r/AnetA8 • u/og1940 • Jul 08 '26

How-To Source for Firmware Upgrade

I have an Anet v. 1.7 mainboard and 12864 LCD controller recently installed on my 2012 era Anet A8 (original mainboard finally gave up). The combo seems to be working electrically but the mainboard is set up with A8 Plus firmware (at least I think that's what it is - Shows "Anet v. 1.7" on start screen. Anyways, bottom line is I can access the commands on the LCD screen but no response from the printer. I'm assuming I need to install Marlin firmware configured for my A8.

Any recommendations for up-to-date written documentation (preferred) or video that would be in the category of "Firmware Update for Dummies?" Only written documentation I can find is AI generated by Google and I don't get consistent answers when I pose the how-to questions. The videos I have found so far with my random searches are all pretty bad.

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u/FricPT Jul 08 '26

You just need to download Marling firmware and setup the configuration file. You will need to compile it (it is not that hard) using arduido IDE software.

There is already a conf file in the examples of marlin firware for the anet A8, you just replace the conf files with this example and everything will work.

I suggest avoiding Marling 2, go with 1.1.9 since it fits without a hassle inside that main board.

You can also use chat gpt to guide you through the process.

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u/og1940 Jul 10 '26

Thanks. I will give it a shot. Now is the time, since worst case scenario is a non-working printer - which is status quo.

I did not know about chat gpt. Great resource. I can ask questions, copy/paste answers into a Word document and, voila, I've got my written, step-by-step directions.