Recovering a Bricked UM3/S3/S5

[esteban-pacheco 33]

On 2/7/2019 at 11:36 AM, QasimZahid said:

I used the method mentioned in this thread. How much time should it actually take to install the recovery image? I started installation one and half hour ago and it still hasn't shown any green light around the control knob and no notification on the screen to reboot. 

hey There, well i can remember it  took like around 10 minutes to flash the U3...wanst too complicated. if i where you, i'll give one more try.

 

best,

 

Esteban

[JayCrossler 0]

Is the image file linked above still good?  I've downloaded it twice and used Etcher to burn it to an SD card, but no luck... it keeps saying that it ended early.  File is 324,608 kb.  Is that correct?

[gr5 2,270]

Sorry @JayCrossler  - go to the folder above.  Go here:

http://software.ultimaker.com/jedi/releases/

 

edit: oops - above is wrong.

Try right clicking on the "recovery.img" link and doing "save link as...".

 

OR

 

If your machine isn't technically bricked but you are just trying to downgrade then use the above link, put both versions (the xz file and the sig file) on a USB stick and insert into the printer and then go to the upgrade menu and it will have a new option to install from USB stick (as it will have seen the version there).

 

[JayCrossler 0]

6 hours ago, gr5 said:

Sorry @JayCrossler  - go to the folder above.  Go here:

http://software.ultimaker.com/jedi/releases/

 

I'm afraid to edit my huge post.  Especially right now as quite at least one person bricked their UM3 (by updating to the stepping stone version and then instead of then going to 5.2 they tried to print something).

 

I plan to update the above instructions... soon.

Thanks - should I grab one of those tarballs and install it to an SD card? If so, what's the best way to use Windows to load a tarball (I know how to do it on Linux).  Thanks again, really want to get my Ultimaker back online.

[gr5 2,270]

@JayCrossler - oops my previous post (2 posts up) had mistakes. I edited it. Please re-read.

[ultradryan 9]

hey after the latest firmware updates i am getting a lot of ER18 errors from printheads. usually rebooting or fixing the cable at the back of the core might work. Now the error message pops up right after the logo splash screen , meaning it wont boot into normal menu and it's totally unusable. Does this sounded bricked? can I fix that with the said method?

 

[ultradryan 9]

ok how do i connect SDcard to the mother board's mico-sim card slot???? i go buy a converter or sth?

[Smithy 1,146]

You need a micro SD card.

[esteban-pacheco 33]

8 hours ago, ultradryan said:

ok how do i connect SDcard to the mother board's mico-sim card slot???? i go buy a converter or sth?

Micro SD card.

[gr5 2,270]

@ultradryan - I'm nervous that if you can't figure out the micro sd card then you won't figure out how to download and install and run software that creates a boot partition and installs a boot image (it's nothing like drag and drop files as it is *not* a file system.  It's not fat32.  It's not a file system at all.

 

Also I'm nervous you might have trouble removing the necessary screws and nuts and getting access to the micro sd card slot.  Maybe you should talk to your reseller and have them fix this.

[Swire 0]

@gr5 Thank you so much! 

 

Our Ultimaker 3 got stuck in a remove print loop that showed up in the recent update and this solved it perfectly, even printed out a piece overnight. 

 

Unfortunately when I returned in the morning the same bug reappeared. So I need to reflash the board between every print. 

 

Is there a recovery.img of an older build or is my issue unrelated to build versions?

 

I need to print 4 pieces and I can't just re-flash and re-calibrate each and every time. 

 

My idea is to re-flash again and then use the .xz & xz.sig files to re-roll is to a specific version of software.  

[CarloK 205]

4 hours ago, Swire said:

Is there a recovery.img of an older build or is my issue unrelated to build versions?

A link to a recovery image for the UM3 can be found in the first post in this thread. The recovery image is currently at 4.3.3 which has proved itself as a stable version for almost a year now.

 

Your problem is reported in less than 1% of the printers that downloaded the v5.2.8 version. We are working hard to figure out what's different in those printers. Your information that the printer works after installing the recovery image, but then fails some time later is a valuable clue into discovering the underlying problem.

