The purpose of the Awesome Miner Antminer firmware is to improve the hashrate performance, increase the power efficiency and provide more features. This guide is applicable for Antminer S19, S21, T19, T21, L7 and L9. Sometimes the model name S19 is used to refer to this entire family of models.
The firmware can either be installed directly on the Antminer or run from an SD-card. The Awesome Miner management application can be used to install the firmware on a large number of Antminers with just a few clicks.
Option #1: Install firmware directly on the Antminer (recommended)
Note: This option is currently not compatible with the default Bitmain Antminer firmware from March 2024 and later. See Option #3 in case of Bitmain firmware versions from March 2024 and later.
- See the section Awesome Miner management application below for how to install and get started with the Awesome Miner software.
- Please identify if you have a control board from Xilinx, BeageBone, AmLogic or Cvitek. See the section Identify control board type for details of how to identify.
- To install the firmware via Awesome Miner, go to the toolbar: Main -> ASIC Tools -> Update firmware. The firmware can be selected from a list and Awesome Miner will automatically download and install the firmware on all selected miners.
- Click Apply to perform the firmware upgrade. Awesome Miner will automatically unlock the Antminer to make it possible to install the firmware.
- After the installation has completed the Antminer will be rebooted.
Option #2: Run firmware from SD-card
- Download the SD-card image via the Awesome Miner Antminer firmware download page. Please note that the SD-card images for S19 are ZIP-files.
- Please identify if you have a control board from Xilinx, BeageBone, AmLogic or Cvitek. See the section Identify control board type for details of how to identify.
- Extract the ZIP-file to a temporary folder. The ZIP-file contains a single IMG-file.
- Download and install the tool BalenaEtcher.
- Use BalenaEtcher to write the IMG-file to an SD-card
- Click Flash from file and select the IMG-file extracted in step #3 above
- Click Select target and select the SD-card
- Click Flash and wait for the operation to finalize
- Put the SD-card in the Antminer and start the Antminer. Keep the SD-card in the Antminer all the time as the firmware is running directly from the SD-card, it isn't being installed to the Antminer.
Option #3: Solution for Bitmain firmware from March 2024 and later
Antminers running Bitmain firmware from March 2024 or later cannot be upgraded with the Awesome Miner Antminer firmware right away. Instead the Antminer must first be flashed with an intermediate firmware using an SD-card, where an older version of the Bitmain firmware is installed.
- Download the SD-card image based on control board type and Antminer model
Antminer S19 AmLogic
Antminer S19/T21 Xilinx
Antminer S19/S21 Cvitek
Antminer S21 AmLogic
Antminer S21-Hydro Xilinx
Antminer T21/L9 AmLogic
Antminer T21/L9 Cvitek - Extract the ZIP-file into a temporary folder
- Format an SD-card with FAT32 file system
- Copy the extracted files to the root of the SD-card
- Shut down the Antminer if running and put the SD-card in the Antminer
- Start the Antminer and wait a few minutes
- Shut down the Antminer and remove the SD-card
- The Antminer will now run an intermediate firmware and this one shouldn't be used for mining
- Use Awesome Miner to install the Awesome Miner Antminer firmware. See Option #1 step 4 for how to proceed
Important steps after the installation
It's important to select a Mining Profile (the hashrate level you want), otherwise there will not be any significant hashrate improvements. The mining profile can either be set via Awesome Miner or the Antminer web interface.
- Awesome Miner
- Go to the toolbar: Main -> ASIC Tools -> Firmware mining profile
- Select one of the profiles from the list and apply
- Antminer web interface:
- Click the Unlock button in the upper right corner and enter the password (default: "root" or "admin" depending on version) to proceed with the configuration
- Go to the Mining section and select the Performance tab and use the Preset setting to define the hashrate level to use.
After selecting a Mining Profile, the miner will restart itself a number of times over the next few hours. This is expected and part of the optimization process.
Workaround: Cvitek firmware reverting back to Bitmain firmware
Due to how the Cvitek controllers are working, the Awesome Miner firmware may not load correctly after a reboot. Instead the Bitmain firmware will load. As a workaround for this issue, Awesome Miner can be configured to automatically start the Awesome Miner firmware if it detects that a miner has rebooted into the Bitmain firmware. Note - the Awesome Miner firmware is still present on the Antminer and all Awesome Miner will do is to send a command to the Antminer to load it and load all settings. It isn't a full firmware installation and the process only takes a few seconds.
- Download the Awesome Miner rule Auto start Awesome Miner firmware
- Double click on the file to import in Awesome Miner
- After importing, go to the Options dialog Rules section.
- Find "Auto start Awesome Miner firmware" and enable the rule.
- Click on Edit and define which miner groups or miners the rule should look at. By default it will not consider any miners.
- Save everything
Identify control board type - Xilinx, BeagleBone, AmLogic or Cvitek
The firmware for Antminer S19 is different depending on the control board type. It's important to identify the control board type in order to download the correct firmware type.
Xilinx
The Xilinx control board has the SD-card reader is located next to the Ethernet port, exposed to the outside of the Antminer.
BeagleBone
The BeagleBone control board has the SD-card reader located on the inside and requires the Antminer to be opened before it can be accessed.
AmLogic
The AmLogic control board doesn't include any SD-card reader. Instead the control board includes a micro USB port. Use Awesome Miner to install the firmware directly to the AmLogic controller.
Cvitek
The Cvitek control board has an SD card reader located next to the Ethernet-port, similar to the Xilinx control board. What identifies the Cvitek control board is also that it says "CVITEK" on the chip in the middle of the control board, highlighted in the picture below.
Awesome Miner management application
The Awesome Miner application can be used to manage and monitor Antminers and other ASIC miners. When running Antminers with the Awesome Miner firmware, you can manage and monitor these Antminers using Awesome Miner at no additional cost. To get started with Awesome Miner, follow the steps below. If you already use Awesome Miner with a subscription, jump to step #3.
- Download Awesome Miner via our web site:
- Sign up for an Antminer Firmware license. It's free, you only need to enter your e-mail address to get the license. You can manage any number of Antminers running our firmware with this license.
- Add the Antminers to the Awesome Miner application:
Frequently asked questions
How is the firmware installed to the Antminer?
There are two installation methods
1) Install the firmware directly to the Antminer (NAND)
2) Put the firmware on a micro SD card. In contrast to our other Antminer firmware, the Antminer S19 firmware will run directly from the micro SD card. When the Antminer is starting, it will load our firmware from the micro SD-card.
How do I uninstall the firmware?
1) When installed directly to the Antminer (NAND): Open the Antminer web interface and go to the System page. From this page the operation to revert the firmware back to the original Bitmain firmware is available.
2) When running the firmware from an SD card: As the firmware is never installed on the Antminer, you simply remove the SD card. When you start the Antminer without the SD card it will simply load the default Bitmain firmware that is already installed on the Antminer.
What kind of Micro SD can be used?
Antminers can be sensitive about the Micro SD card being used, where cards with larger memory (16 GB or above) may not work in all cases. Bitmain typically recommends 8 GB Micro SD cards or smaller. If you run a larger number of Antminers, please make sure you verify the specific type of SD card is working before ordering any larger quantities.
Is immersion cooling be supported?
Yes
What is the mining fee?
The mining fee is 2.8%. All Antminers running our firmware can be managed and monitored via Awesome Miner at no additional cost.
How much power can the Antminer S19 PSU deliver?
The standard PSU can always handle 3600W and with good cooling conditions 4000W. With even better cooling conditions using immersion cooling, close to 5000W.