Unfortunately, this deal has expired 18 October 2018.
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Posted 1 September 2018

GoPro Hero (2018) (easily convert to a Hero 5 Black with simple firmware update) £131.91 @ TobyDeals

£131.91
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fpsazerbaijan
Joined in 2013
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Little known fact that you can convert a standard Hero 2018 to a Hero 5 Black with a simple firmware update.

Did mine the other day and it works a treat. I now have 4K 30 FPS, GPS, 12mp photos etc for £130 ish.

I managed to get Halfords to price match Tecobuy in-store, they said no over live chat but the guy in store was fine with it. Maybe worth a punt!

Credit to ohyicong over on Reddit for the method:
"I have compiled all the steps into one folder. Place this folder in the sd card and power on your gopro. Then the update will start automatically. It takes around 5~10 mins to finish updating. Delete this file from the SD card after updating."

FILES (thanks to coastersteve for re-uploading them): drive.google.com/dri…4or

*EDIT* for anyone attempting this take a read of the Reddit thread: reddit.com/r/g…re/

The process is as follows:
- Download the 'UPDATE' folder from the above Google Drive link. This should contain 4 files. Place the entire folder onto a blank, formatted micro sd.

- Place the sd in the camera and power it up. It will run through the update process, restarting and black screening several times and taking anywhere betwee 3-10 mins, be patient and don't be tempted to press anything!

- Camera will eventually boot as a fully fledged Hero 5 Black. Turn it off. Remove the SD and delete the UPDATE folder. I reformatted just to be sure.

- Place it back in the GoPro and go video something cool in 4K 30 fps


2% Quidco at TobyDeals too.

Proof video:
More details from
Community Updates
Edited by fpsazerbaijan, 5 September 2018
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320 Comments

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  1. fpsazerbaijan's avatar
    Author
    ian1801/09/2018 21:56

    Cold not a deal


    Ah you must've paid £299 for a Hero 5 Black
  2. fpsazerbaijan's avatar
    Author
    spinach_pie01/09/2018 22:04

    Thanks. Do you know if there is a way to revert back as well?


    Apparently you can! "Firstly, go to Gopro official website to download the original hero 2018 firmware. Next, put the firmware file into your SD card and turn on your device. The firmware will be reversed automatically (wait for 5~10mins)." taken from the Reddit thread (here in case anyone wants a read: reddit.com/r/g…re/)
  3. AppStar's avatar
    Spud21102/09/2018 13:42

    My car is the same - I have "unlocked" nearly £1000 worth of extra …My car is the same - I have "unlocked" nearly £1000 worth of extra features by flashing it's firmware.


    You turned your Nissan Leaf into a Tesla Model 3?!? (edited)
  4. DarrylJohn's avatar
    I remember doing this with the old Sony Ericsson Walkman phones. K800 to a W800 or something.

    Ah to be young again (edited)
  5. coastersteve's avatar
    I've uploaded the Zip file to my google docs. I won't be giving any advice how to use it as all details are in the first post.

    drive.google.com/ope…4or
  6. Orville's avatar
    Mine finally arrived after 12-days. Unfortunately the battery appears dud and the GoPro will only turn-on with the power cable attached. Followed the guides on YouTube and everything but the battery is non-responsive. Camera completely refuses to recognise it's insertion - even after leaving power power/battery connected for 2-hours.

    Time to see how painful the TobyDeals RMA process is.

    Edit: I managed to fix mine. Attaching a volt meter to pins 1 & 4 showed that the battery was completely drained (output 0.001v). This was too low for the GoPro to recognise the battery was installed, so camera refused to charge it. I had to splice an old USB charge cable and connect red and black wires directly to the pins 1 & 4 for ~1min to give it some juice. After reinstalling within GoPro it was recognised and is now charging normally. Do not attempt this unless you know what you are doing. (edited)
  7. fpsazerbaijan's avatar
    Author
    spinach_pie8 m ago

    Awesome. Just wonder if gopro will somehow release a fix for this or brick …Awesome. Just wonder if gopro will somehow release a fix for this or brick your gopro if you try to connect to the app etc...


    That is a possibility. I've just been using mine without the app, it's not ideal but for the price I can live with it!
  8. rmw1974's avatar
    Thanks OP just been to Halfords and they price matched to £131.99
  9. maruthu's avatar
    Got it for 128.99 with discount code CART
  10. deleted922262's avatar
    I am at a quandary, do I risk doing the update and it works, or do I leave it as if I do do it and then it bricks my gopro hero 2018 buying a new one would cost me more in total than buying a gopro hero 6 in the first place.
  11. spinach_pie's avatar
    Just got it price matched at Halfords too. Worst customer service in existence from the 19 year olds working there but that may have helped get it matched as they just did not care.
  12. PhilFlewtyLewty's avatar
    Just been down to my local Halfords (Newcastle Under Lyme ) they didn’t have any in stock but price matched and I payed there and then for it ( £131.91 ) and will be here Tuesday.
    Thanks OP (edited)
  13. spufmonkey's avatar
    Finally got Halfrauds to pricematch
  14. Kojo_Segu's avatar
    Move to Misc
  15. ian18's avatar
    Cold not a deal
  16. Maccabix's avatar
    the three new hero 7's ( white , silver and black) should be announced later this month so expect the price of the old budget heros to drop .

