Sonore Rendu V3.0 Upgrade Directions
SonicOrbiter 3.0 upgrade directions
SonicOrbiter 3.0 moves the Rendu from Fedora Linux to Debian Linux. Because the operating system itself changed, 3.0 cannot be installed from Software Manager the way past updates could. Every Rendu needs a new microSD card written with the 3.0 image. There are two ways to get one.
We send you a SanDisk High Endurance 128GB card, already written with the correct 3.0 image for your exact player and tested before it ships. Put it in, and you're done. Backed by our support if anything doesn't go the way it should.
Order the 3.0 card →The 3.0 image is free to download. You supply the card and do the writing. If you have ever copied a file to a USB stick, you can do this — the full directions are below.
Read the directions →Before you start, three things. You need a computer with an SD card slot or a USB card reader. You need a blank SanDisk High Endurance microSD Card 128GB. And you need the account you use on smallgreencomputer.com — the downloads are behind a sign-in.
Buy the right card
Use a SanDisk® High Endurance microSD™ Card 128GB. Any reputable retailer carries it.
Sign in at sonicorbiter.com
Go to sonicorbiter.com, click Login, then Sign in with Shopify.
Use the same account you use to shop with us. If you have never created one, you can make one in under a minute with the email you'd like to use — you don't need to have bought anything from us to get the software.
Download the image for your player
Once you're signed in, open the Download page. It lists the current image for each player. Pick the one that matches yours:
- microRendu — all versions
- ultraRendu — all versions, including the ultraRendu Plus
- opticalRendu — including the Deluxe and the Lite (Roon only)
- Signature Rendu — including the SE and SE Deluxe
- CuBox — this is also the image for the Sonicorbiter SE
The file is about 460 MB and ends in .img.xz. Leave it exactly as it downloads — do not unzip or expand it. The writing tools in the next step read the compressed file directly.
Install the writing tool
You need a program that writes a disk image to a card. Both of these are free and widely used:
- Windows: Rufus, from rufus.ie
- Mac: Balena Etcher, from etcher.balena.io
Balena Etcher also runs on Windows and Linux if you would rather use one tool everywhere.
Write the image to the card
Put the new card in your computer's card slot or reader, open the tool, and give it three things:
- The image: the .img.xz file you downloaded
- The target: your new microSD card
- Then start it — writing takes a few minutes
Check the target twice before you press start. Writing an image erases everything on the drive you point it at. Make certain that drive is your new microSD card and not an external hard drive or a backup disk. Your music is safe either way if it lives on a NAS or a USB drive — this only touches the card you select.
Swap the card in your Rendu
Shut the player down and unplug it. Remove the old card, put the new one in, and power it back up.
Keep the old card. Put it somewhere safe rather than reformatting it. It still has your working 2.9 installation on it, so if 3.0 turns out not to be for you, putting the old card back is all it takes to be exactly where you started — no reinstall, nothing to restore.
Confirm it came up
Give the player a minute or two on its first boot — the first start after a fresh image takes longer than usual.
Then open sonicorbiter.com and use Find devices. Your player checks in when it boots, so it should appear there with SonicOrbiter version 3.0 next to it. Click through to its settings page and set it up the way you like.
The player doesn't appear under Find devices
Power-cycle it and give it a minute to check in. That page matches your public IP address against your player's check-in, so if your computer is on a VPN it may not see the same address as your player — turn the VPN off and reload. If it still doesn't show, call us.
The writing tool reported an error
Most often the card is the problem, not the image. Try writing it again; if it fails a second time, try a different card. Counterfeit and worn-out microSD cards are common, which is part of why we recommend one specific card.
I expanded the .img.xz file and now I have a huge .img
No harm done — that file works too. But you didn't need to, and it takes up several times the space. Next time hand the tool the .img.xz as it downloaded.
Can I use a different size or brand of card?
It will very likely work. We recommend the 128GB card specifically because it leaves you plenty of room to store music on the player itself with the Sonore Library app. Smaller cards limit that.
I'd rather not do any of this
Entirely reasonable. Order the card from us and it arrives ready to use.
Is 3.0 finished?
It is still officially in beta. With this many players in the field, on this many different networks and DACs, some issues only surface in real homes. We would rather say so plainly. Version 2.9 continues to work if you would rather wait — and your old card means you can always go back.
Stuck at any point? Call or email us.
Lifetime free technical support, from the people who build these. We would rather walk you through it on the phone than have you give up halfway.