Bambu Lab A1 update adds external-spool multicolor printing and smarter drying presets

Bambu Lab’s A1 just got a firmware upgrade that changes what owners can do with the printer they already have: external-spool multicolor printing now works through manual filament swaps during a print, as long as Bambu Studio is updated to v2.5.2.65 or later. For anyone running an A1 without a full AMS setup, that opens the door to low-cost color accents, small multicolor parts, and simpler workflow experiments without swapping machines or buying new hardware.

The release, version 01.08.00.00 dated 20260414, also added automatic drying presets for AMS 2 Pro and AMS HT drying use. That is the kind of firmware change that saves time in the real world, because it cuts down on fiddly parameter tuning when drying official filaments. Bambu Lab also added filament serial number display inside the Filament Edit page, which makes lot tracking and material identification a lot easier when several spools look nearly identical on the shelf.

The rest of the update leaned hard into reliability. Bambu Lab added security enhancements, pre-print checks for nozzle diameter and nozzle hardness, and a new default that favors external-spool single-color printing for G-code files. It also fixed pressure advance parameters being overwritten after a power outage, tightened tangle detection, improved recovery after bed-leveling pauses, and changed the external spool holder label to “Ext.” None of that is flashy, but all of it matters when a print is eight hours in and the machine decides to make life difficult.

Bambu Lab pushed the same feature set through the Bambu Handy app’s Beta Firmware Program, and the beta notes recommended accessory firmware updates too: AMS 01.00.06.87, AMS HT 04.00.21.86, and AMS 2 Pro 04.00.21.87. The timing matters because the update is not just about color changes. The AMS 2 Pro is built around up to 65°C drying, airtight storage, RFID sync for official filaments, and faster feeding, so the new presets slot into a broader push to make filament handling more automatic and less guessy.

That context is hard to ignore with the A1. Bambu Lab recalled U.S. printers sold before January 30, 2024 after heatbed-cable fatigue concerns that could lead to overheating, power loss, electrical shorts, burns, shocks, or fire. The company said it had received 19 reports of damaged heatbed cables and one report of sparking, with no injuries reported. Against that backdrop, this firmware release reads like a platform repair as much as a feature drop: more capable, more polished, and a lot less annoying for day-to-day printing.