Update to 1.10.16 fails. Tried the instructions in the release notes and now my radio is a BRICK

WA4FOM

I read the release notes before I tried to update the radio from 1.9.13 to 1.10.16 and saw the instructions about what to do "on rare occasions" (my ****) when the update might hang.  I should have stopped right there.  I waited an hour before I tried anything after it hung.  Not only do your instructions not work, the radio now sits with a purple indicator saying "UPDATING SOFTWARE" on the 6700 front panel. 

Not only would the radio NOT power down after holding the power button for FIVE MINUTES, it now powers up in "UPDATING SOFTWARE" mode and no version of the software past or present will even recognize the radio EVEN AFTER REBOOTING MY PC MULTIPLE TIMES.  MY FLEX-6700 FOR WHICH I PAID THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IS NOW A BRICK!!! 

Thank you so much for letting this garbage out the door thinking that a simple caveat would help.  I WILL ABSOLUTELY NEVER TRUST AN UPDATE OF YOURS UNTIL IT HAS BEEN OUT FOR AT LEAST SIX MONTHS.  NOW BE SO KIND AS TO FIX MY RADIO AS I NOW HAVE NOTHING TO GET ON THE AIR WITH. 

At this point you have no idea how absolutely furious I am with this worthless hunk of sheet metal.

Mike va3mw

While unfortune, your issue is easily resolvable by Flex. Have you tried holding the power down while applying 12v to the radio. I can't tell from your notes if you did that. Mike

Joe KK9TT

Oh, I think we all have a little idea of how you feel . . .

Steve K9ZW

If you are not an actual troll you should be ashamed at yourself - everyone understands frustrations, but gutter manners - what makes you so important that you can cuss at the very friends of the community and the manufacturer who can help you.  

Putting that all aside as just a bad day or difficult time, did you try the factory setting reboot process?

"RESTORING TO FACTORY DEFAULTS On the FLEX-6500 or FLEX-6700, restore to factory defaults hold down the “OK” button on the front panel of the radio while you press the power button. On the FLEX-6300, hold down the power button until the LED blinks purple. This will clear any memories in the radio and return them back to their original state. NOTE: This should only be used as a last resort. Contact support if you are having trouble with your radio."

It is a shame that you are having troubles, but let's see if things can be improved by reseting your hung radio.

73

Steve
K9ZW

WA4FOM

I offer no apologies for my choice of words nor do I feel shame for expressing myself in a colorful fashion when I encounter a situation like this where I have paid many thousands of dollars for a product that is now unusable.  This has been (until now) my primary radio and if there is no reliable means to restore it to a functional condition then, in my opinion, my anger is warranted however I choose to express it so long as I do not threaten harm to anyone (and I have not).  And no, I feel no requisite self-importance that would assign me any special place among the community members or the company staff.  And please do not approach me with that condescending question about having a bad day; how dare you.  Given my rocky experience with this high-maintenance radio, my outburst is warranted.  Do not presume to judge me.  You do not know me, nor do I know you.

The only reason I came here is because submitting a ticket was an abysmal failure.  My hostility is directed towards the manufacturer of this now inert pile of components and not the user community.  I'm going to make for now the assumption that you, in retrospect, understand that.  If not, then I still offer no apology.  Butch up.  Learn how to ignore ****-off people and take your hands off the keyboard.

This is my first and final "attempt to contact support" regarding this matter.  After this, the thing goes into the **** Van Kull, a channel of water between Bayonne, NJ and Staten Island, NY.  My Orion II never gave me this kind of grief.

I say again: Rare Occasions My ****.

Steve K9ZW

Hey Bob WA4FOM

If you are trying to contact support open a HelpDesk ticket.  

If ranting in a forum on the weekend is really all the better you can do, hey there is no helping that.

You're making your own stress, and decorum does matter Junior.  I'd tell you that your are miserable bottle-**** monkey, but that would be an insult to other primates - so there, happy you got a rise out of me?  Hi Hi

Hoping you have a better day soon - oh and BTW did you actually try the factory reset or do the power down with power removed?  Or do you need someone to help explain those in detail?

Also downing the router/switchgear/network in-between can help sort out disconnects that are stubborn.

GL & 73

Steve
K9ZW

WA4FOM

Thank you for understanding.  I suspect my level of ferocity was, if not unprecedented, then certainly unexpected.  In my opinion, it was nonetheless warranted, especially as the release notes said that this could happen in "rare" instances.  My Spidey Sense tells me that they saw this happen in more than one radio and, for whatever reason, were compelled to let it out the door anyway.  I am unfortunately in no position to substantiate my view but it nevertheless stinks like a fish house at low tide.

WA4FOM

I tried a helpdesk ticket and was unable to do so, although I have done so in the past.  I ranted on the forum because (1) it was apparently the only alternative and (2) I was **** enough to attempt the update on a weekend which is also the only window during which I have time to do so, so the timing was not deliberate albeit unfortunate. 

I tried the factory reset without success after removing all power per the documentation.  I powered the switch down when I rebooted my PC for all the good it did.

