Fix for Kontrol Mk3 firmware update on Windows

Quote : "but it should never have been this painful. A terrible experience that I will not recommend."

I don't think that anyone will disagree with that , not even N.I:

Quote : "they assume you're an idiot and the answers are almost always 2 sentences and less -- with a reference to a website procedure or document that usually gives away the fact that they really didn't read what you told them."

The basic problem with support through companies is that it as good as always works procedural so you have to jump through all the hoops to get to the end point (everything has to be checked). Also , with the 'consumer rage' behavior that some people feels 'entitled' to act out then one hardly can blame a support crew if it all becomes just job. And of course attention and perception can vary depending on time of day or from person to person. On top of that then our own perception of what we write ourselves are not always as good as it should be (being a Moderator here then I am still just another forum user!). Meaning that sometimes where we think that we express ourselves really clear then we are in fact not or are to long time to get to the point so that the interest of the reader is lost (I tend to do that) (like here ? 🤣) Therefore it is always a very good idea to be as summarized and concise as possible when writing to support (while of course not missing/ leaving out anything).

If you haven't read it yet then for what it's worth I will paste some official statements about the S-Series MK3 problems below here :

Matthew_NI, Product Team, 3:05 PM , 2024-02-19 ,

To be very clear, and to avoid any one opinion becoming misinformation, I'll re-state what has been said in various places:

   As frustrating as this is to you, it is also to us.

   This issue is specific to the USB-C implementation on certain computer models.

   This issue is not specific to the peripherals themselves.

   This issue causes the communication in the protocol to essentially break, thus data is dropped.

   This manifests as various symptoms, depending on the peripheral. For Kontrol S MK3, the dropped data can interrupt a firmware update, or controller -> DAW and/or controller -> Plug-in sync.

   The issue can appear at random, frequently or infrequently.

   Using a USB-C hub interrupts and bypasses the problematic communication specific to the chips used in the USB-C implementation of affected machines.

We can highlight and advise on workarounds, should a customer be affected.

We can, and have, reported this directly to the manufacturers of affected models. So have many other manufacturers of peripherals.

They can, and have, fixed it in newer models, but of course there exist affected models in the market that will forever be subject to the workaround.

We cannot do any more than this. I'm sorry that some of you choose to blame us. I recognize that it's deeply frustrating, but I cannot change the facts of the matter that I've outlined above.

Matthew_NI, Product Team, 3:06 PM , 2024-02-19 ,

MK3 has two ports:

1) For simultaneously data and power

2) For auxiliary power if the first port is not able to provide adequate power (e.g. a USB-A port)

These are not two separate issues.

Matthew_NI, Product Team, 3:11PM , 2024-02-19 ,

This narrative simply isn't factual. I know how frustrating this is - but please recognize that the shortcoming here is specific to the USB-C implementation in certain hardware, and not the peripherals that are affected by the shortcoming.

As I've stated - it is to do with communication protocols in the chip breaking down, which can affect the transfer of whatever's coming down the pipe (USB-C cable).

Also, we are not talking about a lot of cases. We are talking about a small number of cases handled either here in the forum, or via our customer support channels, or both. The number of unaffected customers is exponentially larger.