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OpenFC, Betaflight. Step 4 of 4

Recover an OpenFC after a failed update

An unplugged cable, a closed tab or the wrong file cannot break the flight controller for good. The bootloader lives in read-only memory inside the chip, and no firmware update touches it. If the board does not start, starts wrong, or does not show up at all, you can start over from bootloader mode.

This page covers: an update that stopped halfway, firmware for the wrong board, a board that no longer connects, and settings that were lost.

You need

  • A computer running Windows, macOS or Linux
  • A USB-C cable that carries data (some cables only charge)
  • Your OpenFC-Lite or OpenFC-Lite Mini

Steps

  1. Unplug everything. Unplug the USB cable and the flight battery. Wait a few seconds.
  2. Enter bootloader mode with the button. Hold the BOOT button and plug in USB, as in Put your OpenFC in bootloader mode. This works even when the board shows nothing else, has no working firmware or is not recognised.

    You should see: The RP2350 drive appears.

  3. Get a fresh, checked file. Go to the firmware page, pick the board printed on yours and download the file again. Do not reuse a file from an interrupted download. If the page says "Firmware not published yet" (the Lite Mini today), stop here: the board is safe in bootloader mode, and you can leave it unplugged until the file is out.

    You should see: The page reports the file as checked, and a .uf2 file is saved.

  4. Copy it onto the drive. Drag the file onto the RP2350 drive and leave everything plugged in until the drive disappears by itself.

    You should see: The drive disappears: the board restarted with the new firmware.

  5. Check and restore. Follow Check the firmware on your OpenFC. If your settings are gone, paste your saved diff all into the CLI and type save.

    You should see: The right board name and version, and your settings back.

If it doesn't work

The RP2350 drive never appears, even with the button held.
Almost always the cable or port: use a cable you know carries data, plug straight into the computer, and try another computer if you have one.
I lost my settings and have no saved diff all.
Set the board up again in the Betaflight app. Save a diff all once you are done, so next time it is one paste.
Still stuck.
Open a support ticket with the board name, what you tried and what you saw. Ask in our Discord too: other pilots often have the answer fast.

Go to the firmware page