3.60 update error

[rwinking]

I have a Helix Rack, LT and HX FX. In trying to update all to 3.60, the HX FX worked with no issues. The LT and Rack, however kept downloading the update but when it gets to around 27MB I get an error message: Unknown Error. [code -2004] My internet seems fine and I unplugged the router, restarted my mac and did the usual stuff. Any ideas?

Also, once I get it downloaded, where will I find the John Nathan Cordy preset for the Grammatico? He said it comes with the update. Mostly I want to steal his reverb on it!

[rwinking]

Oh, and yes, I was able to update HX Edit to 3.60. It did the error a couple of times and then I looed at my version number and it looks like it made it to 3.60.

[datacommando]

On 5/4/2023 at 8:55 PM, rwinking said:

I have a Helix Rack, LT and HX FX. In trying to update all to 3.60, the HX FX worked with no issues. The LT and Rack, however kept downloading the update but when it gets to around 27MB I get an error message: Unknown Error. [code -2004] My internet seems fine and I unplugged the router, restarted my mac and did the usual stuff. Any ideas?

Also, once I get it downloaded, where will I find the John Nathan Cordy preset for the Grammatico? He said it comes with the update. Mostly I want to steal his reverb on it!

Hi

I had this exact situation last week after logging in to my account. I'm running OSX Catalina (10.15.7) and my installed version of HX Edit detected the update and started to download the new HX Edit v3.6, but at about 70% it stopped and a message appeared on screen which said it would launch a web browser for me to manually download the editor. I did that without issue and installed HX Edit 3.6

 

After launching HX Edit 3.6 it detected my Helix and I started the firmware download and installation once more . Again, part way through the process HX Edit threw the towel in and popped up the message - “"HX Edit  Failed to download firmware update file. Please check your internet connection and try again. Unknown Error. [code -2004]. First time this has ever happened to me, and I put it down to network traffic, or possibly a busy server. I don’t have other things open, or running in the background, while updating.

 

Using the web browser to download all the components for a local off-line install, it did not present an issue - my internet connection was solid. Then using the Line 6 Updater, while disconnected from my local network and the internet, the installation was quick and flawless. Done, no problems!

 

I have no idea what caused HX Edit to flag an “Unknown Error”. and there seems to be less “update bricked my Helix” posts on this update, but it is still not totally pain free.

 

As for young Mr Cordy’s presets, the are in the update, but if you followed the procedure of reloading your back up, you will have overwritten them. Don’t panic! You can go to this thread and grab them.

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

[rwinking]

I had the exact issue while trying to download HX Edit and like you, it finally worked. I am a little confused as to how you finally got it working. So you disconnect HX Edit and the unit, then download the update from where? That worked on the HX Edit, but I did not get the web page with the error message when I tried to do the Helix rack update....just the error message.

 

[datacommando]

On 5/4/2023 at 10:04 PM, rwinking said:

I had the exact issue while trying to download HX Edit and like you, it finally worked. I am a little confused as to how you finally got it working. So you disconnect HX Edit and the unit, then download the update from where? That worked on the HX Edit, but I did not get the web page with the error message when I tried to do the Helix rack update....just the error message.

 

 
Hi,

 

It’s like using the “get out of jail free” card. All the elements that are in the payload bundle of the Firmware Update can be downloaded as separate files. It is usually used as a last resort for a failed firmware update. In fact Line 6 has the basic instructions listed here in the “Knowledge Base” area of this forum - (see link below).

 

I, amongst several other regular users of this forum, have developed an instinct for how to deal with some general weirdness that can surface during the course of flashing the Helix firmware. What we haven’t been able to fix is user error. AFAIK, you didn’t encounter “user error”, but rather more likely some strange disruption to the FTP on the servers. 
 

Line 6 has spent quite some time trying to make the Firmware update installation process as user friendly as possible, but as we are aware, if it can go wrong, it will.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

Here’s the Line 6 Recovery Info.

