Restoring a backup to a newer firmware version : Safe ?

RouterOS General
1

Hi Guys,

Got loads of RB450G’s out there on 4.6. I finally decided to upgrade to 4.13 due to , I guess, bugfixes and security fixes. I must admit I haven’t read through all the release changes, I just assume that it’s reasonably safe to move to 4.13. I’m not upgrading for extra features, purely for bugfixes etc..

I have two questions :

  1. Can I upload the firmware file routeros-mipsbe-4.13.npk in the Files directory of a running router, reboot it , and will it update to 4.13 and KEEP IT’S SETTINGS ( this is very important ). I’m asking this, because I access all my routers remotely, I don’t want to lock myself out. I guess I’ll try it anyway, but if someone can tell me if it’s reasonably safe to do, then it’d be appreciated.
  2. More importantly, can I upgrade the systems to 4.13 but still use my 4.6 backup file ? I don’t want to mess any settings up “in the long run”. If I have to recreate all the settings, so be it. But if it’s safe, it’ll save me quite a lot of work and testing.

Cheers, your comments are appreciated.

2
  1. yes.
  2. no, it is not guaranteed at all.
3

1st part is said all that can be said there
for 2nd - it is safer to create export and edit out all default parts, all settings that you did not set. That export will work for most of the RouterOS versions, only careful when upgrading to major RouterOS version, like 3 to 4. 4 to 5 to my knowledge is not that hard, but still some parts change.

4

thanks for your replies guys. I will go the export route.