    if this turns them into hero 5 its the find of year if you ask me
  17. spinach_pie's avatar
    Blasphemous6 m ago

    Anyone had any experience with TobyDeals returns/warranty? Just thinking …Anyone had any experience with TobyDeals returns/warranty? Just thinking if there's a generic problem (unrelated to firmware updates etc), how do you send the product back, do you have to pay return shipping fees etc? Their page provides quite a bit of info but I'm wondering what they're like in the 'real world', Trustpilot scores are all over the place.https://www.tobydeals.co.uk/en_GB/return-and-refund/


    Bit of a risk, but if you purchase through credit card you may be protected. I bought a photo frame which was quite expensive from a site with .co.uk domain and it arrived broken. Wanted refund instead of replacement as it was a gift. They said they wouldn't refund but replace (German law vs UK apparently). So contacted credit card company and because they were masquerading as uk site, I was refunded.

    Never going to be as easy as purchasing from UK. For any tech stuff I would never order from tobydeals, or any of the others because of warranty etc.
  18. cuffy's avatar
    Sp0oner02/09/2018 12:54

    And how legit is that site?!


    Website says 5 stars on Trustpilot.

    Strange when you go onto the Trustpilot website - it has no review and no stars; either that or I'm looking in the wrong place.

    uk.trustpilot.com/rev….uk
  19. Spud211's avatar
    MPD102/09/2018 13:23

    The shocking thing here is that GoPro literally re-released the 5, …The shocking thing here is that GoPro literally re-released the 5, hampered it deliberately despite apparently having the exact same hardware, then sold at a lower price. Which is a long way of saying they were ripping folk off with the 5.


    I kind of get why it's shocking to many, but this is very, very common in the electronics industry and there are thousands of examples where the old generation product gets re-badged as a budget model and is sold on, often with very little to no hardware changes, just a firmware update. You even see it with "current" hardware - there are many graphics cards where the mid and premium cards are identical save for a firmware update and a port swap. CPUs again get badged as a budget model and locked by what is in effect, firmware.

    My car is the same - I have "unlocked" nearly £1000 worth of extra features by flashing it's firmware. The hardware is identical in different models, and its use is controlled/limited p[surely by software.

    it's pretty normal practice in the electronics industry, and is a nice benefit for us consumers when we find ways to "unlock" extra features for free. It's not a rip off. (edited)
  20. fpsazerbaijan's avatar
    Author
    andylangley102/09/2018 16:35

    Do the updated firmware then allow geo tagging on the hero 2018?


    Yes it does, tested the other day! Ideal for mapping applications now
  21. WuckFit's avatar
    Stevey8313 m ago

    The sensor is only 10 meg though. Look at the spec online. It’s the f …The sensor is only 10 meg though. Look at the spec online. It’s the firmware hack which is telling you otherwise


    Or... Is the original firmware restricting the mp capture rate? If everything else is identical it doesn't make sense to use a different sensor. Would be great if someone can verify that they use different sensors (10mp or 12mp).

    Spec sheet would suggest this is only 1080p but we now know it's capable of 4K.
  22. gm89uk's avatar
    Stevey8302/09/2018 20:07

    The sensor is only 10 meg though. Look at the spec online. It’s the f …The sensor is only 10 meg though. Look at the spec online. It’s the firmware hack which is telling you otherwise


    It also states that the hero 2018 doesn't have GPS but geotagging works after the firmware flash. Is it possible it's actually a 12MP sensor but firmware crippled to 10?

    This seems to suggest they are identical hardware:

    gethypoxic.com/blo…ro5

    A firmware trick will not tell windows the image file is 4000x3000 if there are only 10MP (edited)
  23. deleted1943565's avatar
    I just bought the Hero 2018 from Amazon, and changed it to a Hero 5 Black in about 15 mins including time taken to download the files. Everything works perfectly so far. Protune, 240fps, Linear, Superview, etc all working. Pics are 4000 x 3000 (12MP)

    I've downloaded the original Hero 2018 firmware in case I need to roll back in future. The biggest risk I see is that the GoPro app is updated and can detect a 'hacked' Hero 2018. Currently the app connects fine and sees it as Hero 5 Black

    Very happy :-)

    Now need to record some Gnarr
  24. bbsniper's avatar
    Halfords Colchester price matched - got last one
  25. MPD1's avatar
    Mine was price matched at Halfords, think it's luck of the draw with who you get. Updated no problem, great deal. Massive thumbs up to OP.
  26. MPD1's avatar
    brommy9 h, 12 m ago

