I have just received my S61 MK3 and i am having problems setting it up.

P.S.

If your unit is stuck at add serial screen then I am not sure if it is bricked as such (though maybe nothing you can do)..

However, if you are going to return the unit anyway then you could try the forced reset that I am a little nervous to post since N.I: removed it from public :

Quote (previously public N.I. advice) :

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.

Thank you very much for providing feedback.

Well , I for one really am glad that I apparently 'nailed it' first line in first post here , quote : "As far as I know then the unit needs to be powered by a separate USB-C PSU/charger on it's USB-C power port. " (ref. : at least for updating firmware) .

If you take a look at these pages : https://www.native-instruments.com/en/specials/komplete/kontrol-setup/ and https://www.native-instruments.com/ni-tech-manuals/kontrol-s-mk3-manual/en/setting-up-your-keyboard then it is more or less clear that N.I. thinks that the unit under normal circumstances should be able to be powered by a computer USB-C plug... (the power supply is referring to if having only USB A)

But maybe problem is either that the unit requires more power than in normal operation when updating or that N.I. are afraid that the computer may go into sleep while updating firmware or they generally think that you need to power it more reliable when updating firmware than if you USB-C power it from your computer only. Only NI knows. But you will know from your mobile phone if having updated that frequently that it will not update if it has not enough battery left. Yes , surely , that doesn't make it less hard for you to understand why NI would not include an USB-C PSU. But it still makes it maybe a little easier to understand why someone at some point designing part of the unit didn't make a note to others working on other parts of the unit to remember to include the USB-C PSU for updating purpose ! And as it happen , if you look at my previous posts also then NI also have run into problems with the USB-C data interface in the sense that there appear to be a problem between the shipped units and the chips set or drivers for some USB-C computer products why they recommended the self-powered USB-C hub as an emergency solution to try to get some interface problems solved. So for someone that both needs a hub and an USB-C PSU to get your things to work and add to that that people , like yourself , went through quite an ordeal to even get to those conclusion and then had to start all over from there then , yes , it's all a bit too much...

As for feedback to you from NI in this forum then please don't hold your breath waiting. The NI forum service/help person Jeremy_NI has been on a months leave and will not be back until November 6th and Matthew_NI (I think that he is the hardware team manager) is/has been taking time off to be with his infant and family. So though there are other NI representatives roaming the forum then the hardware team is up to their neck in trying to mend the situation so attention here at best is scarce at the moment !

Incidentally , I have no idea id your units has finished updating firmware , but reports go from 15 minutes ? to 10 hours so don't let your computer go into sleep before it is over !

Kind regards