Upgrade original Jetbot kit to be able to use current software

I have the original Jetbot as well as I am working with multiples of the current 2.1 version.

I have not used the newer software we use for version 2.1 due to the hardware differences, and if I upgrade the motor controller, an I2C port is available on the older pHat board, could I then upgrade to the more current software load we are using for the 2.1 versions? I know the Jetbot board is also different (one camera port) and there is a newer pHat board used currently.

What would be required or recommended to “upgrade” it to use the same versions we are using on the 2.1 verrsion?

I think the hardware is forward compatible with the newer images, but I would test it first, by swapping an SD card from the “2.1” version into the original and verify all the functionality. If everything works, it should be fine to just use the image from one of the updated SD cards. On Windows, I use Win32DiskImager [https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/] to copy images between SD cards.