Troubleshooting: Invalid Robot Firmware

Fix the ‘Robot firmware … invalid for this hardware’ error by setting the correct board type in mower_params.yaml.

The firmware logs the following error repeatedly and the status LED blinks red:

Robot firmware '<name>' invalid for this hardware...

This means the board: value in your mower_params.yaml does not match the mainboard that is actually installed. The firmware rejects the name and keeps waiting for a valid one.

Fix

Open the ROS configuration (this opens mower_params.yaml):

openmower configure ros

Set the board: value under ll: field to the board type that matches your hardware:

ll:
  board: "YardForce"

After saving, OpenMower restarts automatically and should boot with a green status LED.

Edit ~/params/custom_params.yaml:

nano ~/params/custom_params.yaml

Set the board: value under ll:, for a Universal board, use Universal-5S, Universal-7S, or Universal-8S depending on your battery:

ll:
  board: "Universal-7S"

Editing custom_params.yaml does not restart the stack automatically, so apply the change via:

openmower restart

See Universal Board Configuration for the full custom-build reference.

Valid board types

Board typeHardware
YardForceRegular YardForce board
YardForce-V4YardForce board with YFR4-xESC (old Rev.4 mow motor)
Universal-5SUniversal board with 5S battery
Universal-7SUniversal board with 7S battery
Universal-8SUniversal board with 8S battery
WorxUniversal board with Worx functionality
Lyfco-E1600Universal board with Lyfco-E1600 functionality
Husq310MKIIHusqvarna 310 MKII board

The value must match exactly (including capitalization).

The default template with all valid values lives in the OpenMowerOS repository: mower_params.yaml .

Last modified August 29, 2026: Add ll/board alias (dbcaee95)