Enjoy your new update.

[rwinking]

Does anyone know how to put helix rak in update mode?

At this point I am patiently awainting my Helix LT to finish downloading the update. I am hoping it works. If so, I have not found anywhere that says how to put the Rack in Update mode. I may have to pull out  the floor controller and see if pushing the same two footswitches while booting up will work..

[PerS]

https://helixhelp.com/tips-and-guides/universal/reset-options

 

Scroll down to "Rack", last option

 

/Per

[rwinking]

So I had the LT in update mode, used the updater, 3.60 update showed up. I clicked on it and 5 hours later it was still saying that it was updating. Man, this is frustrating. Using the standard method, at one point I almost had it up to 29mg before it failed.

FX edit and HX FX are updated but that is as far as I can get so far. It doesn't seem to like the rack or lt.

rick

[datacommando]

On 5/5/2023 at 7:23 AM, rwinking said:

So I had the LT in update mode, used the updater, 3.60 update showed up. I clicked on it and 5 hours later it was still saying that it was updating. Man, this is frustrating. Using the standard method, at one point I almost had it up to 29mg before it failed.

FX edit and HX FX are updated but that is as far as I can get so far. It doesn't seem to like the rack or lt.

rick

Hi,

 

Five hours is an extraordinary length of time to run the update. There is definitely something not right for it to take such a long time. You didn’t say if this was while you are still connected to the internet, because it appears to me that the File Transfer Protocol is flakey, and that is why HX Edit puts up the error message.

 

Here is the way I did the update on my Helix floor in local/offline mode. I have swapped all references to Helix to Helix Rack.

 

First - remove all prior installations of Line 6 HX Edit - on a Mac ensure there are no aliases pointing back to an earlier version.

 

Now go to the "DOWNLOADS" menu at the top of this page and from  "- Choose Hardware -" select Helix Rack, then under "- Choose Software -" select HX Edit, now select your PC/Mac OS from under the "- Choose OS -" tab, then click “Go”.  From the next page you can select HX Edit 3.6 for your Helix Rack, repeat the download procedure for the Firmware v.3.6 Flash Memory, and the Line 6 Updater version 1.27. 

 

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

 

Unplug the USB cable from both your computer and the Helix Rack, then turn the HX Rack off, and then on again while holding in Encoders 1&6 while turning the power on. This will put your Rack into “Safe Boot” mode, at this point you may see a black, or error screen, but just keep going.

 

Ensure that HX Edit is closed and reconnect you Helix Rack to your computer with a known good USB cable - do not use a hub, some front USB ports on PCs act like a hub, so use one of the ports on the back.

 

Ensure you are disconnected from the internet, also Shut down all Line 6 software or any programs that use audio, like DAWs, iTunes, Spotify, video games, etc. If your computer's sleep timer is set relatively short, disable it, as the update can fail if your computer goes to sleep. Make sure external devices are not currently sending MIDI to Helix/HX. If you're unsure, unplug Helix/HX's MIDI IN port.

 

Now launch the Updater Utility that you downloaded earlier, 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. If you are updating from a firmware version prior to v.2.80 the installation may appear to happen twice - this is normal as the Core operating system is being modified.

 

When it completes, you need to perform a factory reset on your Helix Rack, then you can install the new HX Edit v.3.6 software, perform a restore from backup using the file you created before starting the failed update,and you should be good to go. 

 

Please note: After you complete the restore from back up, you will notice that the next time you restart the hardware, it will run the “Rebuilding Presets” routine. This is perfectly normal as it ensures that all you older presets are optimised for use in the new firmware. Also, any time you install a preset created with an earlier version of the firmware (e.g. a preset downloaded from CustomTone, etc.), the Rebuilding Presets function will run again after the next restart - this is an expected housekeeping routine for the unit.

