New Vortex Update! 5.06, 7.06, and 9.13

[phrunt]

New FREE Vortex Update Available Now!

Garrett continues to enhance the user experience with this update. Specific firmware is available free for each Vortex model: Firmware Update 5.06 for Vortex VX5, Firmware Update 7.06 for Vortex VX7, and Firmware Update 9.13 for Vortex VX9.

Improvements include:

• Improved Iron Unmasking for Low Conductors

• Increased Multi-Salt Sensitivity (VX7 & VX9 ONLY)

• Direct-Drive Sensitivity Adjustments

• Adjustable Backlight

• Increased Pairing Distance for Wireless Headphones

• Improved Target ID Accuracy for 5” x 8” Ripper Searchcoil

• Improved Stability in Extremely Mineralized Ground

Download it here: Updates & Upgrades | Metal Detector Supplies

Thank you Garrett, very cool update! 

[JCR]

 Sounds like a very good step forward.

[phrunt]

Installed on mine no problems, now to test it out.

[Knomad]

7 hours ago, phrunt said:

• Increased Pairing Distance for Wireless Headphones

Well Now, if they can improve the distance for wireless via software, How about a Axiom software update..?.!

[IBMe]

- Improved Iron Unmasking for Low Conductors

Looks like they did indeed improve it.

It will be a few days before I can get out and test it. Testing it on my test bed, definite improvement.

My test bed is a pile of all kinds of trash lying on the floor or a box with a few coins sprinkled in. Test to see how well I can distinguish the coins from the trash. I just kick the trash and do another test. I’m just a fill-dirt park digger. For shallow targets in trashy ground, this test does translate into the ground, but with less certainty.

I had a scenario laid out that I just tested this morning. A quarter with two steel caps, al-cap, pull tab and nail around it. All detectors, including Vortex, struggled with it. The Elite did the best with a 6” coil. After the update, the Vortex beats them all with 11” coil.

That’s just one random test, the result of a kick on a pile of trash. But it does show that there was a big improvement in unmasking.

All filters off, two tones, iron audio on, recovery 1 or 3.

Iron audio on in trash makes a big difference if you can handle it. If you don’t have it on, part of the signal will be the iron tone because as you move over the trash, some things will be iron or get pulled down into the iron range. The audio will break up, and you won’t be able to distinguish the target.

[phrunt]

24 minutes ago, Knomad said:

Well Now, if they can improve the distance for wireless via software, How about a Axiom software update..?.!

With Bluetooth and obviously Z-Lynk they can have a transmit distance for pairing, most products want the device very close, almost touching to pair, one of the reasons is for security, don't want someone further away pairing to your phone when you've unlocked it to initiate a pair to a device.  You only want what you want paired, hence the close proximity required.  It goes by signal strength; it needs a very strong signal to pair.  With Z-Lynk they don't have to worry about the security side of it and probably set it too low so it needed a very good signal to pair, not really required in this situation so they loosened it up so the headphones can be further away.   I did a factory reset after my update and was able to pair my MS-3 headphones at a good distance from the detector. 

You may notice with the GPX 6000 and other detectors it wants the headphones close, people who have trouble pairing often have the headphones too far away and wonder why it won't pair for the initial handshake, once paired it's all good, you can turn them off and on at the full range, it is the initial pair..  

[Matt4gold]

Give us an update after you have tested it out Phrunt. I’ve been keeping an eye on one for a while now. I like the display, my eyes have never been real good. 

[Knomad]

On 2/16/2026 at 7:56 PM, phrunt said:

With Bluetooth and obviously Z-Lynk they can have a transmit distance for pairing,

No disrespect, but I would like clarification from Garrett that it only applies to pairing and not operating distance.

It just seems that the Axiom wireless transmit power must be WAY too low, when it drops out at almost no distance or any angle, or if the Moon and Saturn are aligned with Earth while detecting.

[phrunt]

2 hours ago, Knomad said:

No disrespect, but I would like clarification from Garrett that it only applies to pairing and not operating distance.

It just seems that the Axiom wireless transmit power must be WAY too low, when it drops out at almost no distance or any angle, or if the Moon and Saturn are aligned with Earth while detecting.

It says it right there in the changelog.

• Increased Pairing Distance for Wireless Headphones

Not paired distance but nobody is stopping you emailing them to check.

My MS3's work perfectly fine on my Axiom and Vortex, only time I have any trouble is if I get my body between the detector and the headphones, and I wear the headphones with the receive side closest to the detector, same deal as the GPZ 7000 and it's WM12, operates the same way with the same problems and both run on the 2.4GHz, 

The problem all 2.4 GHz devices face is it's a crowded channel range so prone to interference, perhaps where you detect there is something external that interferes with it, where I detect is pretty safe from 2.4GHz interference, and my country in general doesn't have a lot of problems with a small population and no military causing EMI so I don't have to worry about external interference.