New Fantom-07, System Update BRICKED My Board

[Drakton]

I just opened my new Fantom-07.
Checked the system software version (1.0.0), and proceeded to update using the instructions at https://www.roland.com/us/support/by_pr ... a80aa78a1/
The instructions are not clear under UPDATE PROCEDURE -> STEP 2. It is not clear when to release the WRITE button. It says the message "Insert Memory To USB (board1)" shows (which it did). Then it says to continue to hold it down, until "Insert Memory To USB (board1)" appears. THAT IS THE SAME EXACT MESSAGE.

To be safe, I went ahead and just held down the button, until it showed that the files were transferring, and then it ran the script, and finally showed Update End, on the top half of the display. On the bottom half, it displayed "Insert Memory To USB (board2)". I let go of the WRITE button at this point.

Following the directions, leaving the power on, I unplugged my USB stick from the "MEMORY" port, and plugged it into the "EXT DEVICE" port. Nothing happened. I expected to see a file transfer progress bar again, or something, but nothing changed. I waited for a few minutes. It still says "Insert Memory To USB (board2)". It won't go any further and nothing changes on the display. So I had no choice but to turn off the board and try again from the start. I know it said not to turn it off during the update process, but the update STOPPED HALFWAY THROUGH.

So now when I turn on the board, it says "ERROR PROGRAM VERSION ERROR!" Now what?

I am able to restart the process again from power-off, and I get the exact same results. It does the first update and that's it. Rebooting the board normally only gives me the bricked message. Surely there's a way to reset this chunk of .....

[tubemann90125]

Sorry to hear. Was contemplating updating my 06 but will hold off. There's a video on updating Fantoms here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrPmq2phbRg - not sure if it is exactly the same for 06/07 boards.

[thortschman]

I suggest you to try a different USB Stick. It should be formatted in the Fantom upfront but I expect this is not possible at this state.

[PauloF]

I just opened my new Fantom-07.
Checked the system software version (1.0.0), and proceeded to update using the instructions at https://www.roland.com/us/support/by_pr ... a80aa78a1/
The instructions are not clear under UPDATE PROCEDURE -> STEP 2. It is not clear when to release the WRITE button. It says the message "Insert Memory To USB (board1)" shows (which it did). Then it says to continue to hold it down, until "Insert Memory To USB (board1)" appears. THAT IS THE SAME EXACT MESSAGE.

To be safe, I went ahead and just held down the button, until it showed that the files were transferring, and then it ran the script, and finally showed Update End, on the top half of the display. On the bottom half, it displayed "Insert Memory To USB (board2)". I let go of the WRITE button at this point.

Following the directions, leaving the power on, I unplugged my USB stick from the "MEMORY" port, and plugged it into the "EXT DEVICE" port. Nothing happened. I expected to see a file transfer progress bar again, or something, but nothing changed. I waited for a few minutes. It still says "Insert Memory To USB (board2)". It won't go any further and nothing changes on the display. So I had no choice but to turn off the board and try again from the start. I know it said not to turn it off during the update process, but the update STOPPED HALFWAY THROUGH.

So now when I turn on the board, it says "ERROR PROGRAM VERSION ERROR!" Now what?

I am able to restart the process again from power-off, and I get the exact same results. It does the first update and that's it. Rebooting the board normally only gives me the bricked message. Surely there's a way to reset this chunk of .....

Agree that the instructions are not very clear, but at this stage are you able to power on the unit normally?

[Drakton]

I dropped it off at an authorized Roland warranty center. Long story short: They had to reset the board, which seems to have "fixed" the 2nd usb port. My guess is it failed to initialize properly at some point during the first power-on, or from the factory. They reset the board and then successfully updated the software.

Short story long: The repairman told me: He tried to do the update, and got the same results as I did. It would not progress past the point where the 2nd USB port is involved. He reset the board, and tried the patch again, and it worked flawlessly.

Note that when I use the term, "reset" the board, I am not referring to the "user-initiated" reset. The "user-initiated" reset is where you go into the system menus and choose to reset to factory condition. Since I could not boot the board normally, I could not access the on-board menu to reset to factory. The repair guy has access to the secret back-door way of resetting the board, as is common with other various electronics. I don't know if it is a magic keypress combination, or if they open it up and jump a couple pins, but they get all that cool information from Roland of course.

