After firmware update to 1.1.0 minifreak does not to boot correctly anymore

[ALIVX]

Update:

Was able to install in bootloader mode from file, but had to still manually reboot the device.
Now the device comes on and it seems like it should be working, but its producing no sound on its own. Linked to Microfreak V it still works though.

Also the "shift" button does not work, and i can't select a preset more than once. Very weird behaviour. I will try to update it again from this state i suppose.

UPDATE 3:

Seems to be working. I installed the firmware (from file) again onto this half working state. It still never rebooted, but this time i closed Minifreak V after it was done (Never even got an update complete, it just closed the update window on its own). After closing Minifreak V, i still had to manually reboot my Minifreak, which was scary. I also made sure to unplug the USB cable before booting it up again, just to be safe.

So just to reiterate everything that happened to me:

1. Tried to update to latest firmware (1.1.0.1080) using the green button.
2. Minifreak wouldnt reboot even after the "Update complete" message, so i forced rebooted it.
3. Minifreak would not boot further than the initial screen showing the name of the product.
4. Booted into bootloader mode using Shift + < Octave.
5. Installed Firmware from file while in bootloader mode. (Firmware version was showing as blank in Minifreak V).
6. Still had to manually reboot.
7. Tried Minifreak again and it booted up normally, but it didnt play the "bootup animation" with the LEDs, and everything was kind of broken and no sound was made. Minifreak V was controllable from it though. Shift button would not work.
8. Reinstalled the firmware AGAIN from file in this weird broken state. Closed Minifreak V after update was done and manually turned Minifreak off.
9. Unplugged USB connection just to be safe.
10. Booted Minifreak and now it is working with the latest firmware.

Interesting note: On my first firmware update, there were a bunch of different LEDs on. Those same LEDs were NOT on during other firmware installs. During the other firmware installs, some LEDs would instead come on and off depending on the progress of the update. I wonder if the LEDs that were lit up during the first update was an error code of some kind. (because its obvious that the LEDs are conveying information during the updates, for arturias internal support).

Sad edit:
Some presets seem to crash Minifreak, it just refuses to make any sound until reboot when selecting for example Preset 89 or 125.

Final update:
Tried to reinstall firmware again, and now Minifreak is completely frozen on the startup logo. Can't access bootloader anymore. Bricked.
Guess i'll have to contact support. What a crap day.

[Nollo]

Update:

Was able to install in bootloader mode from file, but had to still manually reboot the device.
Now the device comes on and it seems like it should be working, but its producing no sound on its own. Linked to Microfreak V it still works though.

Also the "shift" button does not work, and i can't select a preset more than once. Very weird behaviour. I will try to update it again from this state i suppose.

UPDATE 3:

Seems to be working. I installed the firmware (from file) again onto this half working state. It still never rebooted, but this time i closed Minifreak V after it was done (Never even got an update complete, it just closed the update window on its own). After closing Minifreak V, i still had to manually reboot my Minifreak, which was scary. I also made sure to unplug the USB cable before booting it up again, just to be safe.

So just to reiterate everything that happened to me:

1. Tried to update to latest firmware (1.1.0.1080) using the green button.
2. Minifreak wouldnt reboot even after the "Update complete" message, so i forced rebooted it.
3. Minifreak would not boot further than the initial screen showing the name of the product.
4. Booted into bootloader mode using Shift + < Octave.
5. Installed Firmware from file while in bootloader mode. (Firmware version was showing as blank in Minifreak V).
6. Still had to manually reboot.
7. Tried Minifreak again and it booted up normally, but it didnt play the "bootup animation" with the LEDs, and everything was kind of broken and no sound was made. Minifreak V was controllable from it though. Shift button would not work.
8. Reinstalled the firmware AGAIN from file in this weird broken state. Closed Minifreak V after update was done and manually turned Minifreak off.
9. Unplugged USB connection just to be safe.
10. Booted Minifreak and now it is working with the latest firmware.

