Helix G2 Ice Unit- New update questions

So I run a Helix 5 G2 and I love it. The unit has the software revision from last year, i think its 1.6XX something. I have had zero issues and I honestly think it kills nearly any other unit on the ice. I was on a trip last weekend and several of my friends were so impressed they want to buy one of their own. I am a little apprehensive to tell them to go out an buy one as i have seen multiple posts on here about the new software update causing issues.

Can anyone tell me if the issues arise from the older units getting the new software or do brand new units have this same issue?

Can a brand new unit get older software loaded on it?

Is everyone who runs the new software having issues with not being able to turn gain up enough?

If a guy can load an old rev of the software on and make it run like mine currently runs then i have no issues tell my friends to go buy a unit.

When dealing with G2 units, the only question is what software version are you running. I recommend running the latest version. I had an issue with version 1.83/1.84 but the other versions worked great. I posted the following in another thread:
I have both the helix7 down imaging g2n and side imaging g2n. When i first used them for ice, i had upgraded to software versions 1.63/1.64. They were so awesome we (me & my sons) quit using our flx28s. Then i upgraded to versions 1.83/1.84 in September last year. When out on the first ice trip this season, had the issue where the bottom reading started skipping around which was annoying when using the graph like we prefer becausethe zoom screen would not stay consistent. I contacted HB and they emailed me software which took the units back to 1.63/1.64. Then in early February they released version 1.90. I installed 1.90 last week and both units are working better than ever. I recommend the latest update to anyone with either unit.

Thanks Tom, I’ve been having issues with mine as well and didn’t know there was another update earlier this month.

Thank you Tom! Great input! I have been afraid to update mine but now i am feeling more comfortable recommending a new unit to friends

When you say better than ever, can you tell me what works better than the 1.6 update?

On most Humminbird units you can return to older software version. Exceptions are as follows. Cannot load older version then what came originally installed on unit from factory.

Some older units had operating systems that had cutoffs. In other words once you upgraded unit and accessories say to 1.7 xx . You could not go back to 1.6xx.

So I upgraded my unit from 1.54 to 1.90 and now the unit isn’t recognizing the battery and isn’t shooting the transducer. Unit powers on just fine, I’ve tried just about everything i can think of to get it to work even trying to revert to 1.54. I should have just left it the way it was…

Reset Default.

Personally 1.64 has been the best for my 4 helix 5’s.

tried resetting defaults, tried using open water transducer, tried multiple batteries, all with the same results, no battery detected, and transducer not firing. Guess it’s going to be a call to humminbird…

Just wanted to give an update. Apparently Humminbird released v2.0 in late march. Would have been nice to know. Installed it a few days ago and now my unit is recognizing battery and firing the transducer. Haven’t had it on the water yet but i expect it to work just fine.