Thanks for your response Ray, yes I did substitute the same numeric IP address that I successfully use to log in to the web interface.
I see Jeffhaas in post #53408 had some success using his laptop over WIFI, but that implies he had the Opensprinkler in AP mode?
My reading of the firmware update instructions I tried alternative #2. Update over WIFI.
https://openthings.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/5000381694-opensprinkler-firmware-update-guide
I’ll try alternative #3. Update via AP mode, I wonder if that’s what Jeffhaas means “when I tried from my laptop using wifi”, Jeff might chime in here.
One thing that would be nice with the updater web interface, if the diagnostic messages didn’t overwrite, but scrolled down the page so I could read all of them. They flash on and off too quickly to read.
I will wait until the weekend to do this when I have more time, in case I have to reset to factory and reprogram my sprinkler settings manually.