 

No guarantees are given or implied, you do this at your own risk. If it doesn’t work, raise a ticket with Customer Support - you may have a hardware issue that cannot be resolved by anyone in this user forum.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by datacommando
Corrected encoder numbers

[rwinking]

THis is not going well at all. I am trying your ideas but there are a couple of glitches. (I found out that it is encoder 1 & 6 for putting the rack in update mode. 5 & 6 does a factory reset.)

When I open up the updater sometimes it is just spinning until I restart my computer, like it is mocking me. Other times it just says "Select Device to Upgrade" but there is no device. I am hooked up via USB to the Rack. Once I get it open I have tried two different ways....1) I don't sign in and just click on offline mode but nothing appears. 2) Last night I signed in and then the rack showed up and it started to update. I left it on all night and it never did update.

I do appreciate all of the help, Mr. Datacommando.

BTW, I was able to download those new presets and was able to steal Cordy's reverbs from his patch, minus the new Grammatico as that is still out there in the ether. I have some gigs this weekend so at least I can get that nice reverb that he is using.

[rwinking]

I got it to work! I don't know what I did differently, but I suspect that maybe my updater was corrupted or something. I got rid of everything and started over using the method you described. I am eternally grateful to you! NOw hopefully I can replicate this with my Helix LT and Stomp XL. The HX FX was no problem at all yesterday and the crazy stuff started with the Helix.

One last (hopefully!) question. It siad that I need to do a factory reset on the rack? (At least I know which encoders to use, ha ha...) Then go  and reload all of the new stuff?

[datacommando]

On 5/5/2023 at 6:34 PM, rwinking said:

I got it to work! I don't know what I did differently, but I suspect that maybe my updater was corrupted or something. I got rid of everything and started over using the method you described. I am eternally grateful to you! NOw hopefully I can replicate this with my Helix LT and Stomp XL. The HX FX was no problem at all yesterday and the crazy stuff started with the Helix.

One last (hopefully!) question. It siad that I need to do a factory reset on the rack? (At least I know which encoders to use, ha ha...) Then go  and reload all of the new stuff?

Hi,

 

Glad to know that you have managed to update your Helix Rack successfully - finally! Apologies, yes, the safe boot/update encoders 1&6 are correct, exactly as stated at helixhelp.com - I will edit my instructions.

 

Re: Factory Reset - From the Release Notes for v3.6 Firmware:

 

• Perform a factory reset. IMPORTANT! MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A BACKUP FIRST, AS A FACTORY RESET WILL ERASE ALL YOUR WORK!
  • Helix Floor/LT: While holding footswitches 9 & 10 (bottom row, 2 middle switches), turn on Helix Floor/LT
  • Helix Rack: While holding knobs 5 & 6 (2 furthest right knobs below the screen), turn on Helix Rack
  • HX Effects: While holding footswitches 6 & TAP (2 farthest right switches on the bottom row), turn on HX Effects
  • HX Stomp: While holding footswitches 2 & 3, turn on HX Stomp
  • HX Stomp XL: While holding footswitches C & D, turn on HX Stomp
• OPTIONAL: Performing a factory reset loads the new 3.60 Factory Presets, but restoring from your backup will overwrite these. Spend some time exploring these and export the factory presets you want to keep (or drag them to your desktop). If you have unused setlists in Helix Floor/Rack/LT, you can also export the entire FACTORY 1 bundle for loading into an unused setlist later.
• From the top File menu, select Restore From Backup... If you don't have any important presets in Setlist 1, click the disclosure triangle next to Presets and uncheck the first setlist's box; this will retain 3.60's FACTORY 1 setlist. Select the backup file created in Step 1 and click Restore Backup.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

 

Note:

In a similar thread on here, it was suggested that anyone having an issue with trying update using HX Edit, should raise a ticket with Customer Support reporting details of the error. There is a possibility that this may be a bug in the update routine, and the more people who can report this, then the more chance of a fix.

 

My ticket is already in listing the Unknown Error [code - 2004] specifically.