PD GO connection problems (yes , me too)

[Guest]

Hello forum-people,,

 

Been having the POD GO for about a week now and I have to say that I'm quite happy with it soundwise. Came from a HD500X, which I still think is great, but the POD GO has some benefits which I was searching for.

 

As I've read on this forum many users already had struggles with connecting the POD GO  to their PC or laptop. Sadly I am no exception. I was very eager to update the device to FW 1.30 after I got it, but have been strugling with it for a week now .....  I would chronologically like to share my findings:

 

• After first install op PG Edit the device connected but connection was gone after about 10 seconds or so
• Tried all kinds of resets, reboots of PC, different USB ports, but no succes
• Tried older versons of PG Edit
• Ordered a powered hub as suggested on this forum
• Tried with another laptop, both with and without the Hub
• Tried different USB cables, also older ones
• All of this did not solve the POD GO from disconnecting after a short while

 

As of this morning I followed the Line6 Updater steps (as a first thing after starting up my PC), so I booted the PG into update mode. The PG was detected as LPC by my system. I waited for a few minutes and this connection seemed stable. After that I launched the updater, waited again to be sure it was stable. And then I was lucky to be able to do a succesfull FW upgrade to 1.30!

 

Updating the FW was my main goal. However, PG Edit still keeps having the disconnection problem. Strangly enough my HD500X connects fine with the HD500X Edit SW and stays connected all the time.

 

• So what strange USB behavior or drivers are present in this unit which where OK in the HD500X? I'm puzzled?
• I've filed a ticket at Line6 support, let's see what their explanation is.
• To get the PG connect again, I have to shut it down for 5 minutes or so, put it on again, and then same behavior ....

 

So for the time being,  no working Edit software for me :-(

 

All the best!

[skryptus]

Is your POD Go new or you bought it used?

 

If it's new, you should use it with the USB cable that came in the box. If that doesn't work, there might be an issue either in the USB on the POD Go (and in that case you should invoke the warranty) or in the PC (might help us helping you if you tell us which computer, OS, etc.). You can try another PC if you can (a friend's, if you only have one at home). 

 

Also, make sure you're not using any USB hub. It may also help running the PG Edit in administrator mode, although I don't think that should make a difference in connection stability. 

[voxman55]

2 hours ago, skryptus said:

Is your POD Go new or you bought it used?

 

Also, make sure you're not using any USB hub. 

 

Umm, not necessarily so where the standard USB port might not be delivering sufficiently strong enough power to cope with the data load.  A powered hub has been the solution for many, and a non-powered hub connected to the rear USB port of my PC (more power than the front USB ports) has been a great solution for me whereby my PG Edit works perfectly.  

[Guest]

Thanks @skryptus and @voxman55 for your suggestions.

 

As Voxman55 already mentioned, many people seemed to have solved it by indeed using a powered USB hub. However, Line6 support who already contacted me told me to NOT use a hub. Also a person on this forum said he used an 'old' USB cable which for him was the solution. So strangely enough using the USB cable that came with the unit is not always the way to 'GO' ;-)

 

Ok, so yesterday I managed to get it working for only once! I could not reproduce it afterwards, but will try again soon. Here's what I did:

• After messing around for a while with the POD and PC I decided to switch them off for half an hour or so
• After that I switched on the PC with no USB devices connected
• I connected my USB keyboard and started the config screen to monitor connected devices
• Then I disconnected the USB keyboard
• Then I connected POD GO (to one of my rear USB ports), it was detected!... so now fingers crossed
• PG stayed connected even after a few minutes!
• I connected the keyboard again and launced PG Edit
• Connection stayed there even after few mintues!
• I connected my USB mouse and was able to work with the stuff!

Unfortunately after disconnecting everything and powering up again this did not work anymore :-(  Guess there is some USB-power stuff going on which is not there when everything is freshly started but is there when devices still have electrical fields (due to discharging capacitors or so) in them which then disturb the USB power system?!

 

Today I will try again with my girlfriends laptop, which I tried before and also had the problem, but let's see what happens if I trie the same bootup sequence.

 

P.S. Line6 support told me to reset the POD (you know with the C and D buttons) and I also did that yesterday, but no solution

[voxman55]

2 hours ago, superzult said:

Thanks @skryptus and @voxman55 for your suggestions.

 

As Voxman55 already mentioned, many people seemed to have solved it by indeed using a powered USB hub. However, Line6 support who already contacted me told me to NOT use a hub. Also a person on this forum said he used an 'old' USB cable which for him was the solution. So strangely enough using the USB cable that came with the unit is not always the way to 'GO' ;-)

 

Ok, so yesterday I managed to get it working for only once! I could not reproduce it afterwards, but will try again soon. Here's what I did:

• After messing around for a while with the POD and PC I decided to switch them off for half an hour or so
• After that I switched on the PC with no USB devices connected
• I connected my USB keyboard and started the config screen to monitor connected devices
• Then I disconnected the USB keyboard
• Then I connected POD GO (to one of my rear USB ports), it was detected!... so now fingers crossed
• PG stayed connected even after a few minutes!
• I connected the keyboard again and launced PG Edit
• Connection stayed there even after few mintues!
• I connected my USB mouse and was able to work with the stuff!

Unfortunately after disconnecting everything and powering up again this did not work anymore :-(  Guess there is some USB-power stuff going on which is not there when everything is freshly started but is there when devices still have electrical fields (due to discharging capacitors or so) in them which then disturb the USB power system?!

