remote completely bricked during latest firmware update

[gelein]

ey,

Seems my remote completely bricked during the latest firmware upgrade. I updated the remote after a prompt appeared in the skips app to update. During the update there was a 'update failed' pop-up.
Since then I cannot connect my remote anymore using the skip app nor the updater app. When pushing buttons on the remote it only flashes a red light.

I have tried to swap batteries, downgrade the skip app to the previous version, but no luck.

Is there a way to factory reset the remote when not connected to a computer?

regards

[monkeybrew]

On 5/30/2023 at 6:26 AM, gelein said:

ey,

Seems my remote completely bricked during the latest firmware upgrade. I updated the remote after a prompt appeared in the skips app to update. During the update there was a 'update failed' pop-up.
Since then I cannot connect my remote anymore using the skip app nor the updater app. When pushing buttons on the remote it only flashes a red light.

I have tried to swap batteries, downgrade the skip app to the previous version, but no luck.

Is there a way to factory reset the remote when not connected to a computer?

regards

Same seems to have happened to mine this morning on MacOS (11.7.3). The app started up and showed an available app update which I accepted. It updated and restarted as usual. I connected my remote via USB and it showed a firmware update available, which I also accepted. During that update the same "update failed" error that you mentioned occurred. Thereafter, the app and remote will no longer talk to each other and any button press on the remote results in a red ring blinking 3 times.

[DonMatteo]

This happened to me as well but I was able to resolve in the 0.98.0 (BETA) version. In the Remote Manager, I selected the Tools tab and first used the "Export Remote Configuration" function to save a backup someplace safe. Next I used the "Reset Remote Settings" function and agreed to all of the warnings and prompts. The Sync button highlighted but errors out at this point. I then unplugged the remote, closed the app, replugged it in and reopened the app. The upgrade immediately went through and was successful. I hope this helps.

 

PS I should also mention that a reimport of the config and a sync will get you back to where you were.

Edited June 1, 2023 by DonMatteo

[monkeybrew]

7 hours ago, DonMatteo said:

The Sync button highlighted but errors out at this point.

It seems your experience was somewhat different from what OP and I have reported. After the "brick", the remote will no longer connect to the app at all. Therefore, no "Sync" option is ever available since the remote is not connected.

Glad to hear your issue was resolved, but that seems to be a somewhat different issue from what OP and I are seeing.

[DonMatteo]

red ring and three flashes no matter what I pressed is what I experienced. regardless, good luck.

[gelein]

yes indeed, only three flashes with any button press. The steps as described by @DonMatteo dont work for me.

[borez]

Same issue here. There is an issue with the latest beta software (0.98.980) and its built in firmware updater. So downgrade the software.

You can flashback the last firmware using the dedicated firmware uploader (see link below). Download the last firmware file and flash it manually.

Frankly, a big disappointment with Flirc. Have given the company benefit of the doubt for releasing half baked software at launch, but to push broken software that bricks devices takes the cake. The s/w development issues need to be resolved if Flirc wants to maintain its credibility.

 

 

[gelein]

Thanks for the reply @borez, unfortunately does the dedicated firmware updater also not recognize the remote anymore. I remains in disconnected state.

[borez]

4 hours ago, gelein said:

Thanks for the reply @borez, unfortunately does the dedicated firmware updater also not recognize the remote anymore. I remains in disconnected state.

Sorry to hear that. You might want to try taking out the batteries, and replug it into another USB port. Restart the computer and run the firmware updater without running the main Skip App. There was a "new hardware" chime when I plugged the bricked device, so my device was likely in "bootloader" mode.

I realise all prior software versions have been removed, leaving all users stranded. There are 2 workarounds - either updating the firmware manually to 4.12.18, or ignore the firmware update.

My remote is now extremely buggy regardless of firmware version. The remote simply refuses to light up after I unplug it from a sync.
EDIT: Attributed this to dead batteries - the stock batteries were completely drained despite not using the remote.

@jason @Nathan - please pull the software release and fix this hot mess.

Manual firmware update

1) Locate the 4.12.18 firmware in your Program Files > WindowsApp folder. For me it was located in "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\SkipApp_0.9.80.6008_x64__sddpyax1dmvqm\Assets". Firmware file is "skip.1s.a06.bin"

2) Extract that file and manually flash the device using the standalone updater.

3) Once firmware is successfully flashed, run Skip app. Everything should be back to normal.

Cancel firmware update

The app button shows "UPDATE" by default. Click on it, and click the "x" button on top. You should be able to sync. The UI/UX is misleading - the software should never encourage a firmware update just to use the app.

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by borez
EDIT: unresponsive remote due to dead stock batteries

[iBobZero]

I am also impacted my remote appears bricked since the last update. I have also tried the steps above but the remote is no longer detected. I ended up creating a new topic for me. However I am definitely getting the same issue @gelein and @monkeybrew are getting. 
 

