The Monkey Bricked My Podxt!

[cristofe]

I'm VERY upset. I've been using Line 6 products for many years and I've never felt more screwed over.

I'm just about done with this company. I currently have a PODxt which I've used on many studio sessions.

Often, before a session, I will fire up Line6 Edit and create new patches specific to the upcoming session.

Like any good loyal Line6 user I also fire up the Monkey and FOLLOW LINE6'S UPDATE INSTRUCTIONS
TO THE LETTER. I am NOT a NOOB. I'm a professional electronics technician and audio engineer. I've

run firmware updates on countless hundreds of rack effects and synthesizers. I've never lost one. Till now.

The !@#$% Monkey said I needed to update it. I was at v. 1.63 so I updated to 1.65. No problem. It then

told me I needed to update the Line 6 drivers from 4.2.6.9 to 4.2.7.1. Again, no problem. BUT then I tried

to fire up Line 6 Edit......PROBLEM. I get an error message saying the firmware code is invalid. Sooooo

I open up the !@#$% Monkey and yes, indeed there is a yellow triangle next to the firmware update.

Soooo I update the firmware. That went smoothly....or so it seemed. It claimed the update was successful

and prompted me to shut down and restart my POD. BUT when I did so I got the dreaded:

"Invalid Code Error 1"

So it looks like I've got a bricked POD. I tried all the recommended fixes. I booted up pressing Enter/Save

and also tried booting while holding the 1st left hand soft key....no joy. I then tried flashing the firmware.

Again the !@#$% Monkey proclaimed the operation a success but AGAIN the unit is booting to the

invalid code message.

Sooooo I finally broke down and did the unthinkable.....I called tech support. Being a tech myself, I

RARELY need to do so but the few times I have in the past I've always been pleased and impressed

with the experience. UNTIL YESTERDAY. I was told, in no uncertain that this was ENTIRELY my fault

and that my unit broke because it was old and that I should have known better than to try to update

it.

EXCUSE ME?????????????????????

This is MY fault because I did what LINE6's software prompted me to do?? If there is a danger in

doing so why is there NO warning?? I understand that a company cannot support products

indefinitely. BUT this company's SOFTWARE BROKE MY HARDWARE. Do I get even so much

much as an apology. NO. Worse still, I get a finger of blame pointed at me!! I feel like a raped

ape er, excuse me, MONKEY!!

Now, in Line6's defense, their rep did say I could send it in to be repaired....which, of course,

after S&H will likely cost more than simply buying a used PODxt. And, of course, I could also

simply buy a NEW Line6 product either way....LINE6 WINS I LOSE. What a BRILLIANT marketing

strategy!!!! Destroy customers old products by prompting them to install "updates" and, thereby

force them to pay for bench time or new products.

WAY TO GO LINE6!!

[cristofe]

18 views and NO ONE has a comment??

[TheRealZap]

what would we say? you're just ranting to the line6 user community.

if you wish to rant proper to someone at line6: http://line6.com/company/contact/

[Triryche]

I would try to flash it on another computer.

 

Also, if you are an electronics tech, you might take a look at this thread.

http://line6.com/supportarchivenew/thread/74156

 

***Disclaimer*** I am not recommending any user to try to attempt this.

 

Only offer the info as a last resort.

[cristofe]

what would we say? you're just ranting to the line6 user community.

if you wish to rant proper to someone at line6: http://line6.com/company/contact/

Well, thanks so much for the support and oh so useful advice. :rolleyes: I called tech support AND opened 

a support ticket I just thought some users,(yourself excluded obviously), might have some USEFUL

input.

 

 

 

 

10 Oct 2013 - 1:00 PM, said:

I would try to flash it on another computer.

 

Also, if you are an electronics tech, you might take a look at this thread.

http://line6.com/sup...ew/thread/74156

 

***Disclaimer*** I am not recommending any user to try to attempt this.

 

Only offer the info as a last resort.

 

 

 

THANK YOU!! Yes, the first thing I tried after everything failed on the first machine was try it another DAW with a high end

pci based MIDI interface...but still no joy. As to that thread.....I had already read that in my research and tried it with no

success. I was contemplating replacing the chip as I have a colleague that can flash me a new one but fortunately line6

has agreed to step up and repair my unit. I was initially dismayed and frustrated but in the end line6 renewed my faith

in the company and proved, once again, that they have one of the best customer service departments in the industry.

Many Thanks to Tony, Hugo & Line6!! :D 

 

 

[Triryche]

Thanks pretty decent, especially considering the recent announcement concerning support of legacy products.

[cristofe]

That's beginning to happen industry wide. I'm a mod on the Presonus forums and they just made a similar announcement.

As I said in my initial post, I understand that companies cannot support products indefinitely. It's just not economically feasible.

Occasionally tho, all companies, make exceptions if the situation calls for it. I am exceedingly grateful that line6 decided that

my situation warranted such an exception. B)

[cristofe]

Alright...I got the RMA# from line6 and I was getting ready to send it back. 

BUT...I had to convince myself that I'd truly exhausted all possibilities 

before paying for shipping and giving up my unit for who knows how long. 