And, as I intimated before, I could care less about getting a rise from the user community; it is the manufacturer here with whom I have issues.  And in direct contradiction to your baseless assertion, I am in fact relieving stress, not making it and I am obliged to confess that you are in fact partially responsible for that relief.  For that, at least, I thank you.

By the way, in terms of taxonomy, morphology, and genetics we are all monkeys, "bottle ****" or not.  Don't mess with me on evolutionary theory.

Mike va3mw

Why did you hold the power switch down when you booted the PC???? This is about recovering the radio. Hold down the OK button and press the power button. "RESTORING TO FACTORY DEFAULTS On the FLEX-6500 or FLEX-6700, restore to factory defaults hold down the “OK” button on the front panel of the radio while you press the power button. On the FLEX-6300, hold down the power button until the LED blinks purple. This will clear any memories in the radio and return them back to their original state. NOTE: This should only be used as a last resort. Contact support if you are having trouble with your radio."

Lee - N2LEE

Wow talk about over reaction, it's just a RADIO not life or death. Take a chill pill and work through the problem. It probably took you longer to post your hissy fit than it does to fix the issue.

So sad to see such anger over **** piece of electronics.

You act like the thing burst into flames or something.

Reg

The following is from the Release Notes of SmartSDR version 1.10.16:

"What to do if the firmware updates do not finish after 5 minutes? On rare occasions, the FLEX-6000 may not respond to the reboot signal after doing a firmware update. If the radio has not successfully completed the firmware updates after 5 minutes, power off the radio by pressing and holding the power button until the radio shuts down. Remove the DC power source from the radio to power down all processors. Restore DC power and reboot the radio. The firmware update should complete normally."

Ross - K9COX

Thank you all, this was a good read

Chris de Voogd

Maybe a good idea to get a backup system. **** happens . 73 Chris DJ2NL

WA4FOM

I didn't hold down the power switch on the radio; I power cycled the ethernet switch to which the abomination is attached.  Yes, I agree it is sad to see such anger over a pile of electronics and, right now, I'd be overjoyed if the bloody thing did burst into flames.  At least it would be able to perform a useful function (i.e., provide a nice show of pyrotechnics while I watch it transform into a pile of blackened slag).

The current plan, in the absence of a cure to this, is to gut this thing from my life, dig my Orion II out of mothballs, replace its configuration battery, and get back to enjoying ham radio (during the two hours twice a week I get time to get on the air) instead of enduring this love-hate relationship I have had with this 6700 for one moment longer.  Thanks to all for your input, but I suspect this contraption is beyond redemption, and the best thing to do now is to put it out of its misery.  I just hope the PowerGenius XL for which I now seriously question my wisdom in placing a deposit on fares better.

Thanks again to all, even the person who referred to my sexual proclivities.  This will hopefully be my last post on this issue.

KY6LA_Howard

I seriously doubt that your 6700 is permanently bricked. As part of the Alpha team I have loaded and unloaded dozens of test versions of SmartSDR/Firmware to my 6700. Some did in fact break my system but then the purposeof Alpha testing is to find what breaks things so they should not break when you get them. But we are human and cannot test every possible combination of things. In every case where my 6700 or Maestro was 'BRICKED' by Alpha code so far anyways it has been recoverable without a trip to the factory. Suggest you spend the rest of the weekend imbibing Adult Beverages (or if ur in California do some ****) and let Flex fix it for you on Monday when they return to the office

[Deleted User]

The whole point is that it should NOT happen to a $7000 radio. That is why I am holding off on purchasing another Flex. Software issues, Maestro Network connections etc. My next SDR is going to be an Apache. The software appears to be stable and it works. . . . I could be wrong.

Ernest

GOOD BYE,
 MAY YOUR NEXT RADIO OR HOBBY GIVE YOU GREATER PLEASURE!

Ernest

WE ARE WASTING OUR TIME READING AND COMMENTING ON THIS SUBJECT.
I HAVEN'T HAD AN ISSUE THAT HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED; WHICH WAS CAUSED BY: 1. NOT READING THE INSTRUCTIONS - 2. THINKING THAT I COULD SHORT CUT AND FOLLOW MY OWN IDEAS - 3. PATIENTS IS REQUIRED (for those of us who are not computer experts).

 

Chris DL5NAM

... mostly the problem is placed in front and not inside of PC or Flex ! 

Maybe my fault is to read given instructions b4. I know, it's not Ham like to do that b4.

WA4FOM

Thank you.  My feelings exactly; for 7 kilobucks, I should at least be able to recover this thing, but apparently I can't.  And just for the record, I followed the release notes to the letter (which I dutifully read before even attempting the update) *AND* made four attempts to perform a factory reset per the hardware reference manual with no effect.  It just powers up saying "UPDATING SOFTWARE", and the software won't even see the radio so I can't tell it to try the update again.  This thing is now, by most colloquial definitions I understand, a brick.  Time to go to HRO and put down a deposit on an ANAN-8000DLE (shaky maybe on that one), then dig out my Orion II.  It's not as neato-whizzo-bango as the 6700, but it has one distinctive advantage at this juncture: IT WORKS.  It just needs a new configuration battery so it won't do a master reset every time I power it up, something my Flex apparently cannot do.  How ironic.

