The latest firmware update bricked KONTROL S MK3 keyboard

thepablo · 2025-08-15T08:23:13+00:00

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Hey guys,

I’ve read similar stuff here, but I think this case is a little bit different.

So, I got an error during the update:

An error occurred while updating your KONTROL S MK3 (error -2). Please disconnect the KONTROL S MK3, unpower it and quit the KSMK3 Updater. Then reconnect the KONTROL S MK3, restart KSMK3 Updater and try performing the update again.

I followed those instructions to the letter, unpower, quit, reconnect…

Now the device doesn’t even power up.

I’m saying it’s different from what I read here because I’ve seen people having problems, and sending pictures of their screens saying “Looks like something went wrong”.

I wish I had that one, what I have is a black screen. Death.

I sent a support ticket, and I’m waiting to hear from them, but I feel kinda worried.

The obvious question is this one: is there some kind of magical recovery mode I’m unaware of?

I tried different cables to different devices just in case, nothing works.

I really don’t know how is this thing gonna get fixed.

Thanks for reading,
Pablo

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PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/47222/the-latest-firmware-update-bricked-kontrol-s-mk3-keyboard

The obvious question is this one: is there some kind of magical recovery mode I’m unaware of?

You can try the following a couple of times to see if it makes any difference :

Power cycle the keyboard 5 times. At the 5th time, the recovery screen should appear and you can re-update the controller. In order to power cycle, turn on the device, wait 2-3 seconds and then turn it off again. Please repeat this 5 times.

You probably need an USB-C power supply (PD) attached to the keyboard power input port.

timrae_NI

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. This can happen from time to time when the update gets interrupted, usually due to a sketch USB cable, USB port, or not getting enough power. I think there's not much you can do other than wait for support team to evaluate your case.

thepablo

Fixed. And I did nothing. Same cables, same everything.

So I kept trying that update button without any faith, I was just doing that, staring at the screen and not feeling good knowing it wasn’t gonna work anyway.

I don’t know how many times I tried, but this time I didn’t get an error. The app kept working, and It took minutes, I don’t know how many, maybe 10?

Felt like an eternity, but suddenly after those maybe 10 minutes, the keyboard woke up and got updated. My face got updated too.

So, what did we learned today kids? If your keyboard gets bricked, try again and again that update button until the firmware app magically works.

Maybe that doesn’t work for every kind of bricking issue, but it worked for me.

Thank you guys for your concern, your advice and your thoughts and prayers, maybe that did the trick.

That was very scary…

timrae_NI

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