mdloader doesn't detect ALT keyboard #36

brewerbjb · 2020-09-04T22:34:55Z

I just got an ALT keyboard and am trying to flash the firmware. When I run mdloader on Windows I get an error "could not find a valid device port!".

carlosbelardi · 2020-09-04T23:08:57Z

Commenting to get some visibility on this but yup I'm having the same issue with the ALT I got 2 weeks ago. I'm guessing these newest batch has another new chip ID in it that the current code doesn't account for

mbodge · 2020-09-05T23:44:24Z

Same here, does not detect on my mac

mbodge · 2020-09-06T14:57:22Z

Ok, i resolved this by going into the source code, modifying line 38 in mdloader_common.c by changing the chip id to "0x60060005". Go to the command line, type make and you've built your own binary to run.

carlosbelardi · 2020-09-06T18:01:59Z

@mbodge That worked! Thanks!

JasonYuanLiu · 2020-09-09T04:17:26Z

There's also a chance that the CHIP ID is 60060305 in the new batch of Alt

fciuffo · 2020-09-11T16:04:03Z

Can someone tell me how i can modify the code to add the correct CHIP ID in order for the program to recognize my new ALT. Once I download the downloader, is there an easy way to edit the code and recompile?

scrumyy · 2020-09-14T16:42:06Z

I'm having the same issue, got my alt this week

adrianjean · 2020-09-14T23:16:27Z

This worked for me just now on macOS with my day-old Drop Alt. I used 0x60060005

brewerbjb · 2020-09-15T14:54:31Z

Do you have any clue how I can compile it on windows?

scrumyy · 2020-09-15T15:05:13Z

I would also really like to know

adrianjean · 2020-09-15T18:38:21Z

@brewerbjb @scrumyy Can you install a quick Linux VM using VirtualBox and compile and run it from in there?

mattdzugan · 2020-09-19T15:33:30Z

For the sake of potential other readers of this thread -- I was getting the "could not find a valid device port!" error even after applying all the changes mentioned here. Turns out all i needed was sudo. So just beware that a permissions issue will still throw this same "could not find a valid device port!" error! 🤦‍♂️

scrumyy · 2020-09-19T20:02:15Z

compiled in Linux VM, but when running in the VM I get error "mdloader_linux: command not found". Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?

brundonsmith · 2020-09-22T22:37:27Z

Having the same issue; just bought a new Alt and getting this error message on both Mac and Windows. I tried running it as admin on Windows per @mattdzugan 's suggestion and it made no difference.

This is GitHub; if we know the fix, could someone make a pull-request and hope that Massdrop merges it and does a new release?

Has anyone contacted customer service? This seems to be a really widespread issue and a really easy thing for them to fix.

james-fourth · 2020-09-24T07:45:59Z

@mbodge You're awesome! Thanks so much for sharing this solution!!

SolaireFlair · 2020-10-03T21:56:44Z

I'm an absolute total newbie to coding, would it be possible to get some directions on how to compile this? I already got the file opened and edited the line in question, but I'm not sure how to compile a program in CMD.

mbodge · 2020-10-03T22:04:28Z

@SolaireFlair Are you on a mac or a pc?

…

On Sat, Oct 3, 2020 at 2:56 PM SolaireFlair ***@***.***> wrote: Ok, i resolved this by going into the source code, modifying line 38 in mdloader_common.c by changing the chip id to "0x60060005". Go to the command line, type make and you've built your own binary to run. I'm an absolute total newbie to coding, would it be possible to get some directions on how to compile this? I already got the file opened and edited the line in question, but I'm not sure how to compile a program in CMD. — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#36 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAOTT4WD4O5X37XAYEXR4FTSI6M2PANCNFSM4QZRRH5A> .

SolaireFlair · 2020-10-03T22:29:05Z

@mbodge Windows PC

mbodge · 2020-10-03T23:12:52Z

Ah, sorry, unfortunately i don't know how compiling on windows works.

…

On Sat, Oct 3, 2020 at 3:29 PM SolaireFlair ***@***.***> wrote: @mbodge <https://github.com/mbodge> Windows PC — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#36 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAOTT4UWDEZ6MDEEJQB5ACLSI6QTZANCNFSM4QZRRH5A> .

