squarefrog Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 I'm really struggling with a solid USB connection to the Helix. I use the cable provided by Line 6, in the back of a Mac Mini, with nothing else plugged into any of the ports. I've never been able to update the Helix on the first try, it usually takes 4-5 attempts for an upgrade to happen, and in the meantime I lose all my presets. I only use HX Edit when I want to load Its, but after copying 4 or 5 Its, the connection drops with "Connection Interrupted" at the bottom. I've never had such an unstable connection to a device, especially one that has integral power so isn't drawing power over USB. What can I do to solve this, as this is an incredibly frustrating situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Try different USB ports on your computer. Use a USB 2.0 port if one is available, and avoid using a USB hub including an internal one if possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squarefrog Posted May 5, 2018 Author Share Posted May 5, 2018 Thanks, I’d already tried all 4 USB 2.0 ports, and I don’t own a hub. In a a last ditch effort I tried another cable, which worked flawlessly. However it is only 10cm long so not ideal! So I think in this case, and the bundled cable is just poor quality, which is a little disappointing after how much the helix cost. But im just pleased I can now back up my patches. Thanks again for the response. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerS Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Hi I have also had some struggle with USB ports over time. It has been three main reasons. Supplied USB-cable with the Helix was not very good. Hade to change it for a new one. Fix the problem at that time. Started to get edit dropouts a few month ago. This was caused by a patch Microsoft in one of the updates. It lasted for about 2-3 weeks and was fixed in one later update. If you are on line and run win10 this should not be a problem. I think it was patched end April. Mad it also impossible to run update Helix software. I happened to plug my new keyboard and mouse in the USB-port next to where my Helix was connected (a mistake, that was not where it was supposed to be…). On my motherboard I have 4 different USB-hubs + extra USB-card with additional ports. I have connected the Helix in on hub (only one of four ports used), my sound card on another (only one of four ports used) and all other USB devices split on the other two hubs (one is not used). I have also checked that the two ports that I use do not use the same IRQ's as something else important (like network card or graphics, also turned off not used functions in BIOS that that was not used, like eg built in soundcard) that I used for Helix and soundcard (Focusrite18i6). So, I plugged the keyboard/mouse in the wrong USB-port and that screwed up the Edit-communication with the Helix. Just moved it to the right port (where the old keyboard/mouse where connected and the new was supposed to be plugged in to) all fixed. You will have to check the documentation of the motherboard to see how the different ports are mapped/grouped to be able to avoid “collisions”. You need to spend some time to optimize how the ports are used and grouped. If you have a laptop, this will be much more complicated… fewer options to tweak there. Do not know Mac, so someone else has to fill in there. Another problem that I haven’t hade, but have been noted from time to time – Do not use an external USB-hub. You will run into the problems I described above. Its also the reason I only use one device per “hub” on my PC motherboard, no difference. I run into this problem already with my POD Pro HD like 8 years ago… The effect is not only the Edit sw, it’s even worse when trying to run an update… Don’t know it it’s any help, but at least something to exclude from the main cause of your problem. Hope this was clear on my broken English :-), not my native language I'm afraid... //Per Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squarefrog Posted May 5, 2018 Author Share Posted May 5, 2018 Thanks Per! Yeah I found swapping the included USB cable worked great. Now I just need to buy one longer than 10cm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerS Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Good to hear it was a simple solution. //Per Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 6 hours ago, squarefrog said: ... In a a last ditch effort I tried another cable, which worked flawlessly. ... This is a really critical troubleshooting step that should be added to the general list of things suggested to try when folks are having USB connectivity issues - try a different and perhaps a short USB cable. Btw, I am sure Line6 would be happy to send you out another cable if you are still under warranty. Just open up a ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squarefrog Posted May 5, 2018 Author Share Posted May 5, 2018 Honestly, that should have been the first thing to try, but I didn’t have one to hand and I trusted the supplied cable. I can’t say for sure whether the newer cable is better quality, it is certainly thicker and more robust, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Short length would definitely help with resistance and noise though which could cause these issues. A side effect i just found was one of my impulse responses had been corrupted while copying with the old cable, so while auditioning my new IRs I almost blew my ear drums. Thankfully I was wearing headphones so could just yank them off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soblivion Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 It would seem that the USB cable that comes with Helix(and LT) is sub par. Maybe they got a bad batch, not sure, but I know that I had various issues until I changed out the cable that came with my Helix. The first thing I wanted to do when I got my LT was upgrade the FW. It proved impossible on 3 computers but the 4th worked. Thinking back, I don't think the 4th computer was the key but rather the USB cable. Since