FM3 lights up when connected to USB when when the unit it off

T

TedEH

Member
I've been noticing lately that if I try to turn the power off the FM3 while it's connected to a PC with USB, it doesn't shut completely off - the screen shuts off, but a bunch of the lights stay on. More than that, if the unit is off, just sitting there, and I plug it into a PC, usually the lights all come on. Sometimes it's not all of them. Sometimes the screen lights up to a grey screen and there's no lights. Everything seems to function properly once I actually turn the unit on, but I'm worried I'm doing something funky to it if I forget to unplug it, or happen to turn it off before the PC.
 
Had that problem last year. It was not a bug. Needed to send it back to Fractal for repair. After a technical inspection Fractal ended up sending back a replacement.

Contact Fractal Support per their Support page guidance:

If you ordered your product directly from Fractal Audio Systems, please contact us through support.fractalaudio.com or email us at support@fractalaudio.com

If you ordered your product from a Fractal Audio dealer outside the USA or Canada, please contact the dealer for your region.
 
What if I got it second-hand?

If it's not a bug, are you saying it's a physical fault somewhere?
 
I have the same issue with mine. It is unfortunately out of warrantee.:(

I am still able to use it, for now, by keeping the USB unplugged when the power is off. The audio interface is not working, but FM3-Edit is working. Once I finish a project that I am in the middle of, I will send it in and see what it's going to take to get it fixed.
 
I've got no actual functional issue - interface works fine, FM3-Edit works fine, etc. Was there any consensus as to whether or not this was a software/firmware or hardware issue?

I can take the time to back everything up and try to factory-reset or re-install the firmware or something if anyone thinks that'll do anything.

My main concern is that if it's a physical thing, I don't want to do more damage to it. If it's just software, it's not the end of the world to reset or wait for the next update or something.
 
I think the consensus was that it was a hardware issue so units sent in for repair got replaced. A message to Support is your best bet, even if it's out of warranty, they'll tell you what your options are.
 
I sent a support message - will report back if I hear anything.

Today the behaviour has changed a bit - I forgot it was plugged in, and turned it on... no boot. So, I tried holding the page buttons to see if I'd get the safe mode menu, and that worked fine. Memory test thingies passed. I fiddled with some of the USB settings out of curiosity. I don't know what I did exactly, but it seems to not be acting as funny anymore. I can leave it plugged in with no extra lights, and it boots fine now. No idea what changed.
 
So I got a response, but I can't say that I'm very happy with it. It basically says little more than "just send it to us, you'll have to a pay to repair it at a minimum of $40 to assess it", no other details. No troubleshooting ideas. No details about what might be wrong (if there even IS anything wrong). No estimate for what a full repair would actually cost. No aknowlegement of whether or not this a known issue. Just "send it to us at your cost".

So I have to be without the device that I just got for an undisclosed amount of time, for an undisclosed cost, to "fix" something that nobody can demonstrate is actually broken.

This is why I was asking the forum if anyone actually knew what was up with this issue - if anyone knew if there was actually a physical fault or something here or if there's any risk of just dealing with it, or if it goes away with firmware re-installs or something. Anything. Any details to work with at all.

Edit: Also, it's not happening anymore. I fiddled with the USB settings on the device, and discovered there's a "safe mode" you can boot into that does memory checks and things. After doing this, I've had no other problems. Boots fine. Can connect and disconnect. Can leave the USB plugged in and turn the device on and off. No lights come on when I plug in the cable while it's off anymore. I dunno what I did, but it seems not to be in whatever state it was in previously.
 
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TedEH said:
Edit: Also, it's not happening anymore. I fiddled with the USB settings on the device, and discovered there's a "safe mode" you can boot into that does memory checks and things. After doing this, I've had no other problems. Boots fine. Can connect and disconnect. Can leave the USB plugged in and turn the device on and off. No lights come on when I plug in the cable while it's off anymore. I dunno what I did, but it seems not to be in whatever state it was in previously.
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It is very interesting.
Thanks for any tips.
 
If the problem comes back I plan on trying a different USB cable if I can find one. And/or doing a backup and re-installing firmware.
 
Here's a possibly unrelated question:
The driver in windows - is "safe mode" supposed to be checked by default? It was already on/checked when installed the driver, but that seems odd to me.
 
You have a new message from support. They were a bit hasty to send you return instructions, but aside from the obvious steps you've taken, there aren't any additional de facto troubleshooting steps. This doesn't sound like a driver issue and is more likely a hardware issue. Regrettably, since you purchased the unit used, you don't have a warranty so the instructions you received were appropriate.

I'm not personally aware of the effect of "Safe Mode" but will ask one of our engineers to comment specifically on this. We'll continue to handle this issue in the support conversation rather than to have it become two-headed and hard to monitor.
 
All good to continue the proper support conversation in the email, but I also don't want to be that guy that leaves everyone hanging if they're googling the same issue or following the thread and want to know what to expect:

As was already said, the official word is that there aren't any other troubleshooting steps worth trying, and was quoted about $450, plus labour, to replace the USB chip. That lands pretty far outside what I'm willing to put into this right now, given that it's not critical for me. I have other amps, I'm not a pro musician or something.

So I guess that's the end of my story this time. Just gonna live with it and hope it doesn't come back. And if it does come back, hope it doesn't actually cause more serious issues than some annoying lights if I forget the cable plugged in. It is what it is, I guess.
 
TedEH said:
All good to continue the proper support conversation in the email, but I also don't want to be that guy that leaves everyone hanging if they're googling the same issue or following the thread and want to know what to expect:

As was already said, the official word is that there aren't any other troubleshooting steps worth trying, and was quoted about $450, plus labour, to replace the USB chip. That lands pretty far outside what I'm willing to put into this right now, given that it's not critical for me. I have other amps, I'm not a pro musician or something.

So I guess that's the end of my story this time. Just gonna live with it and hope it doesn't come back. And if it does come back, hope it doesn't actually cause more serious issues than some annoying lights if I forget the cable plugged in. It is what it is, I guess.
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Is that $450 what you meant to type?
 
I went back to check the email, and yup. Not a typo.

Edit: To be fair, my gut reaction isn't that it's an unreasonable price. I'd be willing to bet it's difficult to do, and the part itself is valuable. It's a challenging repair on a luxury item, so yeah, that's going to cost. Reasonable at all vs. reasonable for me in context are two very different things though.
 
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I previously wrote it's a $40 minimum to inspect the unit, not to do the repair. $450 is to replace the USB chip. I don't know if that 450 includes the $40 inspection.
 
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