So if anyone runs into this, I hope this will be helpful. I would point out that it's important to know where, in the process, your update fails. If it fails at the same 2nd step where it prompts and waits for the USB stick to be swapped to the 2nd port, and just sits there, then it's a good chance this will solve it. However, if your issue is that it's stopping during the file transfer (progress bar "=====>" on the display), or while it says it's running scripts, or something like that, then it's probably going to end up being something else.

Thanks for all the replies, I truly appreciate the responses!

[FGM]

Drakton, see if SHIFT+EXIT+ENTER is of any help.

It is the trick we use in Fantom when we are told that...

WAVE EXPANSION MEMORY DAMAGED
PLEASE CONTACT CUSTOMER SERVICE

A little window will appear, I think, asking if you want to recover the expansion memory.

😀😀😀😀

[Drakton]

Drakton, see if SHIFT+EXIT+ENTER is of any help.

It did not work on the Fantom-07. It tries to do either SHIFT-ENTER (MIDI Panic mode reset), or SHIFT-ENTER, which brings up the Numeric keypad entry. Thanks for the tip though!

Now I just need to figure out how to use it as a sound module from Cakewalk, so I can convert all my old midi tracks to these new sounds on the board. I think it might require creating an .INS file from scratch. And I don't think I want to do that manual typing for the thousands of sounds that are here. :/ Maybe I can scrape the PDF patch list manual for the text and write a program to spit out the text for the .INS. Hmm...

[FGM]

Have you tried it as Fantom is starting ?
Same than when we hold WRITE for updating or TEMPO for expansions ?

[pianoman41]

Drakton, see if SHIFT+EXIT+ENTER is of any help.

It did not work on the Fantom-07. It tries to do either SHIFT-ENTER (MIDI Panic mode reset), or SHIFT-ENTER, which brings up the Numeric keypad entry. Thanks for the tip though!

You need to hold all three down while you are booting up, not once the board is already on.

[Vesa]

The instructions for firmware update are unbelievably unclear.

I flashed mine to 1.01 yesterday, keep an eye ONLY on the top-most message, Part 1 of the flash is done when top-most message contains "end" and you can release the WRITE button

Now you insert the same USB stick to the other port.

Part 2 of the update should begin, watch the lower half of the screen only.

--- If it doesn't, I suspect USB stick wasn't properly inserted, plug it in.

I've had many poor insertions already, I know this happens.

[Rubyc]

Glad you got it fixed. Can you please measure the length of your white keys on the Fantom 07? I’m trying to decide between the Fantom 06 or Fantom 07 and was hoping the Fantom 07 has longer keys. Thanks

[Drakton]

I just tried updating the board from v1.01 to v1.02. As I expected, the exact same thing happened. The board is stuck in update, and bricked. Last time, the service tech only reset it using their secret factory reset procedure and failed to REPAIR the problem. I requested support again, waiting to hear back. I'm sure they'll tell me the board is now out of warranty and that they won't repair it without me paying for it.

I knew this would happen again and told them back then the first time, that when I try to update the software again to the latest version, I would have the same result. As far as I'm concerned, they never fulfilled their warranty obligation the first time. But hey, I have no rights while they negligent their responsibility.

Thanks for nothing, Roland. For not listening, not repairing and stealing my hard earned money on your POS. You suck.

Here's what it does:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=VmY4b9fTQdo

[Drakton]

Anyone want to buy a barely used otherwise brand new expensive keyboard for spare parts? Maybe I'll just give it to you since I'm not allowed to keep it updated (per their own recommendation to keep it updated and bug fixes), have money or a keyboard.

[mostinif]

Hi Drakton:

It's a bad news. Please execute warranty with Roland on store you bought the unit. Fantom has one year warranty.

BTW, did you use a different USB memory stick?

Please check with a 4GB-16GB USB Stick and format it on Fantom (if you can boot again). Unzip all files again from a PC/notebook into a USB Drive's root directory.

And try again.

The upgrade method is very rudimentary, but works. Fantom's board 2 is "another computer" inside with it's own operating system and has some "issues" with USB Sticks and FAT32 format (depends on Memory stick size).
Best regards,
Flavio

[Drakton]

Hi Flavio,

Thank you for your reply and further insight regarding the two separate boards, each with its own update software.