then I've had zero issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squarefrog Posted May 6, 2018 Author Share Posted May 6, 2018 That mirrors my experience. When I got mine I had 3 updates to do. Each one failed 3 or 4 times before it took. Wasn’t a great first impression. Everything seems to be working well now though. Just need to get a slightly longer cable now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant_Blackler Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 I have the same issue. I can't update because it says, on every computer, "connection interrupted". Does this mean I have to buy a new cable that may or may not work? Honestly, I've been trying to sort this out for an hour now and I give up. Surely they could have made this connection a "normal" USB cable? See, you can't "update" until you've backed up. And you can't backup unless you buy a new cable it would seem. Side note, if yo have a brand new Helix FX, so a factory reset before you try anything. Mine was locked in some suspended state. Once I reset it, it booted properly and was recognised. So far 'm not having a good time with my HX FX.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant_Blackler Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 On 2/17/2019 at 9:31 PM, Grant_Blackler said: I have the same issue. I can't update because it says, on every computer, "connection interrupted". Does this mean I have to buy a new cable that may or may not work? Honestly, I've been trying to sort this out for an hour now and I give up. Surely they could have made this connection a "normal" USB cable? See, you can't "update" until you've backed up. And you can't backup unless you buy a new cable it would seem. Side note, if yo have a brand new Helix FX, so a factory reset before you try anything. Mine was locked in some suspended state. Once I reset it, it booted properly and was recognised. So far 'm not having a good time with my HX FX.... Well, I purchased another cable, tried different computers. Nothing. It simply say "Connection Interupted" on the Edit software. I can connect perfectly to the Updater, but to update I need to use Editor. Not happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 Have you tried opening a ticket with Line 6 support so someone can walk you through it and identify where the problem is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant_Blackler Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 Yes, I opened a ticket, then closed it as I found the solution (along with the issue). I grabbed the flash file and because I could connect with the Updater, simply flashed from the local file. Once I did that, which brought the device up from 2.4 to 2.71, the HX Edit software connected. Moral of the story - if you are buying an HX Effects with something older like my 2.4 firmware, don't even bother with the HX Edit part until you DL the flash and update through Updater. Then in theory, or my experience, the Edit will/should work. Suggest it's something to do with such a large gap in the firmware versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munty Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 I'm having the same problem, the supplied cable does't work, my gold plated cables don't work, the updater doesn't see it, neither does HX Edit. I notice on the HX on boot it says 1.06.5, should it be 2.7? Do I need to download an ancient version of edit to send the file? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sampipampi Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 On 6/19/2019 at 8:08 PM, Munty said: I'm having the same problem, the supplied cable does't work, my gold plated cables don't work, the updater doesn't see it, neither does HX Edit. I notice on the HX on boot it says 1.06.5, should it be 2.7? Do I need to download an ancient version of edit to send the file? Thanks. I have the same problem....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datacommando Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 On 6/19/2019 at 6:08 PM, Munty said: I'm having the same problem, the supplied cable does't work, my gold plated cables don't work, the updater doesn't see it, neither does HX Edit. I notice on the HX on boot it says 1.06.5, should it be 2.7? Do I need to download an ancient version of edit to send the file? Thanks. 1 hour ago, Sampipampi said: I have the same problem....... Hi Munty and Sampipampi, You both should be able to update directly to the latest version of the Firmare, but I would suggest that you go to this thread which is pinned at the top of this forum. Read through and follow the listed instructions required to correctly install the firmware: Should you have any further problems with the installation, please post in that thread where it is most likely to be seen! hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imbasman Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 Silverhead thanks for the hint change to different port on amuse machine windows 10 and I can connect. LOL Microsoft has been around as long as Apple. But hey just don't have the compatibility down as well as Apple. I am assume the difference is apple is their hardware and software and windows is spread across some many different machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mlc12345 Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 same issue here, firmware is 1.03.0 , cant get connected to HX Edit always the notification , connection interrupted tried already 3 cables and different usb port on my mac ,reset it factory settings , .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 On 1/12/2023 at 4:29 AM, Mlc12345 said: same issue here, firmware is 1.03.0 , cant get connected to HX Edit always the notification , connection interrupted tried already 3 cables and different usb port on my mac ,reset it factory settings , .... Use the link below for instuctions on how to use the Updater to get to the latest version of the firmware and editor: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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