Helix Freezes: Can't switch presets up or down w/ foot switches

[Howalt]

My Helix Often freezes where it sticks on 1 preset and I can't switch up or down between other installed presets with the Up & Down foot switches on the far left side of the unit.

Is this common easily fixed issue, or should I send it in for a repair?

I'm updated to 3.15. I bought it used on Reverb. My registration says it's still 'In Warranty' until 4/6/2023

[phil_m]

Is it always getting stuck on the one preset? If that’s the case, you can probably just delete that preset.

 

Have you done a factory reset since doing the update?

[Howalt]

Thanks Phil and MGW! To answer your questions: 

It gets stuck on random presets, this morning it was a stock one that came w/ the unit... yesterday it was one I purchased in the Line6 marketplace.

Yes, I have done a factory reset since the update, then I restored my presets from a backup.

Helix went through a lengthy preset 'rebuilding' process upon restart. I thought that might fix things, but it actually made freezing worse. Much worse.

Maybe I just need to keep doing factory resets and installing old presets one at a time???? (ugh)

Maybe I fried the motherboard or something????

I'm all ears for suggestions... I'm on the verge of sending it in for some Line6 workbench time if necessary.

 

[tonawandajon]

I have been having the same issue. Opened up a ticket but haven’t heard from Line 6 yet. It happened in the middle of a song at a show Friday night. Here’s a video of what it’s doing. Don’t mind the puppy… lol

 

[psarkissian]

Log a Support ticket in your account. That will have to be serviced.

[theElevators]

As many have mentioned, you need to always do a reset/restore as part of the upgrade.  Failure to do so may lead to weird behavior. 

 

1. Create a backup using HX Edit.
2. Turn off Helix
3. Unplug USB cable and MIDI cables.
4. Hold down foot-switches 9 + 10 and power on Helix.
5. Once the factory reset has completed, reconnect the USB cable.
6. Restore from the backup using HX Edit.

 

 

 

 

 

I've had my Helix freeze and crash one time.  When the preset was very very heavy in terms of DSP usage and it was connected to HX Edit.  Some presets can become corrupted. 

 

Is the preset really really heavy?  Try doing a restore that will rebuild all presets: back up / restore from a backup.

 

3.15 is really really iffy.  I would not gig with 3.15.  It may have all sorts of surprises.  Try downgrading to 3.11: Run Helix Updater and from there select 3.11.   It could be a hardware failure, but could also be a weird bug.  Why not try a few things before declaring your Helix bricked?  Good luck!

 

 

[tonawandajon]

I don’t think I’m too heavy on the DSP. At one time I’m never running more than an amp, cabinet and  usually one effect. I have several delays in the patch and a couple modulation effects, but they’re used sparingly. 
 

im gonna try rolling back the update and see if that solves it. I did do a factory restore the other day and just loaded a backup, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. 
 

thank you for your response. I’ll let you know if this works. 

[tonawandajon]

Update: I ended up sending it to Line 6. Not sure what the problem is/was, but they have already sent it back after 1 week. So far the service in dealing with their tech support has been great. I’m guessing they solved the problem. 

[Egery4]

tonawandajon,I have a similar problem, please answer how your problem is solved. I will be grateful for your help.

[Fairwan]

I have also started getting the same issue but just in the last 2 weeks. Nothing before that. I will try the factory reset first.

[gbrooksie]

My Helix LT has been doing the same exact thing as stated here since I bought it used. All footswitches and pedals become unresponsive randomly and I have to power off and back on to temporarily bypass the issue. I bought it with the 3.15 update and attempted to factory reset and restore from a backup several times with no luck. When 3.51 came out I was hopeful that the issue would be fixed, but unfortunately it has not. If it's a simple fix I would obviously prefer to do it myself rather than send it in and pay a bench fee and whatever other fees there might be. tonawandajon, can you confirm that the issue was fixed after you sent it in? If so, did they ever happen to give any insight as to what the problem was?

[elbeeuk]

Has the cause of this ever been addressed? Anyone got any insights on the issue?

I've just got a helix floor and the same thing just happened to me. It got stuck on my second preset. All other switches and rotaries work fine except for bank up/down switches and the preset rotary switch.
I plugged it to the laptop and it let me change preset. This seems to have got it out of the jam but I can't be doing this live.

 

Cheers

Elbee

Edited November 4 by elbeeuk
additional info added

[theElevators]

On 11/4/2024 at 4:57 AM, elbeeuk said:

Has the cause of this ever been addressed? Anyone got any insights on the issue?

I've just got a helix floor and the same thing just happened to me. It got stuck on my second preset. All other switches and rotaries work fine except for bank up/down switches and the preset rotary switch.
I plugged it to the laptop and it let me change preset. This seems to have got it out of the jam but I can't be doing this live.

 

Cheers

Elbee

When it crashed, was HX Edit running?  If so, I have a ticket open with L6 regarding HX Edit crashing and causing the Helix to get stuck on a preset.  But without it being connected to the computer (no USB cable), it doesn't crash or get stuck.