Just my f***ing luck, Weller WX1 firmware update gone bad

[Solderingtechnician1]

Hi,

I recently got myself a brand new WX1 set for a bargain, I decided to give it a firmware update before putting it out in the shop. Followed all the instructions properly and just my fucking luck, it got stuck on the "bootloading please wait" screen. Finally about an hour later of going nowhere, I decided to turn the damn thing off and now it greets me with a blank white screen no matter what I do.

I've tried a few other USB drives but at this point I'm convinced the firmware is toast.

At this point, I've disassembled it and done nothing more to it. Attached below is the mainboard.

Any pointers or help would be appreciated.

[Mario87]

You said you got it cheap, so not sure if it was just on sale or if it was from a random shop / person, but if you can, I would return it and explain what happened, this is a warranty job and should be replaced by the shop you purchased from.

If this was purchased used or from an individual as a unit that they had but never used, then it's different and maybe at that point you should begin to dig deeper. First choice is always warranty if possible.

[Rasz]

Weller isnt particularly well known for ignoring support requests. Try contacting them directly?

[Kjelt]

Just contact Weller, this guy had same issue

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/weller-wxd2-firmware-update-gone-bad/

[Solderingtechnician1]

Hi and thanks for all the input. What I got is most likely a new old stock, so it's probably out of warranty. I've just tried contacting the local Weller repair center and it's completely haunted. I am not even sure if they're open anymore.

I'll give the Canada number a go next, but I might just have to return it.

[Stray Electron]

  If you bought it new and can prove that then it should still be under warranty regardless of it's age. Many states/countries have specific laws concerning that.

  Cases like this are why I DON'T trust online updates and refuse to do them. If the company thinks that they absolutely necessary then I will return it to them and let them take the responsibility for anything that happens.

[Geoff-AU]

Hmm.

I wouldn't even buy a soldering iron that has the capability of being firmware updated.  The essential functionality is so basic that if you don't think you can get it right before you're shipping it out, you have no hope of writing a reliable firmware update method either.

If you can return it, do.

[Kjelt]

I wouldn't even buy a soldering iron that has the capability of being firmware updated.  The essential functionality is so basic that if you don't think you can get it right before you're shipping it out, you have no hope of writing a reliable firmware update method either.

As if you are Mr Perfect.
Bugs happen, fact of life, be glad they have a way of fixing them.
However a fw update should never, ever, be the cause of a bricked system, it should always have a backup scenario to the old firmware. That is where it went wrong here and unfortunately with too many devices. They save a couple of $cents to keep the flashsize low, instead of having double the flashsize, keeping the previous firmware available for a backout.

[Solderingtechnician1]

Hey guys, thanks for all the info. I do have a quick update regarding to the situation, and a surprising one at that.

After straight up failing to reach Weller repairs for a few times, my expectations were pretty low. I was either going to end up with an extremely expensive brick or a refund if I'm lucky, since this is completely closed sourced and there is no possible way for a third party to interface with the device, let alone repair it.

Before I decided to move forward with any of that, I tried my luck one last time and left a message on their web system. And to my surprise, I received a reply the same day; a reply not from a bot, but an actual well spoken person.

I thought to myself, I might end up paying out the ass given this day and age, but it is probably still cheaper than getting another one. Also, one of the reasons why I was so hesitant on doing a return is because I acquired this one through the essentially equivalent of a liquidation sale for a new old stock.

Fast forward a few exchanges later, I was even more surprised than previously thought possible when I learned that they are willing to do this repair at no charge and are even willing to cover the return shipping; when every other company would gouge the customer out the ass.

God bless these guys.

[xrunner]

Awesome! 

[Rasz]

Let us know if they follow thru. Nice if they fix it, bad that its their crappy FW update procedure that failed.

[coppercone2]

anyone think of the simpsons episode about Y2K with the milk carton that had microchips in it?

will the soldering iron of the future come with a license server?

[mindcrime]

will the soldering iron of the future come with a license server?

Don't. Give. Them. Any. Ideas!

[Solderingtechnician1]

Hi, quick update. It's been about a week after it's been delivered to their repair center.

I've followed their procedures, and even left a thank you note and some cash tips in the package.

Haven't heard a peep back yet.

Will give them a call in a few days to check up on it.

Thanks,

[tooki]

will the soldering iron of the future come with a license server?