Edited June 3, 2023 by iBobZero

[jason]

On 6/3/2023 at 8:20 AM, iBobZero said:

I am also impacted my remote appears bricked since the last update. I have also tried the steps above but the remote is no longer detected. I ended up creating a new topic for me. However I am definitely getting the same issue @gelein and @monkeybrew are getting. 
 

If you go to system information, do you see the remote under USB devices? Hold down option, click the apple icon in the upper left corner. Click on System Information.

[jason]

On 6/3/2023 at 6:31 AM, borez said:

Sorry to hear that. You might want to try taking out the batteries, and replug it into another USB port. Restart the computer and run the firmware updater without running the main Skip App. There was a "new hardware" chime when I plugged the bricked device, so my device was likely in "bootloader" mode.

I realise all prior software versions have been removed, leaving all users stranded. There are 2 workarounds - either updating the firmware manually to 4.12.18, or ignore the firmware update.

My remote is now extremely buggy regardless of firmware version. The remote simply refuses to light up after I unplug it from a sync.
EDIT: Attributed this to dead batteries - the stock batteries were completely drained despite not using the remote.

@jason @Nathan - please pull the software release and fix this hot mess.

Manual firmware update

1) Locate the 4.12.18 firmware in your Program Files > WindowsApp folder. For me it was located in "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\SkipApp_0.9.80.6008_x64__sddpyax1dmvqm\Assets". Firmware file is "skip.1s.a06.bin"

2) Extract that file and manually flash the device using the standalone updater.

3) Once firmware is successfully flashed, run Skip app. Everything should be back to normal.

Cancel firmware update

The app button shows "UPDATE" by default. Click on it, and click the "x" button on top. You should be able to sync. The UI/UX is misleading - the software should never encourage a firmware update just to use the app.

 

The default brightness is too high, you should lower it to 30%.

The new firmware you are using has low voltage protection. If the LEDS are fully bright, and you hit to transmit, it will appear buggy and turn off if the batteries are not high enough to support the current. Without this, we run the risk of restarting the firmware, losing your current profile, or memory corruption. Once you have the new firmware, lower the brightness, newer batteries, things will be much more stable and last a lot longer.

When you unplug the remote, the leds auto shut off. This is what you are seeing. The reason is the remote is lighting LEDS based off what you are doing in the GUI. Once disconnected, to protect the batteries and power drain, the LEDS are shutoff, regardless if it was on from the GUI, or if you pressed a button on the remote.

All versions are still available in the forum. 

USB upgrades was delayed since January because of various windows issues. We've spent a long time on it, tested months. It's very likely there are issues we haven't caught, but there is nothing we can do, I can't delay firmware forever, never upgrade, and leave features unreleased because of windows bullshit. So we do as much as we possibly can, release it, and as soon as we hear about something like this, we will focus on it to catch a corner case we couldn't reproduce. 

I'm sorry to everyone having trouble. I just saw this in the forums, and will now focus on it.  I know it appears we are this massive company, I've got 4 people, I do all the firmware, and only one developer doing the GUI now. The other full time people are not technical. My experience and adversity will shine through, and I'll help resolve this. 

Again, so sorry for the initial disappointment. I'll follow-up again soon.

[jason]

Help by turning on logging with the following, on a mac:

echo  -e "{\n \"showAdminPanel\": true,\n \"logsLevel\": 1\n}" > ~/.config/SkipApp/config.json

Make sure the skipUpdate app is not running. Restart the GUI, and then go over to the admin panel, get the application log, and post it here.

Do you notice a speed difference in the LEDS with the USB connected, vs not connected?

[iBobZero]

On 6/4/2023 at 6:41 PM, jason said:

If you go to system information, do you see the remote under USB devices? Hold down option, click the apple icon in the upper left corner. Click on System Information.

No it does not show up at all unfortunately. 

[jason]

13 hours ago, iBobZero said:

No it does not show up at all unfortunately. 

Send me a PM, you need a replacement.

[gelein]

 

@jason,

I checked under system information, but it does not show up under usb devices.



also using powershell I cannot show the device:

[jason]

5 hours ago, gelein said:

 

@jason,

I checked under system information, but it does not show up under usb devices.



also using powershell I cannot show the device:

Send me a pm. I’ll replace it. This is not a software issue. It’s a hardware issue, but not something that I’m concerned with now. Mass production always shows the 1%, and we iterate. A component on the pcb is either damaged or disconnected. We run a test in the factory which will never ship a remote with this issue. So I’ll take a look to see if the problem was caused in transit, temperature, a drop, etc. All of which we will refine as we make more. Im not worried about all of the ones shipped suddenly having this issue. I can also add a check before an upgrade and prevent the upgrade and warn the user so you can at least use your remote until the remote is replaced. 
 

