Alexmos 32bit Firmware Upgrade Failed, is my board damaged? How to perform a firmware recovery

If you where updating the firmware on your 32bit alexmos board and for some reason it failed (perhaps you disconnected the USB before it completed) and now you can no longer connect to it via the GUI as it has become bricked. You might be concerned that you have damaged your board, but the good news is that its not possible to damage your board this way. You only need to perform a firmware recovery!

Alexmos 32bit Firmware Recovery

All you need to do to repair this issue is to simply recover the firmware in manual mode. Manual mode is designed to upload firmware in special conditions such as when you have bricked your board (you cant connect to it via the GUI). This manual mode is used to recover the firmware. Its only suggested that you try to do this if you know what you are doing.

  1. Disconnect any power source, USB cable.
  2. Close (set) FLASH jumper on board (attach jumper to 2 pins marked as ‘FLASH’, shorting them)
  3. Connect board to PC by USB cable
  4. Run GUI, select COM port (but don’t connect!) and go to “Upgrade firmware” - “Manual” tab
    DO NOT PRESS “CONNECT” IN THE GUI, IF JUMPER IS CLOSED! If pressed, you need to
    repeat all steps from the beginning.
  5. Choose firmware file (*.hex for Windows, *.bin for all other OS). This file is located within the firmware folder. Select board version (its v3.x for 32bit boards).
  6. Press “FLASH” button and wait for process to be finished.
  7. Open (remove) FLASH jumper.

Once that has been completed you should be able to connect via GUI to upload the latest firmware to your board.

  1. Connect to the board normal way
  2. Choose firmware file.
  3. Press “FLASH” button and wait for process to be finished.

Also please note that if you are upgrading to a new version of the firmware you might also need to connect to your board using the same new version of GUI. This is because with each new firmware release, a new GUI is also released, so you need to connect using the GUI that matches the firmware currently on your alexmos gimbal controller board.

https://youtu.be/8sZ2ueNXB7s