Don't. Give. Them. Any. Ideas!

Like BMW’s subscription seat heating? 

[Solderingtechnician1]

Update, got the station back.

And oh boy they sure did a number on it. The unit is now significantly more worn out, has prymarks along the sides and some cracks at the latches that holds the top and bottom halves together. There's also a lot of jiggle and the two halves separate rather easily. On top of that, there's a lot of chipping on the din plug connector (how is that even possible from a firmware reflash?).

At least it works now I guess? That being said, I'm probably going to stay away from Weller after this. Too many things to go wrong.

Thanks for reading,
 

[lowimpedance]

Update, got the station back.

And oh boy they sure did a number on it. The unit is now significantly more worn out, has prymarks along the sides and some cracks at the latches that holds the top and bottom halves together. There's also a lot of jiggle and the two halves separate rather easily. On top of that, there's a lot of chipping on the din plug connector (how is that even possible from a firmware reflash?).

At least it works now I guess? That being said, I'm probably going to stay away from Weller after this. Too many things to go wrong.

Thanks for reading,

Are you sure its the same one you sent !

Totally rude to think that kind of treatment can be allowed and then send it back to the customer with a  'nothing to see here'  attitude 

[Mario87]

Update, got the station back.

And oh boy they sure did a number on it. The unit is now significantly more worn out, has prymarks along the sides and some cracks at the latches that holds the top and bottom halves together. There's also a lot of jiggle and the two halves separate rather easily. On top of that, there's a lot of chipping on the din plug connector (how is that even possible from a firmware reflash?).

At least it works now I guess? That being said, I'm probably going to stay away from Weller after this. Too many things to go wrong.

Thanks for reading,

Call them up, complain, demand a new unit. You sent them a brand new unit with faulty firmware, you do not expect to get a used / worn / damaged unit back! Totally unacceptable IMO!!

[Kjelt]

I will stop updating the firmware from now on, why take chances without significant improvements.

[Stray Electron]

   That's exactly how I fell about software updates.   

    There is NO excuse for having to do a software update to make something work the way that it should have worked right out of the box.

    Maybe you should go on Facebook or some the other large social media sites and post up some pictures of your soldering station and showing the damage done by Weller's repair service.  SM seems to be the only thing that most big companies pay any attention to these days.

[Rasz]

well this is fucked up, where did you sent it? to weller directly or did they point you at one of the distributors? do you have serial number of original station? is it the same station as before? sounds like an intern did it, or shitty local distributor
Its time to karen the shit out of this, its an expensive professional item, they should do better!

1 make comprehensive photo documentation
2 upload pictures so we can all see it
3 tweet @WellerTools with pictures, mention eevblog, you can even mention 1500 people already saw this post (viewed this thread)
4 same as above https://www.weller-tools.com/professional/USA/us/Top-Menu/Contact/Contact+us
5 post link to tweet here so people can +it, would be great if Dave also replied/boosted it

[coppercone2]

federal investigation to get the thingy to heat up lol

[TheAmmoniacal]

I had a batch of Weller soldering tips literally dissolve as I used them, half of the tip was gone after a week! Made a complaint and they said it was normal..

[Stray Electron]

    This isn't the first time that I've heard complaints that the modern Weller soldering iron tips that didn't last long.

    FWIW  When I was a kid the only soldering tool that I had was an old Weller soldering gun. The tips on that would burn out and I couldn't afford genuine Weller tips so made my own tips out of 16 gauge solid copper wire from some scraps of Romex house wiring. I was told that the soldering tips had to be plated or that the molten solder would quickly dissolve the copper and they won't last long. But I found that that wasn't true. At least not for well over a year.

   I wonder what kind of material some of these modern Weller tips are made of?

[tooki]

… so made my own tips out of 16 gauge solid copper wire from some scraps of Romex house wiring. I was told that the soldering tips had to be plated or that the molten solder would quickly dissolve the copper and they won't last long. But I found that that wasn't true. At least not for well over a year.

No, it is true. But what counts isn’t calendar days, but rather how long the tip is held at temperatures hot enough to melt solder. On a soldering gun, the tip is only hot for seconds at a time, being at (or back on its way to) room temperature most of the time. On a regular soldering iron, the tip is hot for much longer, minutes or hours at a time. That’s FAR more time for the solder to dissolve the copper.