similar to upgrading the Admin application as it does not require you to backup your FileWave Booster prior to the upgrade. You are able to run a FileWave booster on macOS, Linux, and windows. We offer a Linux booster appliance you are able to use with FileWave. The booster is the same as the FileWave server and the FileWave client as it does not require you to uninstall any software before the upgrade. 


After upgrading boosters from versions before 13.1 to 13.1.0 you might need to generate booster certificates. See: Booster installation

Please expand the section that relates to your server OS:


6.1 macOS Booster Upgrade

The macOS Booster upgrade is similar to installing any other pkg software on a macOS machine. 

  1. On your macOS FileWave server go to the FileWave website → Support → Software Downloads → FileWave Management Suite → select "Release notes and Download". (You will select the newest release of FileWave that you are upgrading to and not necessarily 12.3) FileWave Management Suite Downloads Page
  2. You will then scroll down on the page until you see "macOS Installers" and select it. This will download the FileWave Installers for the version of FileWave you are wanting to upgrade to in a .dmg file. 
  3. Next you will find the FileWave dmg file that was downloaded in step 2 and double click on the file to open it. 
  4. You will be presented with a similar window on the server and will be looking for the "FileWave Booster.pkg" in the top right above "Booster Installer" 
  5. To run the install you just need to double click on the "FileWave Booster.pkg" and go through the steps as prompted on the machine. 
  6. The installer can take a few mins to run but when it is finished you will be presented with the window below and you are finished with upgrading the booster. 


6.2 Linux Booster Upgrade

The Linux Booster upgrade can be intimidating since it will all be done in terminal but we try to make it as simple as possible for you. 

  1. On your workstation go to the FileWave website → Support → Software Downloads → FileWave Management Suite → select "Release notes and Download". (You will select the newest release of FileWave that you are upgrading to and not necessarily 12.3) FileWave Management Suite Downloads Page
  2. You will then scroll down on the page until you see "Linux Installers". You do not need to select this as you will not be running them on your machine but it will show you the commands that you can use on your Linux server. 
  3. Next step would be to connect to your FileWave Linux Booster. For this there are a few options you are able to use depending on if you are running a macOS or Windows computer as your workstation. Two options you are able to do is to use  ssh to the server using terminal on macOS or use "putty" on a windows machine.  
  4. This step is optional but, is something that will help with organization of your installers on your Booster. I will make a directory for the FileWave Installers and a folder for the version I am upgrading to. If you do not want to do this you can skip to step 5. 
    1. Move to the "/" level


      1. cd /


    2. Make a Directory named "FileWaveInstallers"


      1. mkdir FileWaveInstallers


    3. Go in to the "FileWaveInstallers" directory. 


      1. cd /FileWaveInstallers


    4. Make a folder for the version you are upgrading to, I will be using "v12.3" 


      1. mkdir v12.3


    5. Go in to the folder you created in step d. For me that is "v12.3"


      1. cd v12.3


  5. We will now start to download the installers needed for upgrading the FileWave Booster. For this we offer the command to grab the installers for the version of FileWave you are upgrading to that you are able to copy and paste in to your terminal window connected to the server. This command is found on the software downloads page and was shown in step 2 and I highlighted below. 
  6. Once the installers are downloaded they will be zipped so you will need to run the unzip command. This command is found on the software downloads page and was shown in step 2 and I highlighted below. 
  7. Once the installers are unzipped you will need to run the command to upgrade the Booster found on the software downloads page. This command is found on the software downloads page and was shown in step 2 and I highlighted below. 

  8. Once you have run the command on your Booster it can take a little while to finish you will see that it is installed successfully. Once that finishes we recommend restarting the booster server which you can do with the below command. 

    shutdown -r now


  9. You are now done upgrading the Booster. 


6.3 Windows Booster Upgrade

Upgrading your windows server is as easy as running an installer on your Booster and does not involve uninstalling any software beforehand. 

