Unable to reset the board
Hi! I just finished building my first Corne today, and I'm having flashing issues. I followed the steps in Joe's helpful walkthrough video: connected the left board to my laptop, dragged the left .u2f file onto it, disconnected, and did the same for the right-hand side. But something went wrong somewhere.
When I flashed the left side, the nice!view display started to function properly: it showed the battery level, the layers, etc. When I flashed the right side, the nice!view remained blank. I wasn't sure whether it was supposed to display something already, so I went ahead and paired the two halves to one another and to my computer. The left side functions well. The right side functions poorly: the top and bottom row keys don't work (middle row works fine), and the screen still didn't turn on.
I then tried resetting both sides and starting from scratch. The reset button on the right side seems to work. But on the left side, it seems to do nothing. I've pressed it several times (including double presses) and the screen remains on, the board remains connected to my laptop, and it continues to work fine. I've pressed the reset button both while the board was wired to the laptop and while it wasn't, and both while it was on and off. In no case am I able to get the board to show up as an external device for me to flash.
So my issues are: left side works well but can't be reset, while right side doesn't work so well: top and bottom row are dead and screen doesn't work (there is a difference between the screen's "on" and "off" states, but the "on" state doesn't display anything meaningful).
Since this was my first time soldering, it is very much possible that I messed up some of the connections on the right side. However, I examined all solderable connections after soldering and while they weren't pretty, each pin seemed securely soldered.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
14 Replies
It sounds like you're having a few issues. Let's tackle them one by one.
First, the left side not resetting: try a different USB cable and device. If that doesn't work, see our Entering the Bootloader guide for more help.
Second, the right side issues: it sounds like a hardware problem. Check out our Rows and Columns Not Working guide. It'll help you identify the pins for the non-working rows. Also, double-check the nice!view guide to ensure it's installed correctly.
Let me know if you need more help! You can reply to this message or tag me.
Entering the Bootloader | Typeractive.xyz Documentation
Learn how to enter the bootloader on your nice!nano.
Row(s) or Column(s) Not Working | Typeractive.xyz Documentation
Fix row(s) or column(s) not working on your keyboard.
nice!view | Typeractive.xyz Documentation
If you have nice!views with your build, this guide will go over installing the sockets and headers. If you don't have nice!views, you can skip this guide.
I agree that the right side sounds like a hardware issue. I'll check the connections again tomorrow. But the left side is still puzzling. What is supposed to happen when I press the reset button? I've followed all the steps on the "Entering the bootloader" webpage, but nothing changes.
The board will restart when you press restart
Are you seeing a blue LED after pressing reset?
Thanks for the response. No, I'm not seeing the blue light (whereas I'm seeing it when I reset the right half).
Ok, after some resoldering, the right side—screen and keys—works perfectly! The left side still won't reset, though. Presumably this would be an issue for updating my keymaps?
@pt likely an issue with your reset button. If you manually tap the RST and GND pins with tweezers, do you see the LED?
will check when i
when i get the chance! (still getting used to typing on the board!)
Hi, are the RST and GND pins the ones that the reset button is connected to? I'm having trouble identifying the pins...
oop, found them!
Ok, the reset worked and I was able to flash my custom keymaps. Thanks a lot for your help!
Sure thing! Still doesn't explain the broken reset button though. If you want we can try to diagnose that
That would be great! I guess it can't be completely broken, since I'm able to use it to pair the two halves. What would you recommend trying next?
If you connect the bottom and top pin, does that work?
if that works, it indicates that the bush button action is not working D:
Yes, the light does turn on when I short those pins (the two on the "right" side, when the button is pointing down)
Interesting, it sounds like the button action has broken unfortunately
it is possible to replace that button but it is fairly challenging
Ok, well shorting the reset pins is not that difficult. The only issue is that I can't do it while the screen cover is on. But I probably won't be resetting the board that often once my config is settled
Out of curiosity, do you solder the boards yourself? Or what is the process like? The soldering job is impeccable
Also, where can I leave a review? I'm super satisfied with the board and would like to leave a note!
It's done in a professional PCB assembly factory, so it's all automated!
You should get a review request in the next few days to weeks from judge.me, otherwise I can send one out manually now, just need your order number