Truly dead after firmware upgrade – any ideas?

[Mike1]

Hi folks!

I tried to upgrade my TEK’s firmware today and somehow managed to completly brick it. I used the official upgrade tool and a 3.40 hex file from the layout designer (on an old Windows XP machine). First time I pressed Upgrade it went from 0% to 100% but didn’t display a success message, so I pressed it a second time and got a DFU Reset failed error. After reconnecting the TEK it doesn’t even do any USB enumeration anymore. dmesg on a Linux machine is completly quiet.
Soooo, I guess there is no way to flash the firmware over USB if I don’t even see a device ID etc.? How accommodating is Truly Ergonomic concerning replacements in such cases? Would it be possible to do some open heart surgery and flash the firmware with a hardware programmer and some wires?

Regards
Michael

[EvillePanda]

I've heard their customer service is not so good.  Did you turn off the DIP switch before flashing?

[Azteca]

You can try resetting the MCU/firmware, it might allow you to reinstall a firmware. It works most of the time, if you really bricked the MCU, then there is not much to do.

Open the keyboard
Reset the MCU
Upload a Firmware
Close the keyboard
 

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How to open the Truly Ergonomic Keyboard:
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=38943.msg803906#msg803906

Info provided by Truly Ergonomic:

Please be aware that if you open the keyboard, you will dismiss all guarantees.

1.   First remove the 9 screws that hold the palmrest, and then remove the palmrest.

2.   Then remove the top 2 screws and the 4 additional screws that were hidden by the palmrest.

3.   There are 2 additional screws under the back label – located on each of the top corners. Press the label on each corner with your thumbs or fingers to feel where the screw cavity is located, and then use a screwdriver or cutter to split through the label. http://www.trulyergonomic.com/store/image/data/Truly_Ergonomic-underside_all_screws.jpg

4.   After all screws are out, you need to 'horizontally-twist' the top-body against the bottom-body as there are 6 'hooks' that hold these two parts together; 4 hooks on the backside where the cable is located, and 1 hook on each side.

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How to Reset the MCU
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=38943.msg787293#msg787293

With the keyboard plugged into your computer:
Touch Pin 1 and pin 36 - the upper pins of each side of the chip when the round angle mark is at the top left.



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Upload default firmware:
https://www.trulyergonomic.com/store/firmware-upgrade--truly-ergonomic-mechanical-keyboard

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Hope it helps.

[Mike1]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately the reset didn’t help. Looks like the Controller was really running without any (or broken) firmware. It’s really a shame if an end-user device from 2011 can be broken by something as simple as a failed firmware update.

Anyways, I got impatient waiting for an answer from Truly Ergonomic, so I re-wired the whole keyboard (88 diodes, 3m of wire  ) and used an Arduino Micro as controller. Works like a charm and can’t be broken by a firmware upgrade

[Azteca]

Great that you were able to rewire. Can you post some images.

Is the Arduino controller programmable, or you don't need reprogramming?

[EvillePanda]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately the reset didn’t help. Looks like the Controller was really running without any (or broken) firmware. It’s really a shame if an end-user device from 2011 can be broken by something as simple as a failed firmware update.

Anyways, I got impatient waiting for an answer from Truly Ergonomic, so I re-wired the whole keyboard (88 diodes, 3m of wire  ) and used an Arduino Micro as controller. Works like a charm and can’t be broken by a firmware upgrade

That's impressive.  Glad you got it working.

[metalliqaz]

Using the reset pin jumps to the bootloader.  It shouldn't be possible to corrupt the bootloader with a botched firmware load.

[addwyn]

...Unfortunately the reset didn�t help. Looks like the Controller was really running without any (or broken) firmware...

DIP switch #5 must be ON (firmware protected) during the reset to have the MCU restarting in ISP mode (Yes, that's the opposite position of the DIP switch #5 OFF that allows firmware to be reprogrammed the "normal" way !)

[zorglups]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately the reset didn’t help. Looks like the Controller was really running without any (or broken) firmware. It’s really a shame if an end-user device from 2011 can be broken by something as simple as a failed firmware update.

Anyways, I got impatient waiting for an answer from Truly Ergonomic, so I re-wired the whole keyboard (88 diodes, 3m of wire  ) and used an Arduino Micro as controller. Works like a charm and can’t be broken by a firmware upgrade

Hello Mike,

Would you PLEASE be so kind to share some details on your re-wiring of the TEK?
Did you load QMK on it?

Thanks a lot,

Pierre

[SpAmRaY]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately the reset didn’t help. Looks like the Controller was really running without any (or broken) firmware. It’s really a shame if an end-user device from 2011 can be broken by something as simple as a failed firmware update.

Anyways, I got impatient waiting for an answer from Truly Ergonomic, so I re-wired the whole keyboard (88 diodes, 3m of wire  ) and used an Arduino Micro as controller. Works like a charm and can’t be broken by a firmware upgrade

Hello Mike,

Would you PLEASE be so kind to share some details on your re-wiring of the TEK?
Did you load QMK on it?

Thanks a lot,

Pierre

Was QMK a thing in 2014?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[metalliqaz]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately the reset didn’t help. Looks like the Controller was really running without any (or broken) firmware. It’s really a shame if an end-user device from 2011 can be broken by something as simple as a failed firmware update.

Anyways, I got impatient waiting for an answer from Truly Ergonomic, so I re-wired the whole keyboard (88 diodes, 3m of wire  ) and used an Arduino Micro as controller. Works like a charm and can’t be broken by a firmware upgrade

Hello Mike,

Would you PLEASE be so kind to share some details on your re-wiring of the TEK?
Did you load QMK on it?

Thanks a lot,

Pierre

Sounds like he essentially did a whole hand-wire job on it.  He probably used TMK given the year, as spamray noted.