HWFLY Oled giving device not found when attempting to flash FW via USB

[Tacitus]

So Picked up the "red" variant on alibaba, stated it was v 4.2 OLED version. (Red as opposed to blue version, which says its the official sales team, where as the red 1 says its the official hwfly store).

I have my microusb plugged into a reliable USB port, and the chip is showing up via device manager as comm port 4. The chip itself has both a green and amber light on, giving off like a yellow hue (idk if it goes by each individual light or if its the color of light that the 2 individual lights make). The ribbon that is supposed to go over the GPU and be soldered in says V3 on it.

I haven't soldered any of this yet. Just trying to update the FW on the chip before I bring it to get soldered in. My issue is as the title states. When I try to flash 072, using the bat file, I simply get that the device is not found, wait 5 seconds. Then it says spacecraft_NX DFU not found.

Is this a clone chip? am I screwed?

 

[binkinator]

So Picked up the "red" variant on alibaba, stated it was v 4.2 OLED version. (Red as opposed to blue version, which says its the official sales team, where as the red 1 says its the official hwfly store).

I have my microusb plugged into a reliable USB port, and the chip is showing up via device manager as comm port 4. The chip itself has both a green and amber light on, giving off like a yellow hue (idk if it goes by each individual light or if its the color of light that the 2 individual lights make). The ribbon that is supposed to go over the GPU and be soldered in says V3 on it.

I haven't soldered any of this yet. Just trying to update the FW on the chip before I bring it to get soldered in. My issue is as the title states. When I try to flash 072, using the bat file, I simply get that the device is not found, wait 5 seconds. Then it says spacecraft_NX DFU not found.

Is this a clone chip? am I screwed?

Red Store, Blue Store…doesn’t matter. They are all about the same (and they are all clones…nothing you can do about that.)

Use a different port, different cable, different computer, different what have you, as this is the most likely place where things have gone sideways. These chips are pretty simple and there’s no moving parts. If you can‘t get it to link up then ping your seller and let them know what you’ve tried.

 

[Tacitus]

Red Store, Blue Store…doesn’t matter. They are all about the same (and they are all clones…nothing you can do about that.)

Use a different port, different cable, different computer, different what have you, as this is the most likely place where things have gone sideways. These chips are pretty simple and there’s no moving parts. If you can‘t get it to link up then ping your seller and let them know what you’ve tried.

So I barely use micro USB anymore, I got like 2 cables that I use that seem to be working fine. I don't have any way of testing them tbh, I go out of my way to use USBC wiith everything nowadays. But I can confirm my USB ports are good, as I can connect to my phone and transfer data back and fourth..

The weird thing is the chip is showing up in device manager & every connect and disconnect, my windows PC makes the *device plugged* and *Device Unplugged* sounds. So I assume that it is actually being detected. I wonder if there is a driver issue perhaps?

 

[kylum]

I would try another computer. My desktop refuses to flash any Hwfly chip for some reason. I think my problem might be a driver issue but it works fine with every other device. Not really sure and haven’t been able to figure it out. If I use my desktop I have to use the ST-link but requires soldering to flash it. However, my laptop seems to work just fine.

 

[Tacitus]

I would try another computer. My desktop refuses to flash any Hwfly chip for some reason. I think my problem might be a driver issue but it works fine with every other device. Not really sure and haven’t been able to figure it out. If I use my desktop I have to use the ST-link but requires soldering to flash it. However, my laptop seems to work just fine.

seller is recommending a new "dataline" or usb cable lol. I'll overnight it tonight and give that a go. That might be the issue.

Heres something weird. They recommend, or stated that I should deffintely not use the hwfly github FW, they specifically linked the 072 firmware page, and said that I should use their "official firmware R0.32"



Know anything about that? maybe a liability thing, or they just want me to use their stuff? idk.

 

[binkinator]

seller is recommending a new "dataline" or usb cable lol. I'll overnight it tonight and give that a go. That might be the issue.

Heres something weird. They recommend, or stated that I should deffintely not use the hwfly github FW, they specifically linked the 072 firmware page, and said that I should use their "official firmware R0.32"



Know anything about that? maybe a liability thing, or they just want me to use their stuff? idk.

90% of these issues end up as cable, port or computer. (source: pink nether regions)

There’s nothing “official“ per se. Did they give you a link? Flash their’s first just to play along. You know the game…

 

[Tacitus]

Yea

90% of these issues end up as cable, port or computer. (source: pink nether regions)

There’s nothing “official“ per se. Did they give you a link? Flash their’s first just to play along. You know the game…

Yea he gave me a link, but can't post it here. It works essentially the same, you double click the bat file, get the same issue. new cable and tried all the ports, got the same issue.

Got a Amazon cable thats supposed to allow for high speed data transfer.

Tried my wifes windows 11 laptop, and it seems to be working.... well, I can atleast see the file. I do however get the "failed" error and purple light, that if I am not mistaken I am supposed to keep trying different USB ports, and it seems to be happening with all my usb ports.
edit: reseated usb after posting and boom, it flashed it 1.5 seconds lol. I guess the trick is to not close the cmd prompt, and just reseat the usb, weird.

