my helix doesn't work :-((

[SenseiJuancho]

My Helix has died.

 

I have tried to start it up after a week off and I have found the unpleasant surprise that when it has finished loading the firmware 3.01 that it has installed, programs have started to appear on the screen jumping from one to another and without me play nothing, the 31B to the 1C to the 30A and the 1B .... Completely crazy. The 12 metal buttons did not work and except for 11 it was lit red and 12 was flashing red. They also didn't work when pressing any of the black buttons below the screen.

 

No names or lights appeared above the metal buttons. I have made several attempts and the same result has always come out when I turn it on. Desperate, I have decided to try to restore its factory settings by turning on the propeller while pressing buttons 11 and 12 at the same time but it has not worked either.

 

So I have connected it via USB to my iMac with High Sierra 10.13.6.

 

I have installed the latest update of HX Edit and it recognized the helix but when I wanted to click on a present I got an error message saying

 

"Failed to load preset.

 

Timeout waiting for a response from device.

 

I have tried different USB cables, different usb ports, also rebooting by pressing buttons 7 and 8. I have tried to import and export .hlx files in HX EDIT with success, but I have not been able to recover previous backups with the extension .hxb.

Nothing has worked, my helix is not responding to anything and I desperately need this device to work. Please, I beg any ideas to fix it. I apologize for my English, it is not my mother tongue, I hope I was understood. Thanks a lot.

 

Juancho

 

(PD: Photo 1 buttons 11 and 12 are in red. Photo2, only 11 )

[Ilya-V]

Try reflashing the firmware with Line6 Updater.

Boot the helix in Update Mode (hold footswitches 6 + 12, power on), and use the Updater to flash the "Flash Memory (5MB)" of v3.01 you can find in the download section.

Don't worry about presets, and backups now, first resurrect your Helix.

[SenseiJuancho]

thanks for your answer. I have installed the latest Line6 Updater updates, I have turned on the Helix in Update mode, pressing buttons 6 and 12, until "Entered Update mode!" Has appeared on the screen. But the iMac does not detect the Helix. "Select device to update" appears on the Updater screen, but there is nothing to choose, it is a black box. I don´t know how to install the flash memory in other way, is it possible? I think I'm going to uninstall all the line 6 items in my iMac and reinstall them again, to see if something new happens.

[datacommando]

15 hours ago, SenseiJuancho said:

My Helix has died.

Hi,

 

First thing to try is the factory reset options to see if it will blow the bugs out.

 

Reset Options

 

Helix Floor/LT

Button Combination	Description
2	LED light Fun
3 & 4	Test Mode
5 & 6	Global reset
7 & 8	Reset setlists to factory, Keep IRs
8 & 9	Reset setlists to factory, Clear IRs
9 & 10	Reset setlists to factory, Global reset, Clear IRs
10 & 11	Upgrades existing presets to latest format
11 & 12	Clear current preset
5 & 12	Clear setlists, clear IRs, Return system settings to default
6 & 12	Safe boot mode

To use Reset Options:

• Power off the Helix
• Hold the desired button combination
• Power on the Helix
• Release the button combination

Please note: Buttons are numbered from top left to bottom right.

 

If the Factory reset fails then follow these instructions:

 

First go to the "DOWNLOADS" menu at the top of this page and from  "-ALL HARDWARE-" select Helix, then leave the "-ALL SOFTWARE-" as it is, now select your Mac OS from under the "-ALL OS-" tab, then click “GO”.  From the next page you can select HX Edit 3.01 for your Helix, then below that you will also need the Firmware 3.01 Flash Memory. Now scroll right the way down the page where you will find Line 6 Updater version 1.9. 

 

Download all these items to your computer and note where they are.

 

Ensure that HX Edit is closed and that you have your Helix connected to your PC by USB cable (do not use a hub) and hold down Foot Switches 6&12 while turning the power on. This will put your Helix into “Safe Boot” mode, and you may see a black, or error screen, but just keep going.

 

Now, disconnect from the internet, or any other applications that may be running, and launch the Updater Utility that you downloaded and then select "Offline Mode". Your Helix and current firmware version should now show up in the window, click on the dark green coloured band and you should now have the option to select a  local file - click “Choose File”, point it at the Flash Memory file you downloaded and let it get on with the update. Do not allow your computer to enter “sleep/power saving mode” during the update.