I have an update to this problem, and how I fixed it. The update software written is an embarrassment to developers (speaking as a developer myself). As you have pointed out that there are two boards internally, and each of them has it's own update software, it is ridiculous they programmed (board 1) completely different than (board 2), regarding how the program recognizes and responds to a USB stick. I make my statement based on how my USB stick (16GB Patriot Memory Supersonic XT) is perfectly readable (since, in my case, board 1 processed the update) for the first stage of the system update, yet (board 2) ignores the USB stick when the second stage of the update attempts to execute.

To make matters worse, their update instructions are just as ridiculously wrong as the update software. These people pay zero attention to detail, and it causes hours of troubleshooting and much more in frustration for the customer. The first time I tried to update my board, the day I received it and after the weeks worth of avoidable back and forth (completely because they did not read my replies to their support directions, with any seriousness), I ultimately wrote up a revised update instruction to correct all their errors in the directions, and gave it to them. Me doing their job, and they are the ones getting paid. And they of course ignored it, and kept their disaster of directions instead.

Now I have an additional deviation to their instructions and update requirements:

• The USB stick does not have to be formatted on the Fantom. This "requirement" is simply a control method so that they can narrow down how much work they have to do as the support guys. The USB stick's file system simply needs to be formatted as FAT32, on your computer, and that's it.

• The USB stick is not required to be no larger than 16GB. With USB sticks larger than 16GB, the Windows format utility might only allow you format as NTFS or exFAT. But you can format sticks > 16GB with FAT32.

One of my USB sticks is a 64GB PNY USB 3.0. Since Roland's response to my current support request is:

Our Customer Support Department is currently closed in observance of the Holiday from 2/30/2022 - 1/4/2023. We will be returning to full capacity on the 4th of January and will be responding to all inquiries as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding!

they will never see my request. There's some magical "the Holiday" which lasts from 2/30/2022 to 1/4/2023. Wow, they get nice perks working there. 11 months off. You may further notice that we are in February 2023, which is later than their "Holiday" end date of January 2023. Their entire system of support, software and everything else is completely a joke. I told them if they hired me to run their customer service department, I would fix all this in less than one day. And I'm not exaggerating. Most of their problem is in the sheer simple errors, crappy work ethic and procedures to run the department. Pardon my harsh words, but they are a complete disgrace, incompetent, lazy and idiotic.

So, what I did was take my 64GB USB stick and plugged it into my Windows 11 Home PC. When I right-clicked the drive in Windows Explorer and selected Format, my only options were NTFS or exFAT, as mentioned earlier. Fine. I downloaded and installed MiniTool Partition Wizard Free. There, I was able to format the 64GB stick as FAT32. I then copied Roland's v1.02 Fantom software to the stick, and updated the board. The onboard software installed v1.02 flawlessly. Using my > 16GB USB stick, which wasn't formatted on the fantom, and wasn't 4GB - 16GB.

Yes, I'm harsh with/about Roland. I'm mad, frustrated and they sit there and do nothing. They aren't interested in clarifying and fixing directions with accurate instructions, much less their update software written at a 10th grade level. They deserve every bit of my lashing out. Every person I have dealt with there at Roland since the day I received my Fantom has been an incompetent buffoon, ignorant and never took the time to read my responding emails with any care, causing a totally preventable week-long back and forth (over 8 emails to and from them), where I had to repeat myself over and over again. I told them exactly all the things I did, and tried, in my initial support request and the immediate response to their first email. And not just once. Every. Single. Email. They kept asking me to "try doing this," or "have you done that," which I had already detailed. Yet they kept doing it. It wasted my time and theirs and they didn't care one bit. I had to provide MY OWN service due to there inexcusable neglect.

I feel for any of you who have had, and will have an issue with your Roland product(s). They simply don't care enough about you as a customer, to do even a mediocre job of which they are charged.

Lastly, I would write up another succinct, correct and clear update procedure instruction, but screw them. They don't want anything fixed. And I'm not doing more of their job, for free. Buyers beware. Roland is defunct. They fully deserve any and all repercussions from other existing/future customers, as a result of this posting.

Thank you for the help, take care and good luck,
Drakton