 

[binkinator]

Yea


Yea he gave me a link, but can't post it here. It works essentially the same, you double click the bat file, get the same issue. new cable and tried all the ports, got the same issue.

Got a Amazon cable thats supposed to allow for high speed data transfer.

Tried my wifes windows 11 laptop, and it seems to be working.... well, I can atleast see the file. I do however get the "failed" error and purple light, that if I am not mistaken I am supposed to keep trying different USB ports, and it seems to be happening with all my usb ports.
edit: reseated usb after posting and boom, it flashed it 1.5 seconds lol. I guess the trick is to not close the cmd prompt, and just reseat the usb, weird.

it’s never Lupi’s, but it’s always cable, port or computer 91% of the time.

 

[Tacitus]

Just want to update here the issues I came across. The potential fixes, and some advice given to me by various people, just to help the next guy going through a OLED switch MOD.

1. All Switch Modchips are going to be clones. Aliexpress has a red and blue store, it doesnt matter which you pick. I picked red store, and customer service was surprisingly amazing. They even linked me their firmware via google drive, helped me troubleshoot some issues.

2. Updating the firmware isn't necessary on the mod chip. at this point in time, you will likely get what is called OFW 0.3.1, with the option to upgrade to 0.3.2, then there is the HWFLY CFW, which as of this post goes to 0.7.2

3. I had issues updating the FW. The resolution was using a different PC. But as this thread suggests, try a cable, port, then PC. IDK why my main desktop didnt recognize it, when using the bat file, but it did recognize it using the device manager. Weird stuff.

4. if your cmd prompt goes nuts saying it cannot write, and throws down like the same line 100x. Just reseat your USB cable without closing cmd prompt. (I didnt know you had to keep cmd prompt open). Dont force it though. Again this step seems unncessary, some pro's in the scene seem to not even recommend it these days due to potential complications.

5. I can't give advice on how to solder, but I can pass down the advice given to me about the job itself...
•Don't use the FPCB kit, specifically the ribbon cable that solder's to the board directly. It can be faulty, and its better to just solder wires in its place. thats the D, A, C, 3.3V & GRND connections on the top of the mod chip. If you need a diagram, check Sthetix github for a diagram. I used the kit, and learned this afterwards.
•any red light on the mod chip is a indicator that something is wrong. biggest issues tend to be the CPU solder connections, and the Dat0 solder connections. Test these, make sure they are right.
•My issue was a red light followed by a slow yellow blinking light (this was actually 1 green and 1 amber light together to give a yellow hue). The fix for my issue was actually the MOD chip kit, the CPU Flex cable. The solder joints were good, but there are 2x MOSFETs on the underside of this cable. They were poorly soldered by manufacturer. My installer simply reflowed their connections, and it resolved our issue.

Hope this helps whoever comes across it. Good luck.

 

[CapitanJAL]

Just want to update here the issues I came across. The potential fixes, and some advice given to me by various people, just to help the next guy going through a OLED switch MOD.

1. All Switch Modchips are going to be clones. Aliexpress has a red and blue store, it doesnt matter which you pick. I picked red store, and customer service was surprisingly amazing. They even linked me their firmware via google drive, helped me troubleshoot some issues.

2. Updating the firmware isn't necessary on the mod chip. at this point in time, you will likely get what is called OFW 0.3.1, with the option to upgrade to 0.3.2, then there is the HWFLY CFW, which as of this post goes to 0.7.2

3. I had issues updating the FW. The resolution was using a different PC. But as this thread suggests, try a cable, port, then PC. IDK why my main desktop didnt recognize it, when using the bat file, but it did recognize it using the device manager. Weird stuff.

4. if your cmd prompt goes nuts saying it cannot write, and throws down like the same line 100x. Just reseat your USB cable without closing cmd prompt. (I didnt know you had to keep cmd prompt open). Dont force it though. Again this step seems unncessary, some pro's in the scene seem to not even recommend it these days due to potential complications.

5. I can't give advice on how to solder, but I can pass down the advice given to me about the job itself...
•Don't use the FPCB kit, specifically the ribbon cable that solder's to the board directly. It can be faulty, and its better to just solder wires in its place. thats the D, A, C, 3.3V & GRND connections on the top of the mod chip. If you need a diagram, check Sthetix github for a diagram. I used the kit, and learned this afterwards.
•any red light on the mod chip is a indicator that something is wrong. biggest issues tend to be the CPU solder connections, and the Dat0 solder connections. Test these, make sure they are right.
•My issue was a red light followed by a slow yellow blinking light (this was actually 1 green and 1 amber light together to give a yellow hue). The fix for my issue was actually the MOD chip kit, the CPU Flex cable. The solder joints were good, but there are 2x MOSFETs on the underside of this cable. They were poorly soldered by manufacturer. My installer simply reflowed their connections, and it resolved our issue.

Hope this helps whoever comes across it. Good luck.

its possible that you can't use a PC because the device installed the wrong drivers and still don't show the device, you can change the device of port (conecting it to other USB port in the back of the PC) or try deleting the device of the device management, you clic on view (maybe have a different name in mine is Ver) select show hidden devices, and uninstall the one you need, the device will be semi transparent if you have this problem