 

Did you update the printer to a newer version after installing the recovery image from SD card? This might help us discover if the problem is related to the new v5.2.8 or is also present in the v4.3.3.

 

What you can try to do is to execute 'Cura Connect reset' from the Maintenance menu. Please report the results back here.

[Swire 0]

@CarloK I'll do an info dump on monday morning when I have access again. 

 

The machine is reflashed (for a second time) and then used the 4.3.3 recovery image. It's stable for now after 2 continues uses with no re-boot.

 

I'll post log files and the rest you advises. 

 

Thank you, and have a great weekend! 

[Ahsan 0]

Hi
I am using the same recovery image attached at the beginning of this forum for my ultimaker um3.
It wasnt showing anything on the printer's screen on installation. But after connecting an external LCD, it did show the installation complete message (as shown in the attached image), but after removing the sd card and rebooting it always gets stuck at (starting the kernel...) and nothing comes up on the printer's screen itself.

 

Is the problem with recovery image or something else?

[peterownwindow 0]

Dear Ultimaker community,

 

Our UM3 printer has an error when booting using the provided recovery.img.

It gets stuck at 02 from the 15.

 

When attaching an external monitor it gives us the massage shown in the added picture.

Does anyone know how this can be solved?

 

Regards,

Peter

[bastos80 2]

To whom it may concern: this also helped me recover my UM3 from a unusable state caused by updating to firmware 5.2.11 (display issues, mid-print hangs, auto bed leveling errors). It's now back at FW 4.3.3 and I don't dare update it again out of fear it'll break again.

 

Ultimaker referred me to a support partner that tried to convince me that my hardware was at fault and wanted to charge me €100 just to send it in so they could inspect it. I imagine they would just have replaced the logic board and say: "See, that fixed it" and charge me for a new logic board as well. Now that I used this procedure to restore my Ultimaker 3 it works like a charm again, 48 hr print without any problems whatsoever.

[chuck-yanke 10]

I tried to update from 4.3.3 to the current firmware version and the screen on the U3 is messed up. I reflashed the the firmware with the micro SD card and same result. I can not find the recovery image for 4.3.3. Can some one point me to the location to download it? i went to Ultimaker site they have 4.7x but that does not help. I even replace the Wifi card as that has been a problem in the past with no success.

[CarloK 205]

On 9/10/2020 at 9:16 PM, chuck-yanke said:

I can not find the recovery image for 4.3.3. Can some one point me to the location to download it?

You missed the first post in this thread. It has a link to a recovery image which I believe is still the 4.3.3 version.

 

Here is the UM3 v4.3.3 recovery direct link: https://software.ultimaker.com/jedi/releases/UM3_recovery-4.3.3.20180529.img
And the recovery for UM3 v5.2.16: https://software.ultimaker.com/releases/firmware/9511/stable/5.2.16.20200331/recovery-5.2.16.20200331.img

 

These files work for both the standard UM3 and the UM3 Extended.

Edited January 7, 2021 by CarloK
Updated link from 5.2.11 to 5.2.16

[JayCrossler 0]

Just as a follow-up, I’ve done another 1000+ prints after reverting back to this image so I can confirm that it works. 

[chuck-yanke 10]

Thanks for link

Chuck

[JohnInOttawa 104]

+1, back in business after following this thread.

 

Merci!!

 

John

[The_Mixa 0]

Hi, i have a similar Problem, but the solution is not working for me.

I have done the image but the printer is not loading it.

Over HDMI I get this

Any Ideas?

Best Michael

[Smithy 1,146]

Have you tried a different sd card?

And how have you bricked the printer? During some update or did it happen just during normal use? Because it is also possible that the Olimex board itself is the problem.

[The_Mixa 0]

I have installed Bondtech Extruders and for them I have used Putty and dev mode to change parameters. In the end I did the reboot over putty. The UM3 was not starting normally. It was stopped with the ultimaker logo and green LED wheel.

[Smithy 1,146]

Ok, then it is clear, you probably did a small mistake when you changed the parameter. A single character too much or less can result in a bricked printer, because during the startup it hangs on loading/reading the configuration file.

 

But anyway, the recovery procedure should work, maybe try to use a different sd card or try to reformat the current sd card and try it again.