New Kontrol S MK3 bricked during firmware update

doakes · 2023-10-20T20:07:18+00:00

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Got one of these yesterday (from NI) and it's been a nightmare so far. Upon registering in Native Access I kept getting "an error occurred while processing your serial". NI support eventually registered it for me, so got past that. But now the firmware update is failing with this message "an error occurred while updating your KONTROL S MK3":

So I did just that (power-cycled the keyboard and restarted the app). And now the screen on the keyboard says "Looks like something went wrong". Restarting the keyboard 5x doesn't do anything and now the firmware update isn't working either.

I see now on the website that it says to just let it finish despite the error message, but it's a little late for that now. Seems like they ought to update the updater to show that message before others do the same.

Am I SOL here? Sure seems to be bricked. I'm a little ticked. I paid ~$100 for expedited shipping and now I've spent the past two days fighting with this thing.

EDIT: I’m on an M2 Mac and I have opened a support ticket, but was hoping someone on here might be able to help (and to warn others). Had planned my weekend around playing with this thing, so was hoping to not have to wait another couple days to hear back from them.

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lucantastic

Not exactly the same for me, but also similar problems. Just got mine and started the update on the Mac. Apparently the running process does not prevent the Mac from going into sleep mode, power disconnected a sec during FW update and now the keyboard is completely useless. They are well aware of this, since they also write in their troubleshooting "This indicates that we need to replace the keyboard as the failed firmware is corrupted to the point where we need to fix it in our repair centers. If you see the above screen, please contact our Hardware Support Team".

I would have appreciated a warning during the FW update process, now who knows how long it will take for a solution.

PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/17751/new-kontrol-s-mk3-bricked-during-firmware-update

Try using both a self-powered USB-C hub between keyboard and computer (cables must be able to transmit data !) and at the same time also attach an USB-C power supply to keyboard power plug. Your keyboard do not appear as bricked from the screenshot !

reffahcs

Try a different USB-C cable if you can. I have a M2 Studio and in recovery mode the firmware update fails for me if I use the cable that came with my keyboard. I'm using one of the front USB-C/TBOLT ports. I've found that using the USB-C cable that came with my Ableton Push 3 to work much better/more reliably.

fLaX

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/105066#Comment_105066

i also can't upgrade the firmware, is the cable broke or wrong designed?

reffahcs

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/105078#Comment_105078

See the thread I just created. My factory cable appears faulty, at best it works intermittently.

Tana

dear all, i have the same issue as doakes above. do you have any tips how to solve it?

NodeOperator

I spent a good 1.5 hrs making sure I had everything set up right on Windows 11, following all the suggestions from these previous NI workarounds.

How to Update the Firmware of Your Kontrol S-Series MK3 – Native Instruments (native-instruments.com)

Kontrol S-Series MK3: Troubleshooting Firmware Update Issues – Native Instruments (native-instruments.com)

Needless to say, none worked...

With luck, I used my wifes M2 MacBook air, and had success.

What I noticed, was how many times the updater, asked for permission, on Mac, something that's probaly going on behind the scenes in Windows, that we aren't seeing. If I was going to try and work through the problem on Windows, I would probably start looking 'permission settings for connected devices', to see if that's somehow blocking the update from starting.

But, as was suggested, the MacBook Air worked for me.... Updating took about 5 mins to run....

I feel your pain, this is toally unaccepatable from NI, and, combined with the latest VST2 VST3 suport chaos. I wonder ****** is going on in that office... 😒

Tana

thank you NodeOperator! unfortunately, this issue is now going on for 11 days, and NI could not solve it for me, sending me from one expert to the other, and not very responsive, considering the situation.

how can you produce a keyboard, where you are not able to use the keys and sustain pedal without a stupid firmware update? it is totally disfunctional.

Matthew_NI

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/105079#Comment_105079

Are you on an M1 or M2 computer?

If so, and in some other conditions as well, it may appear to you to be the cable, but this is a red herring.

There are some irritating USB-C issues specific to computers, rather than the peripherals that aim to use USB-C.

See this comment: https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/111829#Comment_111829

reffahcs

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/118679#Comment_118679

I'm running a Mac Studio with the M2 Ultra. I've seen your other posts and it sounds frustrating.

It's been working fine though with the USB-C cable for the Push 3. Only real difference compared to the NI supplied cable is it's shorter and has the ferrite EMI protectors on both ends.

corbonqlus

Exact same thing is happening to me! Windows 11, AMD Ryzen 9 7950 X3D, provided usb-c cable is plugged directly to my latest gen Asus ProArt Motherboard.

corbonqlus

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/118679#Comment_118679

This issue persists across USB cables, the comments on this thread are unrelated to the OPs post. Please refrain from posting here unless you are in the exact same scenario as OP.

Installed Firmware showing as 0.0.1

If I retrigger the updater nothing is reflected on the keyboard. It just states: "Looks like something went wrong."

reffahcs

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/124179#Comment_124179

If your keyboard is showing "Something went wrong" then that's basically recovery mode. Which is a good thing, because it means your device isn't bricked.

From there you should be able to launch the firmware update tool and flash the latest firmware. The firmware update tool will not show the current firmware version installed since it's not booted into the actual firmware, but rather recovery mode.

If the firmware update tool won't let you continue then there is a problem communicating with your keyboard. Lots of people have reported using a powered hub, some have used regular chargers to power the device along with the data cable.

corbonqlus

I have tried mutiple cables as the data cable, I have tried both USB-c ports on my computer, Asus ProArt Motherboard. I have tried using a power cable in addition to the data cable.

I contacted Sweetwater support, and we ran through some of the attempts with different cables and ports together, and we could not get it to work. Sweetwater ended up sending me another Kontrol S49.

I recieved it today, and to update its firmware and the exact same thing happened. the firmwarte update ran for multiple hours before I was left with no choice but to stop it. Firmware is showing as 0.0.1 now:

Keyboard shows something went wrong.

When I try to run the updater again, nothing happens on the keyboard. It has been a week since I submitted a support request with Native Instruments, and they have not responded to my support request.

corbonqlus

This runs forever^

While the above is running this is what is shown on the keyboard still^

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