 

Today I will try again with my girlfriends laptop, which I tried before and also had the problem, but let's see what happens if I trie the same bootup sequence.

 

P.S. Line6 support told me to reset the POD (you know with the C and D buttons) and I also did that yesterday, but no solution

 

It sounds like there may be a problem with your PC's USB settings/mappings and you may need to clear your ports. I don't know if you are on Windows 7 or 10, but there are a number of articles and youtube guides that might help you locate & fix the problem.  Here's one:

 

https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windows-and-office/map-and-troubleshoot-your-usb-ports-with-microsoft-usb-view/

 

Or it could be a driver issue - or a power-save issue where the latter needs to be disabled:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rtP4RwrhkY

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Thanks alot @voxman55 will look into this shortly!

 

This afternoon I did some experiments with my girlfriends laptop. At first bootup of the Laptop and Pod Go everything was fine. But later on the same sh*t started happening again, also on this laptop.

 

Wonder if Line6 is willing me to collect some diagnostics for them on this issue. Would be glad to help them to improve their software.

 

For now, if I ever want to play with PG Edit, I guess I need a fresh bootup of both systems (after they were off for about 30 mins at least) and then everything 'could' work if I am lucky ....

[Guest]

Ok, for who's interested, this is what Line6 support told me:
 

Quote

Hi,
not normal,
if you get the same issue with two different PCs the POD Go should be checked by service
(please contact your reseller where you purchased the POD Go)

 

I did some more testing by the way. I've downloaded a simple tool called USBLogView from Nirsoft. With that I was able to monitor how long the connection to the POD was there. This seemed to vary between 1 and 15 minutes! Moestly it was 1 till 5 minutes and in rare occasions (just after bootup it might reach 15 min) But nevertheless it always disconnected itself.

 

To be very sure today I also tested with USBLogView on my employers laptop, and there same stuff happened. Now I am definitely sure I have a unit with a USB issue.

 

So for anyone also having POD GO connection problems and havving this on diffrent PC's:  your unit could have a real hardware problem with the USB!

 

Now let's see if my reseller is able to do a swap on short notice ....

[dimablaw]

Same trouble here. Using 1.30. MIDI key is worjing perfectly with the same cable and port. Any suggestions>?) TY

[Guest]

Hi all,

 

I have an update on this issue. Yesterday I did some more testing and suddenly I isolated the problem to be at the connection of the USB cable into the POD USB socket. While moving the cable the POD sometimes disconnected from the PC. However, when connection was there again it stayed stable all the time. 

After more plugging in and out even the moving of the cable did not hamper the connection anymore. It now is super stable!? Also today with some more testing with cable in and out, moving the cable in the socket does not give concection problems anymore.

 

This is my final conclusion: I got a unit which most probably had a dirty USB socket. Due too the many plugging in and out of the cable, the socket finally became cleaner and cleaner and the dirt problem giving connection hickups is now gone .... could be logical right?

 

Hope that makes senso to some of you having the same problems ...

[dimablaw]

And so the service center repaired my unit. The reason for the breakdown: poor communication between the usb port and the board. Soldered back. Good luck to all)

[Guest]

Thanks for your adition @dimablaw. This could indeed also be the case in my unit .... but somehow it settled itself during last week or something like that?? So my problem could pop-up again in the future if it wasn't a dirty socket but a badly soldered USB port .... will keep this in mind, thanks!

 

[gothmog666]

Preface: Don't do this, just go through the support team and have them fix it.

 

So my Pod Go was having the same problem. Not an intermittent connection, no connection at all. Tried a couple different computers, 4 different usb ports (which all worked with other devices) and after reading this thread, I determined that it must be a hardware issue.

 

Grabbed a screwdriver and a 11mm socket and took out almost all the screws off the back plate and set it aside. The top board is the one with the USB connector on it but it's held in with the 8 input and output jacks on the back of the unit.

 

It doesn't look like there's really any way the USB connector could have a bad solder. All of the solders points are on the face-up part of the board and are clearly visible without removing it. There are two grounding solders on either side of the connector on the upside down side. More importantly, there is a connector between the two circuit boards which is only accessible by getting the top board loose and flipping her over.

 

Take out all 8 of the silver connectors. Don't lose any of the black plastic 'washers'; they are on both sides of the housing. The big ole wide ribbon cable connects the top board to the bottom board which is what makes the display work, don't mess with that.

 

I initially thought that this connector with 4 wires could be something to do with the power to the display but it is labeled 'USB' and it does line up with the physical USB connector. Turns out one of the two connections was loose. For mine, it was the side connecting to the top board. I unplugged it and it came out of the socket really easy (not a good sign), and put it back on. There was a TACTILE clunk when it put it back it. It makes me think that it wasn't properly put in at the factory. There are bits of hot glue on either side of the connector, but that doesn't do much if it's not plugged in all the way in the first place.

 

I tested it before re-assembling it all the way and it connected to my PC perfectly and I even installed 1.3 before putting the back plate back on.

 

Pretty annoying but I'm happy it works now.

 

Obviously I don't work for Line6 and I'm sure this potentially can void a warranty or something. I was super careful and intended to stop fiddling with it before doing anything destructive. In retrospect, I would've just gone with the support team and had them fix it for me.