Factory phones home test results. I can look up the remote and see the tests. But bottom line is that it would have failed in the first 10 seconds of the test exactly how it failed for you. So I’ll dig in as soon as I have them. 

Sorry for the inconvenience. 
 

borez does not have the same issue. Since his remote is detected. His issue is a software issue and probably just windows horseshit. 
 

 

[monkeybrew]

On 6/7/2023 at 10:45 AM, jason said:

Send me a pm. I’ll replace it. This is not a software issue. It’s a hardware issue, but not something that I’m concerned with now. Mass production always shows the 1%, and we iterate. A component on the pcb is either damaged or disconnected. We run a test in the factory which will never ship a remote with this issue. So I’ll take a look to see if the problem was caused in transit, temperature, a drop, etc. All of which we will refine as we make more. Im not worried about all of the ones shipped suddenly having this issue. I can also add a check before an upgrade and prevent the upgrade and warn the user so you can at least use your remote until the remote is replaced. 
 

Factory phones home test results. I can look up the remote and see the tests. But bottom line is that it would have failed in the first 10 seconds of the test exactly how it failed for you. So I’ll dig in as soon as I have them. 

Sorry for the inconvenience. 
 

borez does not have the same issue. Since his remote is detected. His issue is a software issue and probably just windows horseshit. 
 

 

 Jason, sorry to reply here but not sure where else it should go. As my remote never recovered from the issues I, gelein, and iBobZero have mentioned, how would I go about getting a replacement? Thanks.

[jason]

2 hours ago, monkeybrew said:

 Jason, sorry to reply here but not sure where else it should go. As my remote never recovered from the issues I, gelein, and iBobZero have mentioned, how would I go about getting a replacement? Thanks.

PM me, I'll take care of it.

[Shamy]

On 7/24/2023 at 5:31 PM, jason said:

PM me, I'll take care of it.

Same here, just wanted to update my Skip 1S and now it only flashes the RROD and don't shows up in the usb devices or at the skip app.

[jason]

On 8/21/2023 at 1:00 PM, Shamy said:

Same here, just wanted to update my Skip 1S and now it only flashes the RROD and don't shows up in the usb devices or at the skip app.

You can message me. 

[Iodize6018]

I ran into this same issue a couple of months ago and have not heard back from you @jason.
It is a shame, because I really did enjoy the remote a lot and love what you guys have going here.

[borez]

Unfortunately it's my turn to experience this.

Haven't been using the device - plugged the remote in hoping for a new firmware. Remote is completely unresponsive with no LED lights. Tried with multiple cables, on both Mac and PC, with fresh batteries and without batteries. No device seen in Device Manager. Firmware uploader software does not see device.

The remote now gets warm to touch with batteries in.

Looks like a hardware failure - @jason are you able to assist?

 

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by borez

[theboomr]

I am also experiencing this issue unfortunately, after starting to attempt to update the firmware to a much newer version, my remote got stuck where all it does is flash red 3 times, whether with batteries in or no batteries and plugged into computer. When plugged into computer (Windows), it is not detected in Device Manager at all, and the usual USB chimes do not happen when plugging/unplugging. It was working fine before this point, albeit having to replace the batteries at least once a week (I was using rechargeables to mitigate this, although I know Jason has mentioned not to use rechargeables).

@jason and/or @Nathan, any chance I can get a replacement unit? I already PM'ed Jason about this but wanted to tag both of you here just for visibility in case Jason is too bogged down dealing with other stuff currently. Honestly I'd be okay with paying for a new Skip remote myself if I have to, since I really like almost everything about it aside from the battery drain, and now it being bricked.

[Nathan]

On 2/21/2024 at 1:22 PM, theboomr said:

I am also experiencing this issue unfortunately, after starting to attempt to update the firmware to a much newer version, my remote got stuck where all it does is flash red 3 times, whether with batteries in or no batteries and plugged into computer. When plugged into computer (Windows), it is not detected in Device Manager at all, and the usual USB chimes do not happen when plugging/unplugging. It was working fine before this point, albeit having to replace the batteries at least once a week (I was using rechargeables to mitigate this, although I know Jason has mentioned not to use rechargeables).

@jason and/or @Nathan, any chance I can get a replacement unit? I already PM'ed Jason about this but wanted to tag both of you here just for visibility in case Jason is too bogged down dealing with other stuff currently. Honestly I'd be okay with paying for a new Skip remote myself if I have to, since I really like almost everything about it aside from the battery drain, and now it being bricked.

Just to double check, can you unplug the remote, remove the batteries, and then plug it back in? If it still does the red light thing, PM me.