Interesting note: On my first firmware update, there were a bunch of different LEDs on. Those same LEDs were NOT on during other firmware installs. During the other firmware installs, some LEDs would instead come on and off depending on the progress of the update. I wonder if the LEDs that were lit up during the first update was an error code of some kind. (because its obvious that the LEDs are conveying information during the updates, for arturias internal support).

Sad edit:
Some presets seem to crash Minifreak, it just refuses to make any sound until reboot when selecting for example Preset 89 or 125.

Final update:
Tried to reinstall firmware again, and now Minifreak is completely frozen on the startup logo. Can't access bootloader anymore. Bricked.
Guess i'll have to contact support. What a crap day.

You can contact the support, they sent me an archive with the firmware in executable file (on windows it's a .bat).
The first time I got some "device not found" (something like that) during the process, but it didn't work
I had my minifreak looping on the splashscreen logo, but I was able to boot it in bootloader mode.
I ran again the .bat and it worked fine, it also self rebooted after few minutes (and I think this part is really important).

Finger crossed for you

[Pieter-Jan Kuyten]

You can contact the support, they sent me an archive with the firmware in executable file (on windows it's a .bat).
The first time I got some "device not found" (something like that) during the process, but it didn't work
I had my minifreak looping on the splashscreen logo, but I was able to boot it in bootloader mode.
I ran again the .bat and it worked fine, it also self rebooted after few minutes (and I think this part is really important).

Finger crossed for you

Unfortunately when the Minifreak is no longer able to boot in bootloader mode, the standalone updater will also no longer see the Minifreak. That's what happened with my second one. Only a RMA to Arturia will be able to get the Minifreak back in working order, I'm afraid.

[ALIVX]

You can contact the support, they sent me an archive with the firmware in executable file (on windows it's a .bat).
The first time I got some "device not found" (something like that) during the process, but it didn't work
I had my minifreak looping on the splashscreen logo, but I was able to boot it in bootloader mode.
I ran again the .bat and it worked fine, it also self rebooted after few minutes (and I think this part is really important).

Finger crossed for you

Unfortunately when the Minifreak is no longer able to boot in bootloader mode, the standalone updater will also no longer see the Minifreak. That's what happened with my second one. Only a RMA to Arturia will be able to get the Minifreak back in working order, I'm afraid.

Support just responded with a generic "contact the reseller first". So guess i'll have to do that. Hopefully they can replace it and i don't have to wait for mine to be repaired.

[Pieter-Jan Kuyten]

Support just responded with a generic "contact the reseller first". So guess i'll have to do that. Hopefully they can replace it and i don't have to wait for mine to be repaired.

It's how I replaced the first borked unit, by swapping it with a new unit from the supplier. That is usually faster than having to RMA it to Arturia.
If your supplier is willing to exchange it for a new unit, take that option with both hands!

I just hope that Arturia either makes the offline updater available for more people or fixes the broken updater code in Minifreak V! Otherwise I expect this issue to hit more people before long.

[dj_doughy]

Just got an automated e-mail stating that they'd received my Minifreak and are looking into the issue. They'll come back to me within 5 working days with more information.
I guess its busy at After Sales support as UPS told me they received it a week ago!

--- update ---

Just got a mail that my Minifreak will be shipped back to me today!

Same, but no info on shipping back yet.

I think a takeaway so far from all of this is:
If your firmware is stuck at 100% and the freak is not rebooting automatically, do not reboot the minifreak, restart the software, use the standalone vst, and/or restart the computer and try it again while the freak is still on.

I mean, this according to what the people who had successfully fixed the issue and the arturia support on this form have sad, so far.... Just a note for those scrolling through this thread...

Maybe update your first post with this line?

[Nollo]

You can contact the support, they sent me an archive with the firmware in executable file (on windows it's a .bat).
The first time I got some "device not found" (something like that) during the process, but it didn't work
I had my minifreak looping on the splashscreen logo, but I was able to boot it in bootloader mode.
I ran again the .bat and it worked fine, it also self rebooted after few minutes (and I think this part is really important).