So first I tried to do the firmware update on another machine. Same results. 

NO JOY. I was about to throw in the towel when I remembered a little factoid 

from earlier years in line6's evolution. There was a time, in the dark past, 

when the aforementioned !@#$% MONKEY allowed us humble end users to update 

our firmware OFFLINE with the "update from file feature." In their infinite 

wisdom line6 decided that the end users were either too incompetent or too 

lazy to do a manual update so this feature was eliminated in the !@#$% MONKEY

thereby forcing users to update online....ok, get the picture? I searched the 

high and low and finally found the firmware FILE: PODxt_3_01.xtf and an 

outdated version of the !@#$% MONKEY that would actually allow me to USE 

the file....AND GUESS WHAT?? My PODxt is now fully working!! PRAISE JESUS 

it's FRIGGIN' MIRACLE!! Not only did the MANUAL firmware update unscramble 

my POD's memory chip but, apparently it MUST have re-soldered that cold solder 

joint that line6's tech was so certain was the cause of my POD's failure. 

 

In any case....in closing...kudos to line6 for willingness to attempt to make things right.

MUCH appreciated. 

[BigChas52]

I just checked the latest version of Monkey (1.65), and the ability to update firmware from a file is still there.  You have to make sure that "Flash Memory" is highlighted in order to see it.  As far as finding the flash file, you just have to look in the software downloads section http://line6/com/software  Just sayin ;)  Glad your problem got worked out.

[cristofe]

I just checked the latest version of Monkey (1.65), and the ability to update firmware from a file is still there.  You have to make sure that "Flash Memory" is highlighted in order to see it.  As far as finding the flash file, you just have to look in the software downloads section http://line6/com/software  Just sayin ;)  Glad your problem got worked out.

Good to know......thanks. I wish support had suggested this to begin with. There is clearly some sort of glitch with the current software versions

and online updating procedure when updating PODxt's. After much research online it's apparent that more than a few users  are ending up

with the dreaded "Invalid Code Error 1".

[cristofe]

Well....the Monkey may not have permanently bricked my POD but there is still a severe lack of joy here.

The latest drivers/firmware/monkey are still messing me up. EVERYTHING worked just fine before updating.

But NOW, even after solving my POD's "Invalid Code Error 1" bootup message, Line6 Edit no longer works

properly. It recognizes my POD but will not complete sync. And there's nothing wrong with my USB cable,

it's not a USB hub problem.....EVERYTHING worked fine before the update...NOTHING else has changed.

I also tried connecting via MIDI AND USB on three different machines and on three different OS's. 

I even tried using Gearbox. It DOES work.....partially. I can send and receive single patches but it still

times out when trying to load the POD's memory. I've tried just about everything....uninstalled/reinstalled

EVERYTHING, rolled back drivers and Java....nothing works. I REALLY wish I'd read all the threads about

this out there BEFORE I made the mistake of updating my POD. I am FAR from alone in this boat.

[fishman1]

I know this is old but someone else may come across this...

 

Go through the patches one at a time and look for any that are corrupted. Overwrite any corrupted patches with something new and then try sync again. Any corrupted patch will hose it up.

[descansitu]

hello, I have the same problem since i update from the monkey. Invalid code error 1, or sometimes 2 or 3, 4, 5 and 6. I try with all the possibilities of the monkey, also clicking the buttons when starts the unit, don't works. 

How can I repair my pod xt live? 

Thanks.

[ricoustic101]

My Pod XT Live is working just fine right now, as of June 14, 2014.  I was thinking of putting it online with Monkey soon and checking to see if it was in need of any updates (I'm awaiting my first Variax guitar, a 600, and was gonna start with a "clean" setup.) Am I understanding, from what I'm reading, to just leave the XT Live alone as is? and not do any sort of upgrades?

[TheRealZap]

No... you want to do the updates... 

this person was particularly unlucky... not normal...

the updates are generally trouble free and worthwhile.

 

My Pod XT Live is working just fine right now, as of June 14, 2014.  I was thinking of putting it online with Monkey soon and checking to see if it was in need of any updates (I'm awaiting my first Variax guitar, a 600, and was gonna start with a "clean" setup.) Am I understanding, from what I'm reading, to just leave the XT Live alone as is? and not do any sort of upgrades?

[BigChas52]

Also, when you run Monkey, start it by right-clicking, and select "Run As Administrator"  Line 6 hardware pdates often fail on Windows 7 and 8 unless you start Monkey as an admin.

[BulletZ]

Hey, I've had the infamous "Invalid Code Error 01" on my PodXT, see http://line6.com/supportarchivenew/thread/58952

 

I finally managed to take the time to fix it (yeah, I know, years later). The problem kept getting worse and worse. Finally I tracked it down to improperly soldered components on the PCB: by applying pressure to a very specific spot on the PCB before turning the Pod on, I was able to make it work for some time.

 

In the end, I've had to reflow the Analog Device DSP to fix the problem. I used a hot air soldering rework station and some flux, but there are other reflow methods (check google, it's especially popular with some well known gaming console ;).

 

So, I blame it on poor manufacturing process, but at least it's fixable if you have the time, the tools and the know-how.

 

HTH