    Got my local Halfords to price match tobydeals at £135.99 but it took some …Got my local Halfords to price match tobydeals at £135.99 but it took some persuasion. The manager agreed to note the price match source in the comments field as tobydeals was definitely not in the list of retailers listed on their input screen. Used my work discount so my total for a new ‘Hero 5’ (assuming the upgrade is successful!} is £122.39 - big thanks to the OP.Collected the Hero today and I have synced it to the GoPro app on my phone. Now waiting for the 128gb card I’ve ordered so I can use it for the Hero 5 Black upgrade and the start recording.Any comments, do’s and don’t’s for the upgrade, please?My first question is that the YouTube video shows 4 files being downloaded (I now have these), but then the guy copies just 3 files in to the UPDATE folder, so do I use all 4 downloaded files or just the first 3?


    Use all 4. Just put in a folder called update, pop it in, works a charm.

    Make sure you have more than 50% battery or the update won't happen.
  27. Blasphemous's avatar
    Just tried the update, works fine. Repackaged now for Santa.
  28. brommy's avatar
    Blasphemous7 h, 15 m ago

    LOL! Nah, my son already knows what it is and the firmware update.


    Lucky son and great that you can get him a £260+ camera for around half that.

    I would also like to add to this thread that my Halfords price matched Hero 2018 to Hero 5 upgrade worked perfectly and was even quicker (2 minutes) than the 5 minutes witnessed on the YouTube instruction video (I’m assuming because I used a quicker micro SD card). Fantastic price for Hero 5 functionality.
  29. AmazingGoose's avatar
    Thanks and for the easy-peasy firmware flash
  30. decron's avatar
    Ordered two from Toby Deals on 9/10 for £117.99

    Had an email saying thanks for the money. Then another a few hours later saying, we are chucking it in a box.

    Then nothing.

    Tried emailing them.

    Nothing.

    Tried their messaging thingy.

    Nothing.

    Was coming to terms with having to invoke the whole Paypal spanking procedure when I got an email from Yodel saying a parcel had been delivered.

    Got home to find two shiny GoPro Heros well packed on the table. So...... Basically you save a chunk of cash monies but he true cost is the anxiety you suffer from because Toby deals operate a customer service department on the award winning 'Go fist yourself.... twice' model. Not sure I can recommend them given this attitude.

    The cameras however..... Awesome. Charged one up. Had a play round, everything working. I downloaded the Black firmware zip. Extracted to a formatted micro SD. Put it into the fully charge camera and switched on. It did the updatey flashy things, like it should and rebooted about 6 mins later. Hey presto a fully functional, brand new GoPro Hero 5 Black. My 11 year old son (Who I got the other one for) did his about an hour later with no issues either.

    So.... two £300 GoPros for £235.

    Chicken Dinner.
  31. spinach_pie's avatar
    Thanks. Do you know if there is a way to revert back as well?
  32. spinach_pie's avatar
    fpsazerbaijan01/09/2018 22:06

    Apparently you can! "Firstly, go to Gopro official website to download the …Apparently you can! "Firstly, go to Gopro official website to download the original hero 2018 firmware. Next, put the firmware file into your SD card and turn on your device. The firmware will be reversed automatically (wait for 5~10mins)." taken from the Reddit thread (here in case anyone wants a read: https://www.reddit.com/r/goprohack/comments/8wpe49/gopro_hero_1080p_2018_to_hero_5_black_firmware/)


    Awesome. Just wonder if gopro will somehow release a fix for this or brick your gopro if you try to connect to the app etc...
  33. deleted922262's avatar
    fpsazerbaijan12 m ago

    Have a read through that Reddit thread I linked to a few comments above ^ …Have a read through that Reddit thread I linked to a few comments above ^ lots of happy campers over there and no one has encountered any problems as far as I can see


    Will do. Thanks for your help. I am really tempted but still think there will be a comeback from Gopro about it
  34. deleted922262's avatar
    apts02/09/2018 00:21

    Buyers remorse... just saying.


    I'll take that hit. Lol. To be fair this is my first action camera and was going to get the Yi 4k but wasn't waterproof without case so I'll take another hit if I have too lol
  35. deleted922262's avatar
    deleted92226202/09/2018 00:26

    I'll take that hit. Lol. To be fair this is my first action camera and was …I'll take that hit. Lol. To be fair this is my first action camera and was going to get the Yi 4k but wasn't waterproof without case so I'll take another hit if I have too lol


    I don't have a computer, see if I put in my sd card from my gopro into my phone, could I still download the firmware through that then put it back in my gopro?
  36. OfficialCVG's avatar
    Download the firmware and turn it into a Hero 5 brick.
  37. deleted2041523's avatar
    Thanks!!
  38. deleted1977401's avatar
    Purchased! That's a steal. Looking into the process, seems quite simple to change it over.
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