Helix 10 SI not getting past the start up screen

I just wanted to post in case someone else has this issue, internet was not much help. Originally I thought it wasn’t working because I forgot to charge my battery after my last fishing trip. After fully charging my battery it still didn’t work, tested voltage at all the spots and that looked good. That left sending in to get fixed. As a last resort I removed my lakemaster chip and that was the issue. Anyway, hope that helps anyone who has this issue in the future.

I had the same issue, I ran the latest update and haven’t had one since

My helix 9 G2N started doing the same thing today. As soon as the SI started scrolling it would power down. Brand new chip, V8 in a unit I recently gotfrom HB when I sent mine in for service and they scrapped it and sent me a new one, presumably a refurb.

I don’t think I can do an update at this cabin I have to DL it to a chip first, correct?

U can do it through the hummingbird fish smart app , just need Bluetooth on ur phone, and turn it on on ur helix

Ok, I am trying to do the firmware update but I can’t get the card to read, I have tried four different cards. Tried in both slots.

It can only be a 32 MB card or less

Ok, I thought it was 32GB, I was trying 2, 4,8 and 16 gb. Thanks, Hope that works.

It is actually 32gb min.

How is the SD card formatted when you are copying the update file onto the SD card from your computer?

I am not sure, they are SD cards from my trail cams, I removed all files and emptied trash before adding the update to the card. I try reformatting. Thanks

I tried ex-fat, they were fat-32, when I insert the card it freezes up.

I am guessing the card reader on the Helix is jacked.

Thanks for posting this. Mine kept powering off on Saturday, I took the Lakemaster chip out and it worked the rest of the day.

Sorry to hear the problems you are having getting yours to update.

Another option may be to try using bluetooth through the humminbird fish smart app using a phone or tablet.

I know a couple of people that have called Humminbird Customer Service with other issues and had good results.

Good luck. I guess I need to try updating mine also.

I was able to DL the update onto an SD card on mine, put it in the H9 and didn’t see anything to indicate it took the update. I’ll have to check my card and see how big it was.

I took the chip out and was able to run the H9. Still had issues but I think I might have network issues, Can’t go to any waypoints from the H9, only my iPilot link remote if I create a waypoint can I go to that waypoint. This sh!t is making me crazy.

I would assume as long as you’re doing exactly what the instructions say, there must be something wrong with the unit. I updated all mine this spring. The first time I tried it with a 32gb card it didn’t work. I switched to a 16gb card and then it worked. It was an SDHC card (not SDXC) I formatted it using FAT32.

Instructions
Please read carefully before proceeding.

We highly recommend that you RESTORE the defaults on your unit BEFORE you perform any software update.

How to Restore Defaults:

With the unit powered on, Press the MENU button twice to the main menu on the system. Then you press the RIGHT cursor until you get to the SETUP menu tab. Once you have reached the SETUP menu tab, use the DOWN cursor until you reach RESTORE DEFAULTS, you will then press the RIGHT cursor key to restore the defaults. To confirm press RIGHT cursor again.

To update with an SD CARD

After thoroughly reading these instructions, you can return to the Download dialogue box and click on Download. The software files are in a .bin format. You will not be able to open these files, they should only be saved.
You will need to select to save this file to the SD Card. (The SD card may be listed as a removable disk, removable storage drive, SD). Do not modify the name of the file, then click on SAVE.
After the Download Complete dialog box appears – click CLOSE
Remove the SD Card from the card reader. After removing the SD card from the reader and before powering on the unit, we recommend that you disconnect any Advanced Accessories connected to the unit. This might include a GPS receiver, Interlink, Cannonlink, etc. Also remove any SD or micro cards already inserted on your unit.
POWER ON YOUR UNIT, allow the unit to go through the complete start up BEFORE pressing any buttons or selecting any menu options. After the unit has completed the loading process and you have clicked through the warnings and information, place the SD card in the unit.
You will get a message on the unit saying SOFTWARE NUMBER “123” is higher than your current “120” software do you want to update?, Press the Right Cursor to Confirm.
Another message will then appear saying do you want to ABORT, press the Left Cursor to NO at this time and the software update will begin. DO NOT POWER OFF THE UNIT DURING THIS TIME. If you lose power to the unit during the software upgrade process, it is very likely that the unit will need to be returned to the factory for updating.
Once the update is complete the unit will restart and say current SOFTWARE NUMBER “123” installed, no update required. It is now safe to remove the SD Card, and power off the unit.

I talked to customer service (super nice) and they were able to verify that my chips readers aren’t working, sending it in, hopefully it will be quick. Thanks for everyone’s help.

ya be very careful, I went to update my Helix 9 di gps with v1.900 and part way through on a fully charged battery it restarted and locked up in a boot loop. Now they want $248 to fix it. Checking the web i found a lot of same issues in and out of warranty.

UPDATE: after talking to Humminbird several times they asked me to send it in and if it was update failure they would take care of it, I got the unit back very timely and just shipping charge to them. I expected at least to pay shipping back and maybe a reprogram fee. Humminbird covered it all, thats a company who stands behind their customers.

I with James, Humminbird was great to work with, good to see a company that cares about its customers.

I had this issue at the beginning of this season and it was my power cable running to my starting battery. It wasn’t a heavy enough gauge and I was only getting around 8 volts to my unit causing it to shut down after the startup screen. Upped the gauge and has run beautifully since.

When I attempted to copy the AC file from one Zero Lines card to another, placing the second card in the card slot caused the finder to shut down. Removing the copied card resolved the issue. The properly created Lakemaster card did not do this. So, a corrupted Lakemaster file could cause an issue very similar to this.

My dealer told me that I could copy Autochart generated maps from one card to another, based on his conversations with the Humminbird rep. He was misinformed.

Cheers!

Thank you! Just had that problem on the water. The chip wasn’t in all the way.