Were I Flex Radio Systems, I'd be really curious as to how this update managed to render a customer radio both inoperative and unrecoverable.  I'd send the customer a new unit on the condition that he send back the old one untouched for evaluation.

Not going to hold my breath on that one.

Based on this experience, I would strongly discourage anyone from attempting to perform this update.  1.9.13 was just fine, and I should have waited at least a month or two before trying this update, just in case somebody discovered something really bad.  I guess I'm the "somebody" this time.

Thanks again and again for all the attempts to help.  I even appreciate the negative comments, believe it or not.

FrankAllen

I think you will find many willing to give you a handfull of money in exchange for your unusable junk ! How much do you want for it. Exchange for a new Apache maybe ?

David Orman

In all seriousness, if you decide to offload this instead of tossing it into the body of water you mentioned earlier, let me know. I live an hour away from FRS and don't mind the repair process.

[Deleted User]

I have a 200D coming. No need for a 200 watt radio. Don't get me wrong Flex is a good product. The software and firmware updates and bug fixes just ****. If they got that issue corrected it would be awesome.

Steve K9ZW

Be very clear Bobby, the vast majority of 6700 owners successfully updated their radios, had at least a brief familiarity with what the manual and help procedures said, and didn't have a foul mouthed three-year old's tirade about it.

But then the highlight of their online QRZ resume isn't a club officer role briefly held forty years ago either.

Sounds like you have to un-brick your backup radio too... consistency at least.

Well while the rest of us are off making QSO's enjoying our hobby, enjoy the ****-soup you've made for yourself.

The sarcastic offers to buy your brick (dude it at most temporary even if you can't un-brick it yourself) are a rebuke to your attitude and the references to errors sometimes sit in front of the radio that isn't working is harsh reality.

Ranting about how unable you are and being mad about instant gratification as if you were wondering how FRS dare to not have a technician on overnight waiting for some **** fool to post away - well it is simple ****.

I'm sure you will get a chance to offend FRS personally in getting your radio fixed or walking you through the help you would have had dozens of folk trying to help you with here, if it weren't for your poor attitude and sketchy descriptions of what the situation actually is.

New day, saw your were posting though the night.

Hope you have a better day today Bob WA4FOM

73

Steve
K9ZW

Ernest

This is not his first time. Check his Verizon and Elecraft... Dealings

Lionel

The update to 16 went fine, no issues on W10x64.   The last major Flex issue I had was with my Flex5000 when it would not key on CW.   I figured it was hardware and got Flex involved and decided to make myself frustrated and less civil than necessary.  Flex on the other hand worked professionally and calmly with me. 

You know what it was???  In my zeal to save CPU cycles I had shutdown an audio service in W that by its name seemed unrelated - because I didn't know how CW was generated in the 5000.   Too much wasted energy being frustrated with Flex.  Too little knowledge in my head. 

DUH! I'm still trying to wash off the idiot stamp.   Bottom line, my experience tells me to ask, "what did I do??"  

Forty+ years ago a ham by the name of Tom Morgavi was the Collins experts who repaired and aligned many hams' gear.  When they would bring the gear in he would ask them to bring their tweaking tools, then he took them away.  Different time, same issues and from time to time we all do it. 

Today's gear is complicated. I am not picking at the original post, but just relating my personal experience.  The frustration is loud and clear.

Be calm. Gather  data.  Test solutions.  Ask for help when you run out of ideas. 

FrankAllen

Bet of luck. Sorta figured you were blowing smoke. Enjoy the 200.

John - K3MA

Moving from a Flex to an Anan because you want more reliability.  I suspect you will find that not to be the case.  I owned both a 200D and a 100B.  The community members are nice and helpful as in the case here but you will find the manufacturer provides little to no support, the documentation is lacking, there are many glitches that come and go.  Unless someone on the community has had exactly the same issue and is willing to help you by providing their own personal time to help problem solve for no compensation then you are SOL and have no where to turn for a resolution.  Good luck.

Bill -VA3WTB

They changing things all the time like internal boards to make things work, not to mention buying faster computers to keep up with changes. It is a money pit.

Bob Brown - N8OB

I downloaded the latest update and now the 6300 won't get recognized when I try to turn it on.  I shut off the 6300, unplugged the power cable for about a minute, Double checked all my connectors, but nothing works.  All other things work on the pc.  Any ideas??

N9VC

The thought this should never happen to a $7000 radio. Check the manual for the Icom 7700
with its caution on updates. If the update messes up, you have to send the radio in and it will
be at your expense. Even if the radio is under warranty. Same for the 7851, flagship radio.
Check the manuals on Icom's latest radios. Flex Radio treats all their customers fair and with
respect. They have always done right by me.

73, Jim N9VC