Surge Guard Firmware and RV Whisper Integration

RV Whisper now (September, 2023) integrates with two different Surge Guard devices from Southwire:  the 34931 (for 30 Amp RVs) and the 34951 (for 50 AmpRVs).  For the integration to work there are 2 requirements:

  1. RV Whisper software version 4.803 or higher is required to work with Surge Guard 34931 and 34951 devices.
  2. The Firmware on your Surge Guard device needs to be compatible with the Surge Guard phone app.

Details about Versions and Compatibility

You can check the version of RV Whisper software after you fully login to your RV Whisper system:

The Footer displayed on the bottom of every RV Whisper page (after you are fully logged in) shows the version of RV Whisper software installed on your RV Whisper Monitor Station (RVM1, RVM2 or RVM3):

If you need to update your RV Whisper software and don’t know how, Click Here for details about how to update it.

 

Your Surge Guard 34931 or 34951 may need to have it’s software updated also:

If your Surge Guard device was MANUFACTURED before the the 32nd week of 2022 and it has not been updated yet with newer firmware, you will need to follow the instructions below to have your Surge Guard device updated to be compatible with both RV Whisper and the new Surge Guard phone app.

Note: If the Surge Guard phone app already works with your Surge Guard device, then RV Whisper should work with it also.

Note: the Surge Guard phone app only supports newer iPhones and Android phones.  If your phone cannot find the Surge Guard phone app on the apple or google playstore / appstore then your phone may not be compatible with the phone app.  Contact Southwire about that or try a new phone.

You can find your date code on the back of your Surge Guard unit:

SurgeGuard Date Code

In order to have your Surge Guard Portable device flashed with the version of Firmware needed to work with both RV Whisper and the new Surge Guard phone App, click here to contact Southwire.  They will get back to you within a day and give you further directions on how to return your unit to Southwire for them to flash the new Firmware.

Note the upgrade can take up to 45 days, so please let Southwire know if that timeframe is too long to go without your unit.

When you visit the link, you will find a form that looks like the one below.  Be sure to fill it out completely.

If you do not have your exact Purchase Date, you can estimate it based on the Manufacturing date code.

The Product Number is either 34931 (30 Amp) or 34951 (50 Amp), depending on which model you have.

The Product Date Code can be found on the back of your unit and is given in a 4-digit year/month format as shown above.

In the Questions/Issues section, write “Need to have my Surge Guard updated with the new phone App software.”

Your Surge Guard 40301 Remote Wireless Display may also need to have it’s software updated:

If you have a 40301 Surge Guard Wireless Display, you may also need to update the firmware on it to be compatible with a 349×1 with updated Firmware.

The Firmware on your 40301 needs to be REV 2.0 or higher to be compatible with the Firmware on 349×1 devices that work with the Surge Guard phone app and RV Whisper.   On the 40301 navigate the menu all the way to the right and it will show REV 1.0  or 2.0.

If you need new Firmware for your 40301 follow the same procedure as above to request a Firmware update.

RVM1 vs. RVM2 vs. RVM3 Monitor Stations

What is the difference between RVM1, RVM2 and RVM3 versions of the RV Whisper Monitor Station?

RVM1 Monitor Station

RVM2 & RVM3 Monitor Station

 

Since RV Whisper first started selling Monitor Stations, there have been 3 versions sold to customers:

  • RVM1 – Larger system with quad core processor
  • RVM2 – Smaller physical system with single core processor
  • RVM3 – Smaller physical system (same size and shape as RVM2) with quad core processor

All models of the RV Whisper Monitor Station run the same software, the only difference is in how fast they run the software.  Users will notice the RVM3 is the fastest system, with the RVM1 being just a bit slower.  The RVM2 is the slowest system of the 3.

Now what do we mean by “faster” or “slower”?   All models can reliably support 25+ bluetooth sensors, the difference is in the response time when a page is displayed or updated.  The RVM3 will display a page the fastest, typically about one second faster than an RVM1, and typically about 3 seconds faster than on RVM2. Of course, if your network is really slow, they will all seem slow, but with a fast internet connection the speed is noticeably faster on an RVM3 compared to an RVM2.

RV Whisper first sold RVM1 systems in 2017 and then switched to RVM2 systems in August 2019.   In August, 2022 we switched to RVM3 Monitor Stations.

All versions are still supported by RV Whisper and can be securely accessed over the RV Whisper Gateway.