 

When it completes you can install the new HX Edit v.3.01 software and you should be good to go.

 

Should your iMac fail to detect your Helix, power down the Helix and your Mac, remove the Power and USB cable from the Helix and wait about 10 minutes then reconnect everything and reboot your Mac and power up the Helix while holding down FS6&12.

 

No guarantees are given or implied, you do this at your own risk. If it doesn’t work, raise a ticket with Customer Support.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

[SenseiJuancho]

datacommandoI have followed all the steps carefully, but unfortunately I have not been able to fix the problem. I have tried all the button combinations but nothing changes. When HELIX finishes loading the firmware, the programs change randomly and without responding to the buttons. No lights or letters in the rectangles, no button works by pressing, only the dance between programs that I can watch synchronously in the HX edit in the iMac screen. And one last thing, when I restart the Helix by pressing buttons 6 and 12, Hx Edit does not recognize the device.

I can't believe this disaster...

Edited February 21, 2021 by SenseiJuancho
add info

[Ilya-V]

FS 6+12 update mode only works with Line 6 Updater not HX Edit.

 

Try running the Updater first, then powering on the Helix with 6+12.

Change USB pot.

[datacommando]

20 hours ago, SenseiJuancho said:

When HELIX finishes loading the firmware, the programs change randomly and without responding to the buttons. No lights or letters in the rectangles, no button works by pressing, only the dance between programs that I can watch synchronously in the HX edit in the iMac screen. 

 

Hi,

 

This is crazy, because usually in these situations people complain that their Helix is bricked when it fails to complete the update correctly and they get a blank screen. This one appears to boot, but fails to respond to any button pushes. I have to say that as far as I know, everyone else who had a failed update, and then followed the instructions above, managed to get their unit back to normal operation, unless there was a hardware fault, which requires a technician.

 

From what you have stated here, it seems as if you managed to re-install the firmware, because in your second post you said you were unable to do that:

"the iMac does not detect the Helix. "Select device to update" appears on the Updater screen, but there is nothing to choose, it is a black box."

 

If you used the Line 6 Updater Utility and connected to the Helix and you re-installed the firmware, then you managed to connect the Helix and HX Edit over USB, but the Helix doesn't respond to to any command then the best thing to do is to raise a ticket with Customer Support.

 

The only other thing that may be causing a problem is your Mac might be loading and earlier version of HX Edit - Check your Mac is not linking to an ALIAS of HX Edit. Ensure are using version 3.01.

 

When, and if, you are certain that there are no other versions of the Line 6 software on your machine - go through the firmware re-install routine as I described previously. If your Mac can detect the Helix on the USB, run the installer with no other applications running. When the operation completes the Helix should reboot and go through the rebuilding presets routine - make sure this action completes. Then load HX Edit v3.01 and it should connect to the Helix. You should then be able to reload your presets from the back up file which you made before. If you are still having problems, but the HELIX is getting past the startup screen and displaying a preset (as in your photo above), turn the power off and then back on again while holding down FS10 & 11, then release the foot switches as soon as you see the message "Rebuilding Presets" on the screen.

 

Once again - if you cannot get this to work - you may need a technician to lookout it

 

Sorry I cannot be anymore help.

 

 

 

[Ilya-V]

Did you solve this?

Did you try rolling back to 3.00?

I am certain that if it is a software problem, it is solvable.

[SenseiJuancho]

Thank you all for your recommendations. I did all the processes from the beginning, uninstalled all the drivers on my imac and reinstalled them. I used the Updater and with the Helix in Update Mode (pressing the 6 + 12 buttons) I tried to install the previous version of the firmware that did not give me problems, 2.92. And the result is the one I show in the attached video, the random change of programs and buttons continues. Someone suggested to me that there might be some problems with OSx and Helix. Would it be a good idea to try to install it from a Windows PC?

[datacommando]

5 hours ago, SenseiJuancho said:

Would it be a good idea to try to install it from a Windows PC?

This looks like it needs an electronics technician. I have never seen this sort of thing before.

 

You have nothing to lose by trying to install from a Windows PC, but a stream of zeros and ones travelling down a wire, are the same from any computer. I would have thought you Mac was the problem if it was one of the new models, or running Big Sur, but you are running the same system as me (High Sierra on a IMac 27”Retina 5k) and I have never had any issues updating.