Solving Sync Issues in Helium Hotspots

In the recent weeks, there have been quite a few original Helium hotspots that have run into sync issues and one of the main reasons is that the microSD card in the unit is reaching the end of its lifecycle.

This article provides the steps to solve this problem by flashing a new microSD card.

Step 1: Open the Hotspot

Unplug the hotspot from power and unscrew the 4 screws from the bottom of the hotspot using a T8 bit screwdriver.

Be very cautious when lifting the lid of the hotspot after unscrewing as there is an antenna wire attaching the top of the hotspot to the bottom as shown in the picture below. Be sure to not disconnect this wire when opening the hotspot.

Step 2: Remove the microSD card

The microSD card is located by the side of fan and is a bit tricky to notice by a quick glance. Use the picture below to locate the microSD card and carefully remove the installed microSD card using tweezers or needle-nose pliers.

Step 3: Install Etcher

If you have not flashed a SD card before or do not have a program installed to flash SD cards, download and install Etcher from here. Etcher is a simple program that helps flash SD cards.

Step 4: Download Image File

Download the image file that needs to be flashed to the microSD card from here and unzip this file.

Step 5: Format microSD card

The microSD card that came with the helium hotspot was of size 64 GB from SanDisk. Purchase or find an equivalent microSD card of size 64 GB and format it using ExFAT format.

Step 6: Flash microSD card

Use Etcher installed in Step 3 to flash the new microSD card with the image downloaded in Step 4. It takes about 2 minutes for flashing to complete.

Step 7: Insert the microSD card

Insert the flashed microSD card into the hotspot, close the lid and put the screws back into the hotspot.

Step 8: Turn on the Hotspot

Plug the power back to the Hotspot and wait for it to boot up and the green light will turn on. Go to Helium Explorer and check the status of the hotspot after few minutes.

The hotspot should show as online and syncing. The sync takes about 1 to 2 days depending on the internet connection.

Once the hotspot is synced up to the latest blocks, it should start participating in POC and mine tokens for the same.

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