Finger crossed for you

That's why I was speaking about the .bat file, not the standalone app.
But I guess you were more unlucky than me with your unit
Unfortunately when the Minifreak is no longer able to boot in bootloader mode, the standalone updater will also no longer see the Minifreak. That's what happened with my second one. Only a RMA to Arturia will be able to get the Minifreak back in working order, I'm afraid.

[Pieter-Jan Kuyten]

Well, mine is now back, fixed and updated!

Thank you Arturia!

[ALIVX]

Got a new one in the mail today, but i'm scared of updating it...

[Pieter-Jan Kuyten]

Got a new one in the mail today, but i'm scared of updating it...

How did you fare with the new one? Still afraid to do the update? I did notice that MiniFreak V was updated last week, but there was nothing in the release notes about fixing the update process though.

[the_emmo]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. The exact same thing happened to me today, I was trying to backup my presets with MiniFreak V and got this pop-up saying I needed to update the firmware, so I did. After the update process finished my MiniFreak did not reboot itself so I waited... and nothing. Then I did what I think anyone would: I rebooted it manually, and to my surprise it had no sound. I panicked and now I am in this forum seeing it is a common issue, I'm surprised how Arturia hasn't fixed this yet. I don't know what to do now. Should I try something else to recover it or straight up try to get a replacement from the dealer?

Edit: Apparently it works now after I gave it a couple more tries. This is what I did:

First I did an offline firmware upgrade (using the file from the MiniFreak Resources website) with the MiniFreak on bootloader mode (power on while holding the buttons Shift + Octave Down). The MiniFreak didn't reboot itself after the install, so I turned it off manually. When I powered it on it booted as normal but it didn't make any sound, but at least the MiniFreak V software recognized it this time! MIDI did not work though.

On second try I did another install using the same offline file, but this time with the device turned on normally (no bootloader mode), since this time MiniFreak V recognized it being plugged through USB. After the install the synth didn't reboot itself neither this time. So I turned it off manually again, unplugged it and, oh surprise! Now there was sound! MIDI works too! I have gone through different presets, saved my own, even did a backup of my sound bank in my PC, and everything seems to work just fine. On boot up it shows version 1.1.0.1080.

Since I was not the first one to encounter this issue and definitely will not be the last, I think Arturia should take some action in avoiding that new users suffer the same misfortune. I don't know what went wrong on my first try but there seems to be something wrong with the upgrade process. After this I am not upgrading to a new firmware until Arturia can guarantee us that it will not brick the devices.

[Pieter-Jan Kuyten]

Hi,

I feel the same way. Arturia really needs to fix the update process in Minifreak V. The way it is now is way to scary because rebooting the Minifreak through a power cycle after the update is supposedly finished is not the way forward as it is more likely to brick the Minifreak than it is to successfully complete the update process.

And the advise to shutdown Minifreak V after the update is "finished" is not something that most of us would think of and up to now I haven't seen any guarantees that it will correctly finish the update in all cases.

[the_emmo]

So I contacted support and this is what they replied:

Do keep in mind that the unit should never be manually rebooted if not rebooted automatically at the end of the update procedure,
 
You should rather close the Minifreak V and reopen it to start the update again, and if this does not help only then reboot the unit but necessarily in bootloader mode.

Restarting the device without bootloader is what could potentially brick the unit itself.
 
We are indeed heavily working on those issues to ensure this has been addressed for the next firmware update and aleviate any risk of any unit being bricked.

So, apparently we should not manually reboot the MiniFreak after a firmware update, but rebooting to bootloader mode is safe (?
Looking back, probably that was what revived mine mine as I first rebooed it in bootloader mode after the first "successful" firmware update...

Either way, they seem to be working on fixing it. Hopefully a new firmware patch or MiniFreak V update will do. Now we wait.