SolaireFlair · 2020-10-03T23:27:40Z

Darn, ok. I have a friend who might be able to help. He's gonna come over in about an hour. Hopefully I can get it done.

0x4a · 2020-10-03T23:49:39Z

I still did no receive my Alt, so I cant test it - but I found that somewhere round here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KvyRvtoVVE3OQdiWAKgj-XZll37Cxy4H/view

Supposed to be a fixed version for Windows, maybe give it a try.

Also: did you try the release from two days ago? Changelog suggests the problem is fixed:

And it does have the 0x60060005 (and 305) lines added to mcus[] like suggested above. Always go for official releases instead of shady binaries from Google Drive - if you can.

HTH

james-fourth · 2020-10-04T00:04:20Z

This Stack Overflow article seems like it could help.

SolaireFlair · 2020-10-04T00:06:14Z

@0x4a I've tried the updated version from two days ago and still no dice, and the one you linked to spat this out when I tried to flash:

Scanning for device for 60 seconds
..........60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.60060305.....

Had to disconnect the keyboard to get it to quit.

When using the official release, the keyboard sits with the orange "connection error" LED on and Powershell spits this out:

Opening port 'COM9'... Success!
Found MCU: SAMD51J19A
Bootloader version: v2.18Sep 4 2018 16:48:28
Applet file: applet-flash-samd51j19a.bin
Error: Could not open applet file: applet-flash-samd51j19a.bin
Closing port... Success!
PS D:\users\jeff\desktop\altlow>

0x4a · 2020-10-04T00:26:39Z

As far as I can see, thats the chip-id you would need for it to work (said so somewhere on drop discussions). Found another version here which explicitely mentions that 60060005 ID you got.

Give that a try or set up a build environment (I would use WSL) and build yourself.

Good luck! Can't wait to get my keeb, and to have to go through the same hassle ;-)

SolaireFlair · 2020-10-04T00:51:13Z

MY MAN. @0x4a you came through. That build you linked works. I have been wracking my brain for DAYS, but this did the trick.

sadan · 2020-10-05T07:54:45Z

Hi, I just received my Drop Ctrl keyboard yesterday and I am using MAC. The loader is also unable to find the device. I downloaded the latest version 1.0.5 from the release page but in the terminal it is still showing me version 1.04. Can someone please help?

ShaunMWallace · 2020-10-06T21:56:03Z

just updating this for anyone that reads. I have a brand new alt and the change from 5 days ago appears to solve the issue of the chip id being incorrect or missing. There is a small bug where the mdloader is looking for applet 19 and the one provided is 18. I simply renamed the 18 to 19 in the applet file and all works as expected. Good luck

auxiliary · 2022-03-09T08:29:10Z

Is this still an issue? I think it might be obsolete as the code now seems to include 0x60060005. What worked for me and I wish the README would've mentioned was to first "reset" the board with a pin. Only then would the loader actually detect the board.

carlosbelardi mentioned this issue Sep 10, 2020

macOS Error: Could not find a valid device port! #33

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mdloader doesn't detect ALT keyboard #36

mdloader doesn't detect ALT keyboard #36

brewerbjb commented Sep 4, 2020

carlosbelardi commented Sep 4, 2020

mbodge commented Sep 5, 2020

mbodge commented Sep 6, 2020

carlosbelardi commented Sep 6, 2020 •

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JasonYuanLiu commented Sep 9, 2020 •

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fciuffo commented Sep 11, 2020

scrumyy commented Sep 14, 2020

adrianjean commented Sep 14, 2020

brewerbjb commented Sep 15, 2020

scrumyy commented Sep 15, 2020

adrianjean commented Sep 15, 2020

mattdzugan commented Sep 19, 2020

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auxiliary commented Mar 9, 2022

mdloader doesn't detect ALT keyboard #36

mdloader doesn't detect ALT keyboard #36

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brewerbjb commented Sep 4, 2020

carlosbelardi commented Sep 4, 2020

mbodge commented Sep 5, 2020

mbodge commented Sep 6, 2020

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