  1. Log in to your FileWave server with your Local Admin account. It is important to login as the Local Admin on the Booster and not as a Domain Admin account as there can be issues with permissions. 
  2. On your FileWave Windows server go to the FileWave website → Support → Software Downloads → FileWave Management Suite → select "Release notes and Download". (You will select the newest release of FileWave that you are upgrading to and not necessarily 12.3) FileWave Management Suite Downloads Page
  3. You will then scroll down on the page until you see "Windows Installers" and select it. This will download a folder of Windows installers on your Booster.  
  4. Find the folder that was just downloaded and open in Window Explorer.  You will find 4 installers in the folder but only need to pay attention to the "FileWaveBooster" installer. Double click to run the installer application and follow along the installer. 
  5. Command prompt will open a few times which is normal and can take a few mins to complete. When it completes you can select "Finish". If you see any errors please contact our support team immediately and they will assist you with it. 
  6. You are now done upgrading the Booster.


7 Upgrading the FileWave Client

Upgrading the FileWave client is not required immediately after upgrading the FileWave server. Older versions of the FileWave client are compatible with newer releases of FileWave. But when you are wanting to upgrade your FileWave client you do not need to worry as we create a Fileset for each release of FileWave that is used to upgrade your clients. The process for upgrading the macOS and Windows client is exactly the same but posted steps for both below to avoid any confusion. 

After upgrading clients from versions before 13.1.0 to 13.1.0 or greater; you might need to open the New Clients UI to approve enrollment. See: Enrolling Computer Clients


Please only upgrade the client using the Upgrade Fileset we offer. Never deploy the Custom Client PKG/MSI to the devices as a way to upgrade them as those installers are only for devices that are not currently enrolled in FileWave


7.1 Upgrading your macOS clients

  1. On your workstation go to the FileWave website → Support → Software Downloads → FileWave Management Suite → select "Release notes and Download". (You will select the newest release of FileWave that you are upgrading to and not necessarily 12.3) FileWave Management Suite Downloads Page
  2. You will then scroll down on the page until you see "macOS Upgrade Fileset" and select it. This will download a pre-made .fileset file that you can easily deploy to your devices without any modification. For FileWave 12.3 it is called "FileWave_macOS_Client_12.3.0_4e8d10d.fileset"
  3. Open your FileWave admin application and go to the Filesets tab. 
  4. Drag and drop the downloaded Fileset from step 2 and drag it in to the FileWave admin → Filesets tab. This will automatically create a Fileset in FileWave. We highly recommend dragging it in to the root level of the Filesets structure so that it is not automatically being deployed to all of your devices with a previous association. 
  5. Once it is in FileWave you would need to associate that to a handful of test devices like you would for any other Fileset in FileWave and Update the model. 
  6. After that you are finished with the process of upgrading the macOS clients.


7.2 Upgrading your Windows Clients

  1. On your workstation go to the FileWave website → Support → Software Downloads → FileWave Management Suite → select "Release notes and Download". (You will select the newest release of FileWave that you are upgrading to and not necessarily 12.3) FileWave Management Suite Downloads Page
  2. You will then scroll down on the page until you see "Windows Upgrade Fileset" and select it. This will download a pre-made .fileset file that you can easily deploy to your devices without any modification. For FileWave 12.3 it is called "FWWinClientUpgrade_12.3.0_4e8d10d9.fileset"
  3. Open your FileWave admin application and go to the Filesets tab. 
  4. Drag and drop the downloaded Fileset from step 2 and drag it in to the FileWave admin → Filesets tab. This will automatically create a Fileset in FileWave. We highly recommend dragging it in to the root level of the Filesets structure so that it is not automatically being deployed to all of your devices with a previous association. 
  5. Once it is in FileWave you would need to associate that to a handful of test devices like you would for any other Fileset in FileWave and Update the model. 
  6. After that you are finished with the process of upgrading the Windows clients.

8. (If doing macOS DEP) Upgrade macOS client Packages

Remember that when a macOS devices finishes DEP enrollment into FileWave, your server sends a single client installer package.

When you update your server to a newer one, remember also update this package

  1. Visit custom.filewave.com and build a new custom PKG pointing to your server
  2. Once downloaded unzip the download
  3. Then visit the admin preferences > Mobile > macOS > select "Upload macOS client package"
  4. Browse for the downloaded and unzipped .pkg installer
  5. Wait for the message that it is uploaded.
  6. Press OK to save and finish





If you have upgraded every client, booster, IVS and Engage above FileWave 13.1, you can disable Compatibility Mode : What is Compatibility Mode?