828X Stuck in ‘Loading Audio Router, Loading Done’ Loop

[skockets]

Hey everyone. Motu Nation newbie here. I’ve been trying to set up a 24 track studio comprising of 3 828xs that I acquired used from private sellers. Two were tested and seem to be working ok, but the third one, when I initially turned it on, first shows the Motu Firmware screen (Motu 828x 1.07), and then ‘Loading Audio Router…’, both bright, then ‘Loading Done!’…and then it just keeps circling in this loop. It never reaches the ‘Cue Mix FX’ load up screen. I’ve tried pressing the Param button to do a factory reset but it does nothing. I also tried pressing the Page button which occasionally gives me the ‘Skipping Restore From Flash’ message, and then nothing. If I press Page again, it goes to ‘828x Boot v.1.01’, which allows you to reinstall the 1.07 firmware if you like, though if you just turn the 828x off and on again it will restart with the 1.07 screen. Anyway, when I used 828x Updater.exe, it ‘reinstalled’ the firmware 1.07 that was already installed, and nothing changed upon ‘Power Cycle Down and Restart’. Still stuck.

I am afraid the seller sold me a lemon. When I went back to them and told them this, their response was ‘well it was tested and working well when we sold it,’ and they accused me of doing something to the unit. I should have known, their sell pics did not contain any shots of the unit turned on.

Does anyone have any insight into this? I’ve attached some reference pics for y’all. I only attached 3 because i think we have a limitation on how many can be attached.

By the way, I did speak with Motu Tech Support and they didn’t seem to have any advice, if I can’t access the LCD screen to do the factory reset. Additionally, they told me any updates or reinstall action of firmware would have to be done on a PC, which i did with our home PC. I actually plan to run the studio on my iMac running Mac OS 11.6.8 currently (Big Sur). Might there be some way to shock this unit to life by reinstalling firmware through the Mac download? Tech Support told me to do all the updates in Windows, unless I misunderstood.

Hoping for a Lifeline…thanks all in advance for reading through this long post. This is very distressing to have this happen right out of the gate with this unit…ugh

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[mikehalloran]

Reset to factory default. See if you still have a problem.

https://motu.com/techsupport/technotes/reset

[skockets]

Thanks for the quick reply, Mike. I did try the following method for Factory Reset for 828X, by many methods, aka 1. Holding down the Param button before turning on the unit 2. Waiting until the unit starts until holding Param 3. Pressing Param multiple times rather than holding it down.

None worked. That’s why this is so distressing. I tried below but never got to an ‘828X Setup’ phase because it’s stuck in the Loading Audio Router, Loading Done loop and the only way I can get out of it is by pressing the Page button which then gives me either ‘Skipping Restore From Flash’ or ‘828X Boot V1.01’

828x / 828mk3 Hybrid / 828mk3 FW: Press the Param/Setup knob until the LCD screen reads "828X SETUP" (or equivalent). The LCD screen will quickly flash to "LCD CONTRAST". Turn the Param/Setup knob all the way to the right. The LCD screen will read: "Factory Defaults Press [Value]". Push the Value knob. The LCD screen will display "Are you sure? Push [VALUE]". Push the Value knob again to confirm. The LCD screen will read: "Initializing...". The clock LED will flash when reset is complete

[James Steele]

Ugh... I'm sorry for your misfortune. I've got a lot of gear used, but this time when I bought my Mac Studio recently, I shied away from the temptation and got my MOTU 828es new and thought sorely tempted to go to the used market, got a UAD-2 TB Satellite new too. It was a little painful, but peace of mind as, like you, I bought a graphics card from a seller a year or two back that has issues and they pretty much told me "Well it worked for us. Too bad."

But man... I have digressed....

I wish I had something better to add, but... one thing I wonder about and maybe Mike might know. Do you think these units might have some sort of battery back up in them? If' it's something like one of those little watch batteries they used to use the MTP/AVs... CR2032s (I probably have that wrong!)... maybe if you opened the unit, removed the battery for a few seconds and put it back in and tried the reset, it might work? Seems like it just really badly needs to have some sort of corruption cleared out of its memory.

And again... there could be NO battery and my suggestion would be totally stupid. I just know that might be something I would try if I was going through it.

[skockets]

Thanks James for that response. Yes, I was tempted to buy one new, but I was considering budget and my (generally) good successes on eBay and the like, and considering the cost of all the other components I'm spending on to build the studio (iMac upgrades, SSDs, new headphones (my Beyerdynamics crapped out), software, studio sound optimizing, and on and on and on...

I did have this unit sitting for several weeks, it was probably my only mistake to leave it sitting in its original shipping packaging, in the box, wrapped, and being a dum dum not to test it immediately upon receiving it. It's good practice to test ANY used online purchase IMMEDIATELY, but I was preoccupied with other studio building activities. And though I LITERALLY just pulled it out of the box a week ago, plugged it in, and turned it on, to be greeted by this nasty Loading Audio Router loop, the seller is using the time gone by to accuse me of doing something nefarious. Whatever, man, I should never have bought something on eBay without photos of it at least turned on (not that that is any real barometer of honesty, but...I also digress lol)

Anyway, your idea is a good one. I wouldn't have the foggiest clue on how to open up and do something with the 828X, I do agree there SHOULD be some way to get it out of this nasty loop. Motu Tech Support was very gracious but doesn't seem to have the desire (I imagine they have the ABILITY, as they are the manufacturer) to service an out of warranty item like the 828X. Wondering if there's ANYONE who has aftermarket experience to try and repair, it doesn't seem like it's impossible. Otherwise, it's gonna just sit here as a hood ornament and I'm stuck with 16 tracks, not 24. man....

Any additional thoughts/resources anyone might have is hugely appreciated. thanks again

[skockets]

By the way, to the group, here are some images of the screen information displays I’ve seen when I’ve pressed the PAGE button after seeing the 828x v.107 screen, then seeing it go into the Loading Audio Router, Loading Done loop. As previously mentioned, the Boot V.1.01 mode just allows me to re-updat the firmware to the 1.07 that’s already there, and restarting the 828X after this does nothing. And I can’t seem to access any other menus but i thought the fact i could access these might point to some hope of a sequence that could get me outta this loop…

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[James Steele]

I did have this unit sitting for several weeks, it was probably my only mistake to leave it sitting in its original shipping packaging, in the box, wrapped, and being a dum dum not to test it immediately upon receiving it. It's good practice to test ANY used online purchase IMMEDIATELY, but I was preoccupied with other studio building activities.

Ouch! Been there, done that, and also learned the hard way. I feel your pain.

Motu Tech Support was very gracious but doesn't seem to have the desire (I imagine they have the ABILITY, as they are the manufacturer) to service an out of warranty item like the 828X.

Not sure how much servicing they do... as usually what happens if something is under warranty is they tend to just sent you another unit. They probably farm out the repair work to someone else, who probably checks a list for one or two simple fixes and if it doesn't fall into that category it isn't long before the labor cost makes it not worth repairing.[/quote]

Wondering if there's ANYONE who has aftermarket experience to try and repair, it doesn't seem like it's impossible. Otherwise, it's gonna just sit here as a hood ornament and I'm stuck with 16 tracks, not 24. man....

Not sure. I have a guy who is really good in Prescott, AZ who works on my amps and 80s and 90s era synths, but from what he tells me music equipment is similar to cars in that the newer it is, the harder it is for the average repair guy to fix. Lot's of PCBs and integrated circuits, now, etc.

One suggestion I might make is that you contact Black Lion Audio. For a while they used to do upgrades and modifications to MOTU interfaces and so they'd be about as savvy about working on MOTU interfaces as anyone. You could reach out to them through their website and just ask if they might possibly repair it. https://www.blacklionaudio.com/

[skockets]

Hey James!
So sorry for my late reply, for some reason I didn't get a notification from MotuNation that you'd responded.

Thanks so much for the additional info and potential resources. I will definitely contact Black Lion Audio and see if they have any guidance/advice.

Your guy in Prescott is right. Whether it's more computerized cars, or any other gadget/electronics for that matter, once it's more about circuit boards than swapping out an 'analog' or strictly mechanical part (maybe with a sensor but little other electronic elements), then it starts to become either literally unrepairable, or at least feasibly unrepairable, at least in the sense anyone doing the hardware/software/labor calculation can find a feasible and/or affordable fix that our capitalist system will incentivize. AKA, intentionally made difficult or nearly impossible for the average repair guy to fix, often due to market forces, like the simple fact of an unattainable technological economy of scale, in that the problem might be isolated to a component on the PCB the 'average repair guy' can't replicate. But I digress...

I was really hoping there'd be some more simple software-based fix, but it seems there's no combination of pressing (and/or holding) buttons and starting/restarting and/or any type of firmware or other software tweak that will grant me full access to the LCD Screen and therefore allow this dang unit to factory reset. I'm leaning towards that it IS possible, but if it requires opening up the unit to trigger such a reset, then I am just clueless on how to do this. Wouldn't it be great if your battery idea was a true possibility?!

Anyway, maybe a Hail Mary to Black Lion Audio will spark something...

Thanks again for all the ideas and support!
JT

[brentinjapan]

2nd time I post this - sorry, but it seems there are two instances of this post.

I have the exact same problem. Started just last week for no reason at all.

Have you found a solution yet?

Thanks!!

[skockets]

Hey Brent,
Sorry for the delay, I just saw this.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a solution for this problem. Can you explain how/when your unit (is it an 828x?) also became stuck in this loop?

[PhilMus]

Hi All,

Exactly same problem with my 828 MK3 Hybrid, and problem is solved

When you open the 828 box, there is a secondary card with points to check voltages. I checked voltages and instead of 3.3v, it was around 2.4v, and instead of 5v, it was 4v. The PSU caps where not in good shape, so I change them, and... it works !

What I learned when trying to repare the card :
- The 2x2200uf caps are used for 5v line, and the 2x1000uf are used for 3.3v line.
- If the card dont start at all, there is a problem with 5v line.
- If the card start, but get stuck at loading or next step "CueMix FX...", then there is a problem with 3.3v line

I expect this can be usefull